Types Of Photography

Good morning you amazing bunch of people! Hope everyone is OK. This past week has been quite stressful as 1) my family and I are still dealing with the landlord from the house we’re still currently residing at, but not for much longer (thankfully), 2) whilst we were out picking up some groceries on Sunday – I received some very mean looks from quite a lot of people who wouldn’t move to the side and instead walked right into me and my wheelchair, even when I asked politely, but the 3rd most worrying thing that happened, which has caused major stress happened on Saturday when my nan fell in her garden in the middle of the afternoon and broke her hip (which she didn’t find out until later that night), she’s been in hospital ever since as she’s had to have surgery on it, unfortunately, the hospital she’s at doesn’t sound very nice as she’s been left a few times without food and no help to get to the toilet, I wish I could drive down to her and help her.

Sorry about my rambling let’s move on with this week’s post…While most photographers specialize in one or two different types of photography experimenting with various photography styles can help to expand your skillset. The technical and creative skills required often cross multiple photography genres. This means that as you improve in one area, you can learn valuable lessons and techniques that make you a better photographer across other styles. By learning and practicing different types of photography below, you can build a strong foundation for your photography career.

Architecture Photography

A self-explanatory genre, Architecure Photography is when the main subject matter of the photograph is a building’s exterior or interior. These shots tend to be pretty accurate representations of the construction that are taken in a way that is also aesthetically pleasing to the eye. Exterior shots usually use daylight to capture the building or at night using ambient lighting from street lights, surrounding landscape, or moonlight. Perspective control is a key aspect of this niche due to the sheer size of most buildings. The large-format view cameras of olden days, tilt/shift lenses, and post-processing can all contribute to getting a great shot of a big building.

Black And White Phototgraphy

Black and white (B&W) photography focuses on capturing an image with no color. This can either be done through a camera setting or through editing a color image afterward. Monochrome images that use minimal amounts of lighting also fall under this category. Often capturing classic, timeless, and elegant shots, black and white photography is mainly considered fine art photography these days. Art films and other motion pictures also sometimes make use ofB&W as the chosen aesthetic, producing a nostalgic or vintage vibe.

Candid Photography

Most photographs of people are often posed, with the photographer directing the shot and models. Candid photography is a type of photography that removes the posed aspect of the equation, with photographers taking shots of people in motion, spontaneously, or by surprise. Photographers should aim to capture subjects in a natural state, without needing to direct or pose them to get the right image. This doesn’t necessarily mean that subjects aren’t aware that photos are being taken – consent is still an important part of being able to use those photos! It should mean, however, that your candid images will capture authentic scenes, reactions, and facial expressions of the people in them.

Cityscape Photography

The urban counterpart to landscape photography, cityscape photography captures images of city skylines or sections of a metropolis. These images can be taken during the day or night and usually feature large sections of a city. Wide-angle lenses are needed to achieve these shots, tripods can be very useful to prevent camera shake blur. Cityscapes are a versatile genre of photography that can be captured at any time and from many locations. Playing around with the time of day also provides plenty of opportunities to capture a cityscape at the magical golden or blue hour, and everywhere in between.

Composite Photography

Some types of photography are created by combining multiple images to create one composite image. Composite photography requires post-processing and editing of two or more shots to produce a layered shot that still looks cohesive. separate images are blended by using layers, masks, and blurs. Montages of photos, where a scene is photographed in small chunks and then combined, and multiplicity, in which a person is captured multiple times in the same scene, can also create a composite photograph. These types of photographs can create unique, artistic, and editorial images that are incredibly creative and often very striking. Due to their relative complexity, they also take longer to produce.

Creative Photography

A hard-to-define genre, Creative photography includes a vast variety of concepts and techniques. It encourages experimentation and creativity in composition, as well as in the equipment and techniques used to capture an image. Concepts like the recently popular “cake smash” photoshoots for babies and toddlers are another form of creative photography. Experimenting with filters, textures, and opacity, as well as shutter speed, multiple exposures, and motion blur can help create a new perspective.

Event Photography

Event photography captures guests, activities, and the ambiance of a gathering. Christenings, corporate parties, birthdays, dances, awards ceremonies, live concerts, and other engagements fall under this category of photography. These shots can be used for personal, sentimental value, as well as to promote or market an event, organization, or company for commercial purposes.

Fashion Photography

One of the oldest types of photography, fashion photography is the practice of capturing models in clothing and other fashion accessories for editorial or advertising purposes. Fashion shots can be taken in a studio, on location in an exotic or complementary landscape to the clothing, or live on the catwalk at a fashion show. Fashion shoots almost always require good gear and lighting. Hair and makeup stylists are often involved as well, preparing the models in ways that highlight and showcase their clothing and/or accessories.

