"So to answer your question, you don't "have" to develop a style, it will develop on its own whether you realize it or not." "ust let it happen and flow naturally! if you end up with a style...cool! if not, then what's the difference" I suppose having a style would be beneficial to a person loking for some sort of instant image recognition (like a trademark, sort of). And, I suppose that would be nice. But, for the life of me, I think one kind of image deserves, say, a soft focus, and another image, harsh sharpness. Sometimes, I think of a piece to do that is a bit abstract. Other times, I want pure realism. And, of course, there is always the dilemma with color or B&W. As to subject matter, I can't understand limiting oneself. I absolutely love the opportunities (and challenge) when I get to photograph the female form. But, I'd never limit myself to that "genre". I couldn't walk past an old barn and say, "Nope, my style is figure photography". I couldn't walk past that orchid that "screams" to be photographed by saying, "Nope, I only do landscapes". So, my whole "style" dilemma is centered around the fact that I can see art in a varied amount of subjects that can be presented in a varied number of ways...so why "limit" (so to speak) myself to a style?