As a photographer I’m often asked “what do you photograph?”

My answer, unless I'm speaking commercially to a client, is usually “anything, I guess”.

You see, I don’t really consider myself as having a niche.  I have looked to find one but I enjoy photographing such a wide variety of subjects, styles, locations and techniques that it doesn’t seem necessary (or fun) to pigeon hole myself.

I also enjoy the freedom and creativity that photography brings and finding a niche seems counterintuitive to that process.

I understand that commercially and editorially having a niche can, of course, be beneficial. You become known for your specific style or genre, and that is certainly important when narrowing down potential clients who share a specific vision. In an ideal world you will, I guess, become the go-to name in your specialist field.

But from a personal and creative viewpoint?

I have tried to find my niche in several ways because, well, I thought that I had to. Setting myself challenges such as spending a month photographing in monochrome, with a 27mm lens, or one week only photographing what I see from my local dog walk. All of these things are useful to reignite creativity during lulls, develop a new skill set, or just remind you to appreciate zoom lenses for what they are! However I always come back to photographing, well, anything.

I came across a video from Landscape photographer Kim Grant. She made a suggestion about HOW to find your niche: take note of how you feel when shooting an image. What emotions are you feeling in the scene, at that moment. By focusing on these feelings you’ll begin to find your happy place as a photographer and, the logic being, you’ll take more photographs in that location or of that subject. So by default you will grow and improve, and find your niche.

I recently returned from a three week photography trip to the Isles of Harris and Lewis. With Kim’s words fresh in my mind I made a conscious decision to reference my feelings, both when approaching a scene and when releasing the shutter. It was a very personal trip, with time taken to explore my photography rather than photographing what may appeal to stock agencies or consumers of framed prints.

But it was the personal work, the photographs that I took for my own projects, that really enthused me more than the rest.

Reflecting on a series of images for inclusion in a yearbook, I came back to wondering if these showed who I am as a photographer and therefore defined my niche. These images were chosen from my personal projects and all share similar characteristics.

There is definitely a theme running through them, not only in subject but in colour grading, perspective, and most importantly, how I felt at the time. Solitude, isolation, desolation. Desaturated images are of forsaken buildings, isolated landscapes, or forgotten moments.

And therein lies the answer to "what is my niche".  If it is based on the feeling and lure of the scene at the time of capture, it's isolation and irreverence. The forgotten places and moments, and a reminder of our attempts to find a place for us within it. 

However, perhaps the art of observing your feelings may be more important than actually realising your niche?

Do we need to pigeon hole ourselves in a creative industry? I can't help but feel that there are too many labels in life, and photographer is one enough on its own.

As I stand there in isolation, pondering the landscape before me, I wonder: Is realising you're in the moment what really matters?

But to answer the age old question “what do you photograph?"  I still say, ANYTHING* 

*(except weddings and christenings)