ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author considers how to develop a personal style, to discover ways to create inventive and thought-provoking images. He looks at the importance of knowing in advance what kind of image is required from a photographic situation, and finding solutions to photographic problems before people even pick up a camera. Digitally, the effects are now quite straightforward to imitate without resorting to chemical effects – it also means people can have a ‘straight’ version of our image without sacrificing the original. Digital post-processing also means a specific ‘look’ can be applied consistently across a batch of images. Experimentation is about setting up an idea beforehand, exploring a particular approach and evaluating the results against the original idea. Unexpected discoveries and chance may change the course of the experiment. Many fine-art photographers are opting to work with old or obsolete chemical or printing processes.
