DP Quandary: Avoiding 'Aesthetic Over Narrative', Warning Signs and Pre-Pro Correction?

Hey everyone,

I'm Tanya, a DP, and I've been wrestling with a concept that keeps coming up: 'Aesthetic Over Narrative.' It's a phrase that makes total sense intuitively, but practically, sometimes the line feels blurry. I'm currently prepping a short film, a character study, and we've got some really specific visual ideas, think high contrast, deep shadows, and a lot of practicals. We're planning to use an AMIRA for its latitude, really pushing those blacks.

My concern is, how do you truly spot when a visual choice, like a certain color palette or lens choice, is being driven more by what's popular or 'cool' right now, rather than authentically serving the story? I've been trying to justify every shot and lighting setup (Orbiter and PavoTube II 30X are our key lights) by asking 'why does this matter to the character?', but I still worry about falling into a trend. What are some clear warning signs you look for during pre-production that indicate a visual is 'aesthetic over narrative'? And more importantly, what's your go-to method for course-correcting if you catch it early on?