Fotografo de Bodas, Santiago

March 23, 2010

I have been asked how I stay inspired. And I answered, I think both via email and possibly on Formspring too, I can’t remember. But I wanted to go into depth on the blog because I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately — mostly because people tell me all the time that I “have a good eye.” That really makes me laugh. I don’t think anyone is born more gifted or talented than anyone else. If you’ve ever read Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell you’ll know that even Mozart wasn’t really a child prodigy. He practiced composing music all the time before he did anything worthwhile. I was a sucky piano player because I never practiced, but I think I’ve become a decent photographer because I take pictures constantly — and even when I’m not actually taking pictures I’m looking at pictures that I like for inspiration.

I have folders upon folders of images that speak to me. Some are from other wedding photographers, some are from photographers that don’t shoot weddings. Some are old pictures of relatives. Some are from fashion magazines. And hell, I’ll even admit to having a paparazzi picture saved in my inspiration folder. In my general inspiration folder, I have over 400 photos saved — and that’s not even considering the fact I have separate boudoir/wedding/fashion/theme ideas folders in addition. I pour over these pictures regularly. Sometimes I can’t put my finger on why I like a picture and sometimes I can pinpoint the exact reason — the lines of a building, the pose of the couple, the light, the expression on a person’s face. Before I go to any wedding or shoot I choose 30 or so pictures out of my inspiration folders that speak to me the most on that particular day. Sometimes, if I know the couple, I will select poses or settings that I think might work for them. Sometimes, if I think I might have time, I’ll choose kinds of lighting set ups that I might want to try. And sometimes, I’ll just pick a couple dozen photos that are particularly blowing my mind that day, for no special reason. Then I put them on my iPod and on the way to the wedding or shoot, I go over and over and over them like some kind of sick obsessive person.

I feel like by looking at such good images all the time, I get better. I mean, of course, you have to be taking pictures to get better at taking pictures. But looking at them helps too, at least for me. If I took a picture that I liked and tried to flat out copy it, it wouldn’t work. Actually, I should admit — I’ve done that before and it doesn’t work. I’m not ashamed. By diving in headfirst ever week into a pile of pictures that I love, it helps me narrow down the playing field, or more specifically, helps me really put my finger on what I like. And that’s half the battle. A lot of photographers, myself included, follow really stupid photography trends when they’re first starting out simply because they see it and want to try it. They haven’t yet realized what they like, what their style is. I don’t think I could describe me style, or pinpoint what it is that makes a picture I take really speak to me most of the time. But I’m getting there. My friend, a wedding photographer in Kent England, Eliza Claire, left a comment on one of the recent sessions I posted. She called one of the pictures, “Classic Kyle Hepp.”

And I was like, “I have a style. OMG, I have a STYLE?!?”

I think that was one of the best compliments I’ve ever received. Because if other people (ok, one other person) can identify a Kyle Hepp kind of photo, that means my vision is coming across — even if I’m not totally sure of what that vision is yet.

People who work in the arts are considered creatives. I suppose that photography is an art, and I’ve seen photographs that I definitely would consider to be art. But for the most part, photography is capturing what’s already there — you’re not actually creating anything. At every session and every wedding I go to, I take my photos of the day based on the couple and their personality and vibe. I know some photographers have a definitive vision — Jasmine Star always does very model-y type shoots and maybe that’s why she attracts model-y type clients. My clients really only have one thing in common — that they’re all totally different from one another and really unique people. I don’t attract one specific vibe of people and maybe that’s because I myself really like being around people from all walks. If the people we work with are shy and just want to cuddle and hug each other all day long for the pictures — that’s what we do. If the people we work with love the camera and want to pose it out like ANTM — that’s what we do. And if the people we work with are quirky and want to go for a more goofball session — that’s what we do.

So I’m well aware that I may not have a defined style, but in some ways I don’t think it’s a bad thing. I’d rather you see my clients in every photograph than me in every photograph, stylistically and emotionally speaking.

The incomparable Sarah Rhoads often writes about the creativity that burns inside her. A lot of photographers write about this need to create constantly. Their drive to create definitely does inspire me, and I wish I felt that way too, but I don’t. Then again, a lot of photographers also whine and moan and do the whole tortured artistic soul thing too — that’s so not me and so not inspiring.

But sometimes the fact that I don’t have that burn, or even that tortured soul, makes me feel like a fraud. Maybe if I truly were a creative arteeeeeeest, I’d fall into a deep depression if I couldn’t express myself like I needed to.

