Monday, 9 September 2024

Types of Photography: Photo Genres

 KINDS OF PHOTOGRAPHY.

These types of photos can be used for personal or professional purposes. Photography can be categorized into several types. These include Portraiture, Fine art, landscape, and forensics. 

Portrait  photography

Portraiture is the broadest type of photography. Learn more about the different types of photography. Portraiture is an important aspect of social life and should be a part of every photographer’s portfolio.  Portraiture is an important aspect of social life and should be a part of every photographer’s portfolio.A portrait is a picture of a person, animal, or thing that represents that person. This type of photography can be done in a variety of different settings. There are studio portraits, outdoor shots, and even environmental portraits. For the latter, a photographer will set up a studio in an area that resembles the subject’s natural surroundings.

  The aim of portrait photography is to capture an individual’s character and identity. The technique involves strategically lighting a subject and posing them. This type of photography is commonly commissioned for special occasions or to promote an individual’s image. It also serves as a means of creating lasting memories. Portraits are usually composed to portray a particular character or a specific event.

 

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY 

 

Street photography is an attitude, a state of mind, a way of being, rather than something that has to be done exclusively on the streets of cities." — Matt Stuart

 

Street photography is a genre of photography that records everyday life in a public place.  Street photography at its essence means candid photography of humanity. It’s all about conveying your vision as the artist as you capture the reality of everyday life. You really never know what you’ll capture as a street photographer.


 A street photograph is a real moment.  Street Photographers filter the world to share what interests them and what they are feeling. Your street photography can be documentary in style, or fine art, or abstract, or funny, it can be fiction created out of fact, it can be an interpretation rather than a description,

 Eugène Atget, another early street photographer, documented the streets of Paris in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

"Street photography is the art of observation, anticipation and imagination, combined with the science of composition." — Polly Rusyn


CANDID PHOTOGRAPHY

Candid photography and related genres like street photography are about making people overlook or forget about the camera.  Candid photography is a style of photography in which the models and the scene are not staged or posed. Candid photographs are usually photos of people, and can be taken anywhere: at home, at the grocery store, at a child’s birthday party, and so on.

The candid photography style is commonly used in street photography, wedding photography, and photojournalism.

 

PHOTOGRAPHY JOURNALISM

In the world of journalism, storytelling with pictures holds immense value. Photographs have the power to capture a moment, convey emotions, and tell a narrative that words cannot always express. Images are integral to journalism, and their role has only grown in importance as technology has advanced. At the heart of photojournalism lies the ability to capture the moment, to freeze time and communicate a story. Photographs convey an undeniable authenticity that words sometimes lack. A photograph can be visceral, raw, and immediate, bringing the viewer closer to the story than any written report could.

 

LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY

Landscape photography is a type of photography that captures the scenery around you.  Landscape photography is the practice of capturing a natural or outdoors scene in an artful or compelling way to engage the viewer’s eye and attention.This genre is often a mix of different styles. Some photographers focus on capturing the natural beauty of a place, while others focus on capturing a specific moment in time.

To create a beautiful landscape photograph, landscape photographers need to understand the technical side of their cameras. They also need to analyze the scene in front of them. Landscape photography requires a lot of creativity, and photographers must consider what works and what doesn’t when composing their photos. This type of photography also requires a lot of field work.

Landscape photography requires a good sense of composition and lighting. The shutter speed of a landscape photograph is usually low, and depending on the light available, will be anywhere from 1/30th to 1/250th of a second. Increasing the ISO will allow for higher shutter speeds while reducing motion blur. A strong portfolio is important to ensure that your landscape photos are appealing to potential clients.

FINE ART PHOTOGRAPHY

The definition of fine art photography is quite broad and varies from photographer to photographer. It can include any image created by an artist using a photographic medium. To become a fine art photographer, you need to have an eye for art and a vision for your photographs. To create a fine art photograph, you’ll need to think outside the box. Your images shouldn’t just be a representation of a scene – they should convey your feelings. Taking fine art photographs will allow you to reveal your creative vision and show that every aspect of your work was carefully crafted.

Tripods are especially useful for self-portraits, low-light photos, and action shots.

 

FORENSIC PHOTOGRAPHY

Forensic photography is the visual documentation of a crime scene. The goal is to provide the police with enough evidence to prosecute the offender.

Forensic photographers often use multiple views from various angles. These include an overall image of the scene and evidence, a context image that shows the artifact in context, and a close-up image showing fine detail of the artifact.

Forensic photographers use high-quality cameras to capture evidence in crime scenes. The forensic photographer uses these photographs to analyze the location and position of objects, and to compare them with other objects in the scene.

Forensic photography is a vital tool in the prosecution of criminal cases. These photographs are often used as physical evidence in court, so photographers should have adequate technical skills and knowledge to properly capture evidence. The process of forensic photography is highly technical, and a degree in this field will allow you to stand out among the competition.

ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY

 This type of photography is unique and rewarding, as it allows you to capture images of celestial bodies such as the moon and planets. Astrophotography requires patience and persistence. There are numerous challenges to astrophotography, such as bad weather or bad timing. And even if you’re shooting from a pristine, dark sky location, you might run into problems with your equipment.