Film Photography

Film photography is the precursor to digital photography. Color film was introduced for home movies in 1935 by Kodachrome, and 35mm film lengths were used for still cameras as of 1936. 35mm color film uses multiple layers and filters to capture an image that, once exposed or developed, produces a color photo. Black-and-white photo processing was less complex and not as temperature-sensitive as color photo processing. Until the early 21st century, film photography was the principal form of photography. As digital technologies became more widely available, many consumers left film behind and moved to digital formats. Most modern photographers shoot using digital cameras these days, but enthusiasts and fans of the charm and aesthetic of film still use this original photographic technique to create amazing photos using fully manual settings on analog cameras.

Food Photography

Food photography is a niche in which food is the main subject matter. Whether it’s fresh ingredients, kitchen scenes, or plated dishes being shot, this genre encapsulates all things food. These photos often become advertisements in magazines or on blogs and can also be featured on packaging and menus or in cookbooks. Often shot from an overhead perspective or a 45-degree angle changing trends are now encouraging some narrow-angled shots that use effects like selective focus, tilted plates, or extreme close-ups to showcase an ingredient or fully-plated dish.

Landscape Photography

Dealing with capturing the great outdoors, landscape photography focuses on trees, deserts, beaches, mountain ranges, lakes, rivers, and all other aspects of the natural world. Sometimes shooting man-made features or changes to the landscape (such as farmlands, orchards, gardens, etc.) is practiced by landscape photographers, but many choose to focus on shots that show pure natural scenes, devoid of human influence or activity. Playing around with camera settings such as depth of field, shutter speed, and aperture and using different lenses or filters can create various effects on landscape imagery.

Lifestyle Photography

Lifestyle Photography captures people in real-life situations, telling stories about their lives in a way that documents the scene, while still being artistic. Most often, scenes are posed or directed by the photographer, but the imagery is meant to appear as natural as possible. Sometimes lifestyle photography is shot candidly. These shots can be used for personal use, framed in the family home, or for commercial or editorial use to inspire or promote a particular approach to everyday life.

Macro Photography

Also called macrography, macro photography captures extreme close-ups of often very small subjects. Insects and plants or flowers are popular subject matter in this genre. Other macro imagery can include close-up shots of food, water droplets, everyday items such as fabrics or feathers, toys, eyes, jewelry, and other abstract patterns and textures. Macro photography requires specialized lenses to capture a true reproduction ratio of the subject matter, with depth of field and lighting being important considerations in adjusting the shot.

Newborn Photography

Newborn photography focuses specifically on capturing images of newborn babies. This type of photography can include the parent(s), but can also capture the child alone in a cozy or cute setting. Many newborn photographers have a studio space set up to ensure the safety and well-being of the baby while photos are being taken. Props and accessories are staples. Newborns may be captured when awake, although many are photographed while sleeping and easier to pose.

Night Photography

All photos taken at night fall under the category of night photography. Camera settings must be adjusted and sometimes special techniques are used in order to capture images in these low lit conditions. Besides capturing the night sky, other common subject matter in night photography includes city skylines, industrial scenes and factories, fireworks, nightlife or live concerts, roads, lit caves, abandoned buildings or bodies of water lit by moonlight, lighting, lava, aurora borealis or aurora australis, amusement park rides, lit aircraft, bioluminescence, and other creative sources of light.

Pet Photography

A subset of pet photography focuses on capturing beloved two-legged and four-legged friends. Birds, cats, dogs, horses, bunnies, etc. can be captured in a portrait manner for a family to cherish. Depending on the type of pet, treats, props, and various other accessories can come in handy when trying to get the animal to pose for a shot. Moving shots will require adjusted camera settings and perhaps even a special prime lens with a fixed focal length and a wide aperture.

Photojournalism

A form of journalism, photojournalism uses images to tell a news story. It is unique in that it must meet strict ethical standards. Work needs to be honest, impartial, and must tell a visual story meeting journalistic terms. Photos are often used in news media or magazine editorials. Photojournalists are reporters that carry photography equipment and make split-second decisions in what images to capture to represent a news story as it unfolds. Often, this means they are in extreme conditions with regard to their personal safety.

Portrait Photography

One of the most common photography styles, portrait photography, or portraiture, aims to capture the personality and mood of an individual or group. Images may be candid or posed full-body or close-ups. Portrait photography is a challenging genre of photography because it needs to use lighting, backdrop, and posing to convey the personality of the subject in a single shot. Self-portraits and silhouettes, as well as headshots, also fall under this genre. Lighting especially plays a big role in setting up a portrait, with high-key brightly lit shots being common. There are plenty of other lighting options to consider as well. Fast, medium telephoto lenses are preferred, used to isolate the subject by controlling the depth of field.

