Forcing Art, part 1

The other day a friend asked my advice about an interesting predicament of hers. She’s in art school studying photography and does occasional wedding photography while she’s in school to earn some extra cash. The predicament arose when a client asked if she could mimic the style of a better-known photographer in the area.

My first reaction was that this was out of line on the client’s part to ask. Wedding photographers get hired based on their portfolio, so clients need to choose accordingly. To ask someone to use someone else’s voice is not only asking for a product they don’t sell, but it could very well ruin the end product by forcing the artist out of her natural flow, creating something sub-par.

My second reaction was for her sake: She would have to “practice” this other photographer’s style for the next few months before the wedding. As an art student, does she want to spend the coming months copying another artist’s voice when she should be focused on discovering her own? She’s aiming to be an artistic photographer, not a wedding shooter, so that seems like a bad idea.

Moral of the story: don’t force art. I keep saying this, but art in its truest form is creating that which the artist must by their nature. Not what someone else’s nature. Certainly there’s some control a paying client can ask for, but they need to know where the line is drawn.