FINDING A UNIQUE VOICE
- Thom Pierce
- Oct 1
- 4 min read
Category: Opinion
Date: 27/09/2025
Author: Thom Pierce
Can you tell me what an Arnold Newman portrait looks like? or a Joel Meyerowitz street scene? What about a Sebastião Salgado documentary image?
I can.
I can picture them in my head, even if they aren't their actual photographs, I can explain the heart of them; the tones, the colour palette, the balance and composition. It's rare to be able to recognise the work of a photographer but it's what separates the great from the everyday.
Not only can I describe what their images look like, but I could also take a punt at telling you what each of them is passionate about.
Ask me what Mary Ellen Mark cares about, or Nan Goldin, and I can tell you. Ask me which artists inspired William Eggleston and I can take a pretty good guess.
Could someone look at your work and tell you what you care about, who you are inspired by, or describe the aesthetic feel of your imagery?
One of the greatest compliments I have ever received was from a curator who told me that he could easily recognise my work and, in a world saturated with photography, that this was rare.
Technically, I probably do the same as many other photographers; my camera settings, equipment choices and lighting style are certainly not unique. But great photography isn't just a technical skill, it is shaped by a combination of your personal interests, values and viewpoints.
It is the purpose with which you are taking the photographs that give it strength and meaning. It is the intention of the photograph that speaks volumes, much more than the depth of field.
When you can visually explore a subject that you are passionate about and present it in a way that engages others, that's when photography comes into it's own, that's when it becomes interesting.
Martin Parr hasn't been shooting idiosyncratic British seaside scenes for decades because he is interested in his camera, surely it is because he is obsessed with the world.
When you focus on what you care about, the look of your work develops to support the story you are telling. The choices you make, both technically and aesthetically, are guided by the intention more than a conscious decision towards a particular look, and eventually form an integral part of your unique voice.
I care about the people who don't have a voice, the people who suffer in silence because they don't know how to be heard. My passion is for everyday stories that need to be told; stories that build tolerance and empathy. Stories that are often considered boring and complicated, but vitally important.
My mission is to take those stories and make them accessible, understandable and compelling. To draw an audience in through photography and get them to care about someone else, if only for a minute.
My images are heavily lit because I want the person in them to be fully seen, and the subject is often in the centre of the frame because the image is about them. The colour palette is natural because these are documentary images and the people are serious because these are weighty issues that need to be reflected through them.
My environmental portraits are almost always taken from the same angle, eye level or slightly below, using a 35mm lens at f2.8 and a shutter speed of 1/250, with an external flash. None of this is a secret, it is all there in the metadata.
All of these decisions are intentional and serve the purpose of the work. Together they form my unique voice.
Use the same setup and your work still won't look like mine, your voice will be different, your approach will be different, and your message will be different. And so it should be because your photography is a reflection of you.
So find what you care about. Maybe it is abstract, or emotional or a particular subject matter. Maybe it is a social justice cause or an environmental movement. Perhaps you just like dogs, or orchids.
It doesn't really matter what it is, as long as you care about it enough to master the skills you need to tell the story you need to tell about it. As long as you aren't trying to make it look like everyone else's images for likes or attention.
Tell a story that you really care about and you will tell it well.
I stepped away from my voice for a while. I was scared and didn't know what to do with it. I needed to pay the bills and got sidetracked by trying to do something mainstream.
But what I realised very quickly is that nobody cared. Nobody wants another generic voice. When people have cared the most about my work is when it has been true to what I care about. When I haven't worried about external validation and the how's and why's of getting paid. But when I just made work that felt important. The work I would do even if I wasn't getting paid.
And that becomes your biggest marketing tool. Because nobody else can do it. Nobody else is you.
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