Product Photography

Product photography focuses on capturing objects for advertising purposes. Catalogues, brochures, and websites all use product photography to show their goods. Images of services can be staged using models or staff. Clean product photography that features the product on a white background, techniques like knolling (where objects are arranged in an organized, eye-pleasing way and shot as creative ads), and ghost mannequin photography, where mannequins are used and then edited out of the final shot, are just some of the recent trends in product photography. Confirming the type and amount of shots, as well as figuring out must-have shots versus nice-to-haves, will help ensure that a commissioned photographer can deliver what their client needs.

Sports Photography

The act of capturing sports imagery is known as sports photography. This type of photography is often considered to be a branch of photojournalism, particularly with regard to professional sports. Sports photographers often work for newspapers or sports magazines, but may also create imagery for advertising purposes. Amateur sports photography usually belongs to the vernacular photography niche, in which the focus is on capturing the everyday life of regular people. By catching athletes, coaches, and even fans at the perfect moment, sports photographs can depict the passion, drama, and emotion that fuels sporting events. Sports photographers must aim and shoot quickly to keep up with the action around them, and it’s best practice to use a higher ISO to shoot at a faster shutter speed. Sports photographers also usually use long, heavy lenses for zooming in on the action. Interesting angles can help make your work stand out in this competitive genre.

Still – Life Photography

Still-life photography is the act of photographing inanimate objects to create a scene in an aesthetically pleasing manner and shot for either personal, editorial, or commercial use. Images usually incorporate some artistry, with the photographer having creative leeway in how to arrange the composition of the shot. Lighting and framing also play an important part in the setup. Since still-life photography tends to be centered around the arrangement of the objects being shot and the lighting used, photographers of all levels and skills are able to take beautiful photos, without necessarily needing to use complicated techniques or gear.

Travel Photography

One of the broadest types of people photography is travel, documenting a place, particularly one that highlights the cultural, historical, touristic, or iconic aspects of the given area, is called travel photography. Images can be used for editorial or commercial purposes, depicting the ambiance of a place, as well as the feeling one gets from the land, people, and cultures that inhabit it. Very broad in its subject matter, the genre makes use of elements of portraiture, landscape photography, architecture photography, street photography, and night photography, among others. B&W photography is also a commonly employed technique.

Underwater Photography

It isn’t always easy to take underwater photos, even if you live in the right location for it. Taking photographs while underwater, usually while scuba diving, snorkeling, swimming, or from an underwater vehicle or automated camera lowered from the surface, is known as underwater photography. This type of photography results in images of marine life, the subaquatic environment (including shipwrecks, geological features such as cave systems and other underwater-scapes), and/or people pursuing underwater activities. Shooting in water also comes with adjustments to the lens as water decreases the angle of view for a lens by 25-30%. Water clarity, the presence of waves or bubbles, currents, dangerous marine life, and proximity to the seafloor will all impact shots as well. Time of day and location in relation to the sun also play a significant factor in how underwater photos get captured, as do the settings of the camera being used.

Wedding Photography

Wedding photography can include engagement photos, pre-wedding photos, shots taken during the ceremony or reception on the big day itself. Wedding photography is also one of the larger categories of commercial photography, with many photographers specializing in this service. Not only do wedding photographers need to have good camera and lighting skills, but they also must know how to work with people and capture the right emotions almost effortlessly. There are two main approaches to wedding photography: The traditional approach has posed images that the photographer controls and directs throughout the event. Whereas the photojournalistic approach usually has a more editorial feel, with candid, more natural images taken using little direction.

Wildlife Photography

This is a very challenging type of photography, as it might be difficult to capture animals in their proper habitat. Wildlife photographers generally need to have an “in” or some experience to achieve great shots of wildlife. Patience, good gear, and safe shooting locations are all important when trying to capture animals in the wilderness. In wildlife photography, you need to be absolutely comfortable with your camera’s settings. If you are not quick enough, you might miss the perfect shot. Equipment like tripods and shutter releases and telephoto, wide-angle, or macro lenses, are usually used in wildlife photography. Sometimes, camera traps are set up in the environment for an extended period of time, taking shots using motion detection so that animals aren’t spooked and their natural behaviors aren’t disturbed by lurking photographers.

As you can see, there are lots of different types of photography to try out, experiment with, and perfect. Not every photo fits neatly into a single genre of photography. Sometimes, an image will straddle the line between two or more different types, like a landscape image of manmade telescopes under the Milky Way. Subject matter, lighting conditions, and the location of the photoshoot will all impact the type of camera gear and techniques used to get a great photo. Experience and practice go hand in hand — if you’ve found something on this list that you never tried capturing before or even thought about shooting, there’s no time like the present to go get that shot!

Thank you for visiting my blog and reading today’s post, have a wonderful week and I will see you next Wednesday! 😃