Most of the time, picking up a camera and taking a picture isn’t actually creating something though — you’re just capturing a moment in time that was already there, in weddings most of the time, it would’ve been there with or without your camera. That’s why I don’t feel creative. But I do feel inspired. Almost always. Even when I’m exhausted. Even when I’m sick. Because when you look at a wedding or a session, even if you’re seeing the couple’s style, not mine, that’s still the world through my eyes. And in a hundred years, even if the people looking at those pictures have no idea who took that picture, as long as someone is looking at the pictures, my vision lives on. I like that. Because the world I see is a good place with good people in it. And that inspires me.

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16 Comments

Haha. You for sure have a style and it's unique. I hadn't seen anything like it before.

Comment by Sara — March 23, 2010 @ 11:45 am

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So funny that you wrote this today – I've just written a short piece for a “working mum” blog about what inspires me, and I said “it's the people” – seeing people in love and wanting to make a record of that inspires me.

Your photos ARE artistic, and I guarantee that I'm not the only one who could spot a Kyle Hepp from a mile away. Your photography has a uniqueness in it, you see the world through your own eyes and you can capture that vision better than…I hesitate to say “any other photographer I know” but, yes, I think you do. You see through objects, through the blur to the very heart of the person, both literally (eg the shot I referred to above) and metaphorically, by showing us a part of your subject's nature, their soul.

And I'm relieved to hear that I'm not the only photographer who's not a tortured artist. My photography is a craft, far more than it's an art, and I feel embarrassed when people call my stuff artistic because it really isn't. Yours, though, is.

(wonder if I'll be able to post this, fingers crossed…)

Comment by eliza_claire — March 23, 2010 @ 12:55 pm

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Hey, if you didnÂ´t know you had your own style, I can confirm that you definitely do! Yesterday my mom and I were talking about her photography business that she is getting going (who by the way is also a fan of your work) and she was telling me about what she learned at this photography workshop over the weekend. She was talking about how important it was to find your own style and market that style to your customers etc…Then she said, Â¨See, I have to find my own style, itÂ´s important. Take Kyle for example, she definitely has a really distinct and unique style and every photo she takes you can tell that itÂ´s hers.Â¨ Then we started talking about your style. So you see, you definitely have a style. A damn awesome one at that!

Comment by gringagonesouth — March 23, 2010 @ 7:56 pm

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I agree that shooting every day makes you a better photographer. I learned a ton when I was shooting the sun every day, part of it was learning that I wanted to be a photographer, though not in the professional sense, and a lot of it was getting better and learning what types of pictures I wanted to shoot. I've missed that series a lot and I've been thinking about starting a new one, but I don't know if I could go a whole year – maybe a month though would be just about perfect.

And you certainly have a great sense of style. I was looking through some of my co-workers wedding pictures a few months ago and it suddenly hit me how good you really are. A lot of the photos were taken trying to capture images similar to yours (balcony, some of the pre-photos as well), but they felt flat to me. I remember wondering why they were so boring to me, but I realized it was because I've been looking at your pictures now for years and they're so full of life and character.

Comment by ordinarygirl — March 23, 2010 @ 8:47 pm

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Interesting. Two things that surprised me about this post: you didn't know you have a style, and you don't consider yourself an artist. (…really?)

To be 200% perhaps too much honest, I've always thought of you having “a style,” however… it, and my opinion of it, has been adapting. For instance, a while back my perception of your style included a more a low saturation, old photo look. Now I seem to notice how you use color more often. But the way you play with light is there none the less (whether or not your photos have changed or just how I see and think of them).

There was one point where I wasn't sure you style was necessarily my style, and now I wouldn't hesitate to say it could be.

I dont want to get on to the artist thing haha.

Comment by Lydia — March 23, 2010 @ 10:08 pm

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http://pogue.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/25/photo…
(haha, sorry my comp froze before i added the last line.) this article on “Photoshop and Photography: When Is It Real?” already took up my weekly brain energy allotted to what makes art, what makes photography, etc…

Comment by Lydia — March 23, 2010 @ 10:11 pm

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Yes, you definitely do have a distinct photographic style and I've definitely seen it become more refined over the several months I've been reading the blog. It's less about who you photograph and what they are like and more about how you capture that using environments and light and your own eye.

Comment by Mary — March 23, 2010 @ 11:29 pm

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Thanks Sara.

Comment by kyleracine — March 24, 2010 @ 6:24 am

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Yes, I would definitely think of photography for me as much more of a craft than an art. Especially in all the photography forums, sometimes I wonder if I am the only one who is more practical than tortured artist. Good to know that I'm not alone in that.

Thank you for the kind words. I guess I am glad that even if I don't know what my style is yet, someone else does, haha! I need to fly to England take you out for a cup of tea (or champagne?) and have you explain it to me! I really hope we can meet some day. And not just so you can give me such wonderful compliments in person.

Comment by kyleracine — March 24, 2010 @ 6:28 am

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Awww hey now, maybe I do have a style! I'm glad so many other people can see it even when I can't.

