How to Develop Your Own Photography Style: Color Perception and Consistency in Editing
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As hotel and landscape photographer it was crucial for me to find my own editing style. This required me to understand how humans people perceive color and why we have different tastes. Read more below.
Do You Love Photography, But Is Your Editing Really Consistent?
Do you enjoy photography? Do you edit your photos in Lightroom? Do you post your photos on social media, and can I see them anywhere? Have you ever analyzed your photos in detail and checked if your colors are consistent across your edits? For example, are your blue tones always the same, or do they change? Do you sometimes use bold colors or muted tones? Are you aware of how these choices affect the viewer? Do you sometimes feel like something is missing in your editing? Or do you look at other people's photos and think, "That looks awful—how is this successful?" Do you want your photos to evoke emotions in viewers? If so, which ones?
I’ve created a photography editing course that helps you develop your own color style and apply it consistently across all your photos. You won’t just create a color style—you’ll develop a style that triggers specific emotions in viewers that only you can create. Imagine someone telling you that your photos have a recognizable signature, and people can immediately tell on Instagram that the photos are yours.
Why Is a Consistent Color Style So Important in Photography?
When you finish my course, you won’t see bad photos anymore. You will see images with a unique style that might not be to your taste but is someone else’s. You will feel more at peace with yourself and won’t feel frustrated anymore.
With my editing approach, you won’t need presets from other photographers because you will find a style that truly represents you and your work. Viewers will recognize this style and see you as more authentic. In the course, you’ll learn which colors you prefer, and you’ll likely choose the same ones repeatedly in your editing. Your choice of colors will express your personal emotions. If you often add blue tones, your photos will look calmer. If you add more yellow or red, your photos may feel more energetic.
How to Find Your Own Color Style in Lightroom
The key is that with my approach, you won’t need to overthink things. You’ll naturally find your style and the emotions your photos convey. Let me give you an example with a sunset. You might choose to edit the colors intensely to tell the story of a vibrant, powerful end to the day. Or, you could choose more muted colors and blue tones to convey peace and calm at the end of the day.
Color Perception: How Colors Trigger Emotions
When you begin the journey of finding your own color style, you need to understand that everyone perceives colors differently, and tastes vary. As a hotel or landscape photographer, this is an important insight because every hotel has different preferences. Not every rejection means your work is bad. In this blog post, I want to explain why it’s important to understand how colors are perceived. After reading this, you’ll look at your Instagram feed or other photos with a new perspective.
Understanding Why People Perceive Colors Differently
Understanding color perception is essential if you want to find your own visual voice as a photographer. There are already lots of articles online about the effects of different colors. For example, blue conveys calm, trust, and communication, while green is associated with luck, hope, and satisfaction. However, people perceive colors and their intensity differently. Have you ever experienced someone saying, “What a beautiful red sunset,” and in your opinion, it looked more orange or purple? There are reasons for these differences in perception, which I want to explain in this blog post.
5 Reasons Why People See Colors Differently
Color Perception: Our ability to see colors is inherited from our parents. These genes determine the number of special cells that react to different types of light, allowing us to see a range of colors. Every person has different genes, so many people see colors differently. For example, there are color-blind people who have trouble seeing certain colors due to a specific genetic factor. Imagine a group of friends looking at a painting in a museum. One might admire the cooler tones like blues and greens, while another friend focuses more on the warm tones like reds and yellows. This happens because they perceive colors differently and, therefore, appreciate the art in different ways.
Color Blindness: As mentioned, some people cannot see all colors due to color blindness. Imagine two friends looking at a rainbow. One friend, who is color-blind, might not see the distinct colors of the rainbow, while the other enjoys the full range of vibrant colors.
Inexperience or Lack of Training: As a beginner, it can be difficult to understand how to mix colors in photos. With a lot of training and growing experience, you will better understand how to combine them. There are concepts like complementary colors, secondary colors, and tertiary colors that you can learn and apply to your photos. Personally, I like to reduce the colors in my edits to a maximum of three. For example, I always desaturate the purple and pink channels in the HSL panel. For other color channels, I move the hue sliders to limit the final result to three colors.
Too Much Screen Time: If you spend too much time looking at screens, your eyes get tired, and you might not see colors correctly. That’s why I often recommend revisiting your edits the next day. You might think you finished a great edit after a long session, but the next day, you realize it’s not as perfect as you thought. This can happen because your eyes became tired during the editing session.
Individual Preferences: Some people just like certain colors more than others. Personal taste and what someone finds interesting influence how we see and understand colors. Think of your closest friends and their clothing. Do they prefer vibrant colors, muted tones, earth tones, or neon shades? Everyone has different tastes, and it’s important to understand and reflect on this. It should also impact the clients you work with. Let me give you an example.
Personal Experience: How I Learned to Find the Right Clients
A personal story: Once, I took photos for a good friend for free and edited them all in my style. I was happy with the edits, but I somehow already knew he wouldn’t like them that way. I could sense it but couldn’t explain why. Over time, I realized that he prefers vibrant colors, while I’m the complete opposite. I prefer desaturated, muted, earthy tones with hints of gray. So, I provided him with the DNG files and told him he could adjust the blues with more saturation to suit his taste. This wasn’t a conflict for me. However, I wasn’t 100% happy with the outcome. I want happy clients, and I knew he wasn’t 100% satisfied. As a result, I decided I wouldn’t edit photos for clients anymore if they don’t like my editing style. If I’m required to edit in a different way, then it’s simply not my client. Or I only take the photos and provide the RAW files. When looking for collaborations with partners, check their homepage and social media profiles. I’m sure you’ll quickly get a sense of what each partner likes and whether they are a good fit for you. If a hotel shares lots of vibrant photos, and you prefer desaturated colors like I do, they are probably not interested in working with you.
Conclusion: Find Clients Who Love Your Colors
The key message is: Find out which colors you like and look for clients and partners who like them too. I’m sure you’ve found yourself in one of these examples and now have a better understanding of why people have different tastes in color and why they may see them differently. This is important to understand, as it might affect your acquisition process and reduce frustration if some clients don’t want to work with you.
