All Types of Photography That You Need To Know About

Over the past 100 years, photography has become an integral part of our lives. From DSLR/mirrorless cameras to smartphones, photography is an art which has reached every household. It has multiple purposes and many facets. Photographs have the power to tell the story that words sometimes lack. Nowadays, photography is used in all sorts of fields.

The extensive use of photography in every field has created multiple opportunities for people interested in photography. Like any other art form, photography also has a variety of genres. These multiple genres often confuse budding photographers.

Are you passionate about photography? No matter the type of photography you are interested in, as a budding photographer, it is worth knowing diverse kind of photography niches that exist.

Having a brief knowledge about each one of them will help you take the right decision for yourself.

We have curated a list of all the possible genres of photography that exist today. Here is the list:

1. Nature Photography

Nature photography includes all the natural outdoor elements like landscape, flora and fauna. If you feel inclined towards nature, you can opt for nature photography. Nature photography is also divided into seven categories.

a. Landscape- Landscape photography is the study of natural scenes. It is also termed scenic or environmental photography. It involves taking pictures of mountains, trees, deserts, hillsides and seascapes etc. It is one of the oldest photography genres yet the most popular one. You can check it out Nameeta Prakash Instagram for inspiration.

b. Wildlife- Wildlife photography requires a lot of patience, concentration and time as the photographer has to wait for long hours to capture the wandering animals in the perfect spot. However, the result is magical. Wildlife photographers get to travel to different parts of the world and see a variety of creatures. You can check it out Soni Vivek Instagram for inspiration.

c. Macro- Macro photography is the art of taking pictures of small creatures that are often overlooked. It involves capturing images of flowers, small insects, snowflakes, water droplets, bugs, etc. In layman's terms, it can be called close-up photography also. You can check it out Samar Virdi Instagram for inspiration.

d. Underwater- Underwater photography is self-explanatory. It involves capturing images of flora and fauna present underwater. It's one of the difficult types of photography as taking underwater pictures involves special skills and many prerequisites like a good waterproof camera, lighting equipment and water gear. You can check it out Sumer Verma Instagram for inspiration.

e. Astrophotography- Astro, as the term indicates, involves objects related to space. Space scientists often use this kind of photography to study the cosmos. It involves capturing images of stars, the night sky, nebulae, galaxies etc. This genre of photography seems fascinating but requires special skill and knowledge. You can check it out Prathamesh Jaju Instagram for inspiration.

f. Aerial Photography- Aerial photography involves capturing images from the air. This type of photography is used in investigating or creating maps. The photographers have a bird's eye view from a plane as they take pictures of the land directly from above. The invention of drones has made aerial photography accessible. You can check it out Dhenesh Annamalai Instagram for inspiration.

g. Scientific Photography- Scientific photography involves everything from astrophotography to microscopic photography. It is used to study all kinds of natural and artificial objects. You can check it out Prasenjeet Yadav Instagram for inspiration.

2. People Photography

This genre of photography encompasses people and is divided into ten categories.

a. Portraits- Portraits are one of the most popular photography genres that aim to capture people's moods, emotions and personalities individually or in groups. It covers everything from family portraits, engagement pictures, professional pictures etc. This type of photography focuses on the eyes and face of the subject and thus can be close-up, mid-shot, full body, candid or posed. You can check it out Ashish Shah and Farhan Hussain Instagram for inspiration.

b. Weddings- Wedding photography is one of the best commercial photography genres to make money. It involves portraits of families and friends. Wedding photographers need to be skilled with a camera and lighting techniques to capture the right emotion of the people effortlessly. You can check it out Richa Nag Instagram for inspiration.

c. Documentary- Documentary photographs aim to convey facts and information. It reports stories exactly how they happen. It involves human portraits and candid shots. You can check it out Fotobaba Instagram for inspiration.

d. Photojournalism- Photojournalism is a technique of reporting events and news through the camera. Photojournalists use images to tell the story instead of words. You can check it out Mansi Midha Instagram for inspiration.

e. Sports- Sports are one of the fascinating events that are watched by millions. Sports photography includes capturing the action on the field, pitch, track, coaches, expressions and passion of the players and the highs and lows of sporting drama. This type of photography requires an excellent command of the camera, good timing and focus skills. You can check it out Seshadri Sukumar Instagram for inspiration.

f. Fashion- Fashion photography is a combination of portrait and product photography. It involves showcasing the fashion elements like clothes, shoes and accessories and making them look more appealing to the customer. It needs a lot of hard work, good knowledge of lighting and a creative outlook to shoot the same model in various poses. You can check it out Bharat Sikka Instagram for inspiration.

g. Street Photography- Street photography is one of the most interesting genres of photography that includes capturing everything present in the streets through the lens of a photographer. It takes pictures of real life on the street and makes the ordinary moments look meaningful. They are all candid shots documenting life in towns and cities. You can check it out Akshay Mahajan Instagram for inspiration.

h. Event Photography- Event photographs are a broad category encompassing capturing pictures in corporate events, concerts, parades, and music festivals. The thrill here is to capture the fast-paced scenes and make them worth relieving. You can check it out Satyarth Shaurya Singh Instagram for inspiration.

i. Travel- Travel photography is one of the most popular photography genres that includes documenting life in another world via photographs. Travel photographers introduce us to exotic places, landscapes and different cultures thriving around the globe. You can check it out Subhash Chandra Instagram for inspiration.

j. Pet Photography- Pets are people's personal belongings, which is why they are included in the people photography genre. It includes capturing close-up shots of pet animals with people. It is similar to portrait photography. You can check it out Rohit Agarwal Instagram for inspiration.

3. Manmade Objects

This photography genre encompasses images of all artificial objects and makes them look appealing.

a. Product Photography- Product photography is commercial photography done to sell products. These photographs are used in advertisements and stock images. This art aims to make the product look presentable and create an image that relates to the message the brand wants to convey. You can check it out Bikramajeet Bose Instagram for inspiration.

b. Food Photography- Food is one of the biggest industries and has seen significant growth since the advent of social media. The goal here is to make the food look appetizing, and it's harder than you might think. Food photography requires knowledge of lighting, skills and command of the equipment. You can check it out Tanmay Bhahulekar Instagram for inspiration.

c. Still Life Photography- Still life photography captures the pictures of a subject in a studio or pre-designed setup. The subject includes everything from living things to manmade objects. Example- Capturing the image of a bowl of fruit, steel vessels etc. You can check it out Hashim Badani Instagram for inspiration.

d. Architecture photography- Architecture photography is the art of capturing details of the exterior and interior design of buildings and structures. Lighting is the most challenging part of exterior architecture photography as the photographer must know how to deal with natural light. You can check it out Barathram, and Ashish Shahi Instagram for inspiration.

Conclusion-

No matter the type of photography you want to pursue, the first step is to pick the camera and gain knowledge about focal length, depth of field, shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. From the lists mentioned above now, you know that there are tons of options in photography that you can explore.

So don't feel overwhelmed and intimidated by the options. You don't have to pick only one. You can experiment with them or maybe create a new genre by yourself because, in photography, there is no wrong direction.

About us: We are a media production company based in Delhi and Bangalore. We specialise in documentary and corporate films.

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Written by Anukriti Srivastava, writer @Skyshot Media