  

Architecture photography:

 Architectural photography is a genre of photography that focuses on capturing photographs of buildings or structures. Hence, it also involves photographing the interiors and exteriors of buildings, bridges, structures, and cityscapes. When compared to other photography fields, this kind of photography is less dynamic as it demands you to spend a lot of time contemplating a scene or an environment. As a result, you may not need a speedy or continuous shooting mode camera. Still, you will have to focus on the image’s quality.

Additionally, you must be ready to use editing tools, know how to fit a building into a frame, and integrate the rules of composition. Architectural photography was born in the 1870s when the famous architectural photographer Albert Levy began to click photos of older buildings. Later, modern buildings were photographed by the American mid-century modernist Julius Shulman.

Fashion photography:

Fashion photography is a popular, creative and highly competitive sub-type of photography. The earliest fashion photographs can be traced back to the 1850s, in the court of Napoleon III, reflecting the style of dress among the rich in France. However, fashion photography did not become popular until the early 20th century, when fashion became accessible to a wider audience. 

While the first fashion magazines from the late 1800s — Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue — were only illustrated by hand, this trend changed dramatically in 1913, when Condé Nast appointed Adolph de Meyer as the first official photographer for Vogue. Fashion photography made the success of emerging couturiers in the 1920s and 1930s, including Chanel, Balenciaga and Schiaparelli, emphasising their distinctive styles through carefully planned shoots

By the 1980s, the role of fashion photographers gained increasing importance as advertising campaigns played a major role in making fashion grow into a booming international industry.

Contemporary Fashion Photography. Creative Freedom and Controversy

Over the past few decades, the attention in fashion photography has shifted from brand image, stiff briefs and standardised codes to emphasising the photographer’s unique style, technique, and creativity, blurring boundaries between commercial goals and modern art.

Sports photography: 

Sports photography includes all types of photography that cover every sport and sporting event. This ranges from local and regional sports, high school athletics, all the way to the national and international sport, as well as a professional sport.

Sports photography is a type of photography that covers every sport and sporting event, capturing the action of a game and behind the scenes of the players. This type of photography helps to promote brands, the players, as well as the sport.

The industry of sports photography can be a highly appealing one – the ability to take in sporting events or the potential of being a part of professional sport is a dream to many, but the competitiveness of the industry and the challenge of shooting moving subjects can feel daunting. If you have an interest in doing a deeper dive into the world of sports photography and getting more involved in action photography, then look no further. We’ve compiled a guide to get started as a sports photographer – from breaking down the way to gain experience and break into the industry, to the technical aspects you’ll need, right up to the equipment.

 Shutter speed is a top priority whenever you are shooting action sports, which covers a lot of them. A faster shutter speed allows you to make sure your photos won’t be overexposed and ensure that you can catch the fast moving subjects in sports. A wide aperture is important to get the fast shutter speed. Whether you are shooting outside in sun or if it is an overcast day or whether you are working with artificial lighting indoors will all be factors in the aperture you will need.


Documentary photography:

Documentary photography describes any photos that attempt to record the world as it is. From wide-angle photographs of war to close-up snapshots of people on the street, these images can inform an audience about the hidden corners of contemporary life and even become part of the historical record. Whatever types of photos you want to take, whatever your motivation, you can find inspiration in learning a little about the pioneers who first used their cameras to inform, enlighten, and improve society.

“Documentary photography really blends with research and interviews,” Dating back to its earliest days, documentary photography has served to broaden people’s perspectives and teach them about different people and cultures. Documentary photographers still do that today, and still encounter cultural barriers.


Wedding photography:

Wedding Photography is the specialism of photographing weddings. A wedding photographer is commissioned usually by the couple getting married to record the day of the wedding. This includes preparations for the ceremony, the arrival of the couple and guests at the ceremony, the wedding ceremony itself and the post-ceremony celebrations. Wedding Photography can also include pre-wedding engagement shoots.


Food photography:

photography is a genre of photography that focuses on capturing beautiful, mouth-watering images of food. Whether it's for a cookbook, a restaurant menu, or a food blog, food photography is an important tool for showcasing delicious dishes and inspiring people to try new foods. In this blog, we'll explore the art of food photography and why it's so important.

First and foremost, food photography is a form of visual storytelling. A good food photograph should be able to tell a story about the dish - where it came from, how it was prepared, and what flavors and textures to expect. By using lighting, composition, and styling techniques, a food photographer can create a narrative that draws the viewer in and makes them want to try the dish.

Another important aspect of food photography is capturing the textures and colors of the food. Food can be incredibly beautiful, with rich colors and interesting textures that can be highlighted with careful lighting and styling. A good food photographer knows how to bring out the best in each dish, whether it's the creamy texture of a soup or the vibrant colors of a salad.

One of the biggest challenges of food photography is capturing the essence of the dish without making it look unappetizing. This requires careful styling and lighting techniques to make the food look fresh and appealing, while still conveying its true nature.

Food photography is also important for promoting healthy eating and sustainability.In conclusion, food photography is an important art form that plays a vital role in promoting healthy eating, sustainability, and the joy of food. By using careful styling, lighting, and composition techniques, a food photographer can create stunning images that not only look delicious, but tell a story about the dish itself.


Product photography:

Product photography is any image of a good for sale. Sometimes known as commercial photography, these images are meant to entice shoppers to purchase the photographed products. They feature product details and features, supplemental to written copy and product descriptions. The idea is to give potential buyers a full impression of the product.Object photography is when you take a photo of an inