Most photography mentors and experts will agree that developing and maturing a distinctive personal style is a must for creating distance from the pack. Some photographers never get the time or freedom to ever develop this vital artistic ability to put their own personal signature to their work.
As far as art directors are concerned, when they look at your portfolios it must be evident that you have technical ability and that you can execute a project and deliver the goods, but more often than not they want to see creativity and something new, something unique about your images.
As a student I constantly worried that I would never develop "personal style" and I would always be average (that case may still be true), but as I shot more and reviewed and re-reviewed my work I could begin to pare images and ultimately portfolios that had distinctive styles rather than subjects.
Sometimes these images may not feel like your best images but trust me, amazing images can seem average when simply pared with filler images. It may take some time for you to realize that past images are starting to become cohesive but eventually they will and this is when you can start to further see where your personal style is headed.
It can take some courage to put this work out there as a statement about what you think is artistic and your vision for your art, but hay, exciting art has always been controversial. Raising doubt, interest and some acceptance is good for you as a photographer and also for the medium as a whole, it pushes acceptance and creativity.
Terry Richardson Is a perfect example, through his snapshot style he redefined what was acceptable in fashion photography and made a high profile career based solely on his revolutionary "personal style". His most current work being featured on the cover of Playboy Magazine. Not all personal style will be as successful or accepted as Richardson's but showing any art director a willingness to be creative and think outside of the confines of conventional photography will do a lot to separate you from the pack.
In an effort to push myself I have posted my own portfolio which I consider to carry my own personal style. It is in it's early stages but with some focus and planning I hope to develop it further to be a solid personal style that carries my own signature.
Here is a link to Terry Richardson's website that I hope will inspire you to enjoy the freedom that this kind of artistic nurturing could ultimately bring to your career if executed early in your work.
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