Is It Better To Avoid A Niche In Photography?
PLUS: Capture One Pro contest details!
If you ever attend a workshop from Ralph Gibson, there’s a good chance he’ll bring up an interaction he had with the Hungarian photographer, André Kertész. One day, Ralph walked in on André photographing these little glass giraffes; just moving around them and capturing different perspectives. André exclaimed to Ralph that, “A photographer must be able to photograph anything!” Ralph internalized this message deeply.
Fast forward several decades, where Ralph still doesn’t believe in the idea of having a niche or genre to describe himself. He’s simply a photographer. He looks to find a point of departure and use that a launchpad to explore his curiosity; honing his eyes on the details that connect with the original inspiration.
This idea of whether or not I should identify as a certain type of photographer or just photographer; it’s something I’ve wrestled with for a while and let’s be honest, will wrestle with for years to come. Am I truly someone that follows whatever may inspire me? Or do I prefer to specialize in a Venn diagram of specific genres? Well, let me shed a little more light on the subject.
Diving A Little Deeper
Like many of you, I’ve had a love for photography since I was young. And like many of you, I went years of just shooting anything I could to sharpen my technique. From basement birthdays to HDR skylines, I swam through every trope on my path to try and find what I truly loved. But it wasn’t until early 2020 that I found my calling.
And no, it wasn’t landscapes.
Like an ice bath, the sensation was immediate and complete. I knew that I would build a lifestyle around documenting humans in the studio and the streets. It would be this mix of documentary, editorial, and portrait work that I would specialize my skillset and build a meaningful body of work. Sh*t, I even updated all my social bios, which makes it that much more official, no?
But there’s a unique problem in being a photographer in the first half of our life. Most of us don’t have this quick, linear path to doing solely what we want to do. It’s an ebb and flow of mixed experiences that build texture to our journey. And if we look at all of these experiences as opportunities to tell our story, well, there are that many more points of departure to create an interesting body of work.
What could a book documenting architecture from my perspective look like? Or, how would I design a gallery of abstract work? With an abundance of opportunities, would it not make more sense to just lean into the photographer title and move to a more formless position in the space?
Perhaps. But I think this question should come secondary to something else.
Where I’ve Landed
How we define ourselves is often—if not entirely—a decision in projection. We are letting the world around us know that this is who we believe we are. And through many actions over many years, our assertions are either cemented or shrugged off. We can make the argument that either side of our original proposition is harder than the other. The one thing I put faith in is that with enough discipline and patience, we can cultivate success as a genre photographer or simply as a photographer. The question that should sit higher is where will we practice our photography?
Will we dedicate every minute behind the camera to shooting a specific niche or will we choose to flow more freely?
You see, the general photographer can get trapped into a perspective just as much as the niche photographer. They can find themselves developing a technique and suddenly, you’re defined by your technique whether you like it or not. “Oh, they’re the blurry-colours person, right?” I believe that over-specializing can be detrimental to our growth as artists. So, it’s important to counteract this with genuine curiosity.
Right now, I’m following a path of a documentary and portrait photographer. But that’s not where I spend all my time. I make an effort to practice in all sorts of genres each year, especially those that might feel awkward. While I’ll allocate the bulk of my time working with people, I’ll always try to siphon little periods in the year to adopt a different perspective. I do this to spend time outside of my comfort zone and open up more chances to learn.
The images I shared today are from a trip around Iceland in 2019. There are characteristics that may be nice but when I look at them, I see a child. A child that was curious about the flow of water in this land and followed that curiosity around the entire country. I don’t find nature and landscapes particularly interesting as subjects. But when the opportunity presented itself, I shelved any beliefs I had and just followed my curiosity. As a result, I learned more about photography and even more about my resolve.
Whether you aspire to be a certain type of photographer or want to adopt the more formless state of photographer, try tap into that child-like curiosity. Challenge yourself to shoot a little differently each year, even in little spurts. Don’t be afraid to take a tangent from your point of departure, to pull on a new thread. Whether it’s a specific niche or a general style that you call home, the reps outside of this comfort zone will bring growth. And growth on this journey will always be more valuable the title in your bio.
New April Contest!
Each month, I run a contest for the Church & Street community and try to feature something that I think people will appreciate.
For April, I’ll be giving away a one-year subscription to the all-in-one bundle of Capture One Pro. Yes, an entire year of Capture One Pro on me! This is the image editor that I’ve relied on for years and the one I recommend for active photographers.
How am I picking the winner? All you have to do is be a member of this community and leave a comment on this post. As with every contest, I’ll be randomly picking one person, confirming they meet the requirements and then contacting them directly before announcing the winner publicly.
Once again, this contest is void where prohibited by law. Good luck!
Previous Favourites
Reader Question: What’s the most recent show or movie that’s captivated you?
Tokyo Vice. Shogun. Curb. There’s so much great content being produced right now but the most captivating one; the one that gripped me the most? That has to be Ripley. Based on the books by Patricia Highsmith, this show is simply incredible. The dialog is weighted. The cast is surgical. And the cinematography? It will go down as the best shot series this year. Hell, maybe even this decade.
I won’t spoil it for you. I’ve already said enough. Make some time to watch Ripley. And for the love of God, watch it without any distractions.
What’s Next?
Again, there is no right or wrong choice to how you identify yourself as a photographer. With enough reps, the answer will present itself to you. The keyword here being reps. Just keep shooting. I find myself sharing this sentiment in more and more conversations. That’s probably because I keep responding to random DMs that lead to 60-minute phone calls on the photography journey (I’ll save this subject for another time).
I hope you enjoyed this week’s post. It’s a meaty one. Maybe even a little sporadic. But I had to share it. And if you’re still reading this, I wanna believe that you appreciate that.
Anyway, that’s enough for this week. See ya next time!
GB
This is going to sound super pretentious and weird, but I don’t even like to call myself a photographer. Photography is an aspect of what I do for a living, and I’ve been doing it on some commercial level for the past 10+ years, and longer than that. I usually have some kind of camera with me beyond my phone, and I enjoy shooting all types of subjects and topics.
But because it’s not the only, or even main thing I do, I don’t feel comfortable calling myself a photographer.
I totally agree with you. I call myself an "opportunistic photographer" - if an interesting opportunity present itself, I will follow and photograph it. I've been a photgrapher for 50 years, and are definitely more fluent in two genres - Landscapes and (the past 10 years) Street Photography, but through all these years, I have photographed all genres, from Weddings and portraits, to Wildlife, to still lifes, macro etc...
But, that being said, I once attended a lecture by a Gallery owner, and he made it clear that, if you are looking for gallery representation, your portfolio should be niche. A Gallery owner is not looking for surprises. He wants to rely on the fact that he know what to expect from you, otherwise he cannot marked you / your photography