Does your mom have a website yet? I'd love to see some of her stuff!

Comment by kyleracine — March 24, 2010 @ 6:29 am

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Well I swear I didn't write this post just so people would tell me that I do have a style, but thank you. I know what you mean about some photos falling flat. It's weird. For instance photographer A. takes technically perfect pictures. Photographer B.'s pictures are not technically perfect but they speak to me. I would hire B. over A. any day. I'm still figuring out what makes a picture speak to me so that I can try to re-create the magic in my own photos.

Shooting as much as possible is the best possible thing for photography skills, or for any skills in life, really. But I think especially for photography — when you practice so much that the technical stuff becomes second nature to you I think then when you pick up a camera, all you have to do is see — not worry about exposure and aperture and iso and all that jazz. You're inspiring me, now I want to start some kind of every day project. But I think I've tried like 3 365 days project and have failed around 2 months each time so a one month thing is a good idea.

Comment by kyleracine — March 24, 2010 @ 6:35 am

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Oh the style or whatever you want to call it has definitely been adapting. I don't think that's in your imagination at all. I'm (hopefully) still evolving. The day I say, “this is my style and I'm not going to change anymore,” I'm SURE will be the day that my photography business starts dying a slow and painful death.

I really didn't think that I had a style enough for people to be able to say, “Yes, it looks like Kyle Hepp took that picture.” I feel like a chameleon always taking on the style of my couples really. I definitely don't consider myself an artist. I shoot what I see but I don't create anything. I mean, I do think photography can be creative art, if the photographer is the one who thinks up some kind of concept and molds the light and everything to be what he wants it to be. But on a normal day, I'm at a wedding and I'm documenting reality, not actually creating something that wasn't already there. Does that make any sense?

Ok now off to break my brain and read that article you posted.

Comment by kyleracine — March 24, 2010 @ 6:39 am

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Well thanks Mary, I'm glad you can see some kind of style distinction in there. That means a lot to me!

Comment by kyleracine — March 24, 2010 @ 6:42 am

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My dear, photography is definitely an art. In fact, I think it's even more difficult than the other arts. You are only given one quick chance to get IT right. Not like painting where you can keep at the same picture over and over until it's perfect. Plus, there is sooo much that goes into each shot…lighting, shutter speed, lenses, etc. I agree that the more you practice your given craft the better you will become, however I don't agree that everyone is born equally talented. You have an innate gift and it shines in your work. That is why someone can say “classic Kyle Hepp.” You absolutely 100% have a style!!!

Comment by GlobalButterfly — March 24, 2010 @ 1:04 pm

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She's just in the process of figuring out a website right now. I'll keep you posted!

Comment by gringagonesouth — March 24, 2010 @ 1:42 pm

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Jajaja, me reÃ mucho al saber que no soy la Ãºnica que guarda fotografÃas que me gustan, que me hacen sentir algo y me sriven de inspiraciÃ³n y, sobre todo, me reÃ porque tambiÃ©n las tengo separas en categorÃas…
Y tienes toda la razÃ³n, nunca JAMAS, una foto serÃ¡ igual a la otra, por lo que es imposible lograr “copiar” una.

Por supuesto que tienes tu propio estilo!!! tus fotos se notan, son de las que uno ve y dice “esa es de Kyle”, aunque no sepas realmente si la tomaste tu o no. Yo creo que no tengo estilo definido, sÃ³lo se que me gusta probar cosas distintas y pienso que me falta mucho para definirme aun, y, sin embargo, un buen amgo me dijo una vez lo mismo que claire te dijo a ti “esa foto es tu estilo” y yo tambiÃ©n me impresionÃ©, y sigo haciÃ©ndolo.

Maravillosas palabra,s y no podrÃas haberlo expresado mejor: “Thatâ€™s why I donâ€™t feel creative. But I do feel inspired. Almost always. Even when Iâ€™m exhausted. Even when Iâ€™m sick. Because when you look at a wedding or a session, even if youâ€™re seeing the coupleâ€™s style, not mine, thatâ€™s still the world through my eyes. And in a hundred years, even if the people looking at those pictures have no idea who took that picture, as long as someone is looking at the pictures, my vision lives on. I like that. Because the world I see is a good place with good people in it. And that inspires me.”

Me siento totalmente identificada con ese sentimiento.

Un abrazo Kyle, y sigue asÃ, sigue viendo el mundo a travÃ©s de tus bellos ojos, de esos que ven el mundo de forma distinta y SI hacen arte, porque no eres cualquier fotÃ³grafa, tu ves mÃ¡s allÃ¡, no capturas solo el momento de una boda, capturas el SENTIMIENTO y creo que eso, te hace grande.

Comment by Loquenoves — March 24, 2010 @ 4:51 pm

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