Good question.

I’m not sure I can fully commit to the idea that having a “style” is the same idea as using a formula.

I think, that an undiscovered photographer using flickr to upload photos of whatever he thinks is cool, would still have some kind of formula. It may be a simple as “I like these five types of subjects that are completely unrelated and that’s pretty much all I photograph.” They also may have a formula and be totally unaware of it.

For example, if you have never thought of the artistic process, and you don’t even consider yourself an artist, can you possibly be aware of how your process works for making your photographs? Is it even possible to have a formula in such a scenario?

You or I may be able to look at their work and discover what appears to be a formula, and we could argue that they may be formulaic, but they may not be able to see this in themselves.

For example, there have been people who have been “discovered,” never thought of themselves as a photographer seriously until a curator (or someone in a similar position) found their work and exhibited or published it.

Or in a more common vein, people who simply throw photos up onto flickr or a similar venue and gain attention… I’m not sure what to cite in specific, but I have a gutt feeling that there must be some sort of creative outburst over time that defies easy classification (discovery of the formula).

Maybe in those cases, though, the artist never becomes as well known, because people don’t see their “style?” Thoughts?

I know what you are saying, but I think that by just going out and shooting from the hip is a kind of formula. You are setting yourself up for the unexpected. If a photographer goes out and photographs in the same mode all the time then they have created a formula that works for them. They may better define the series after they make the pictures, but they still have an idea of what they are looking for and getting. If you consistently approach photography in the same way you will learn to predict how your photographs will look once they are made.

I think the “formula” that you may be noticing in many people’s work might, at times, be resultant from that editing stage.

A certain type of light, subject matter, etc is not always at the forefront of the photographers mind while they are working, but may become evident to them while they look at their work and start to try and sort it for gallery shows, books, internet sites, portfolios, etc.