While most photographers specialize in one or two different types of photography experimenting with various photography styles can help to expand your skill set. 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 the seven different types of photography below, you can build a strong foundation for your photography career.
One of the most common styles of photography, portraiture or portrait photography aims to capture the personality and mood of an individual or group. Images can be candid or posed full body or close-up. In any case, the subject's face and eyes are usually in focus. The lighting and background help convey tone and emotion. Popular types of portrait photography include senior portraits, family portraits, engagement photos, and professional headshots. The best portrait artists ensure that clients feel completely at ease, so their facial expressions are natural and relaxed.
Photojournalism is a way of telling the story of a newsworthy (perhaps even historical) event or scene through photographs. Photojournalism should be as objective and truthful as possible, and capturing spontaneous moments as they happen is more important than perfect shots. Photojournalists often attend planned events hoping to capture unplanned and unscripted moments. His work is regularly published in magazines and newspapers.
Fashion Photography showcases and enhances fashion clothing, shoes, and accessories to make them more attractive to consumers. It is widely published in magazines and online. People can choose this niche over other types of photography as it gives them the opportunity to be very creative to make the photos eye-catching and appealing. Fashion photographers take lots of full-body photos and work in a variety of environments, from fashion shows to full-light studios, city streets, and open fields. They use many of the same skills as portrait photographers and must practice good teamwork and communication when working with stylists, creative directors, and models.
By capturing athletes, coaches, and even fans in the perfect moment, sports photography can depict the passion, drama, and excitement that drives sporting events. Sports photographers need to aim and shoot quickly to keep up with the action around them, and it's good practice to use a higher ISO to shoot at a faster shutter speed. Sports photographers also often use long, heavy lenses to zoom in on the action. Interesting angles can help your work stand out in this competitive genre.
As it sounds, still life photography depicts inanimate objects, natural or artificial. Still, life photography can be artistic or commercial. It is commonly used in stock photography as well as product advertising. (Think of product images that appear in catalogs, magazines, and billboards.) For still-life photographers, subject selection, composition, and lighting are keys to a great shot.
Editorial photography is taken to illustrate a story or article, typically for a magazine or newspaper. The subject of editorial photography can vary widely and is entirely dependent on the topic of the text it accompanies. Generally, for editorial photography, you’ll want to get shots that work for a variety of layouts, including horizontal and vertical compositions. When working in editorial photography, you are likely to work closely with writers and art directors, and demonstrating good communication skills and professionalism will help you succeed.
Both the interior and exterior design of buildings and structures are the subject of architectural photography. From warehouses to city bridges to old country barns, this genre encompasses diverse structures. Often, the photograph showcases the structure’s most aesthetically pleasing parts, such as a particular beam or archway. Interesting materials and colors may also be emphasized. Lighting can be challenging in architectural photography and, for exteriors, photographers must know how to work with natural light. Gear such as a tilt-shift lens, a tripod, and a panorama head is often useful. Architectural photographs can be of value to designers, architects, leasing companies, and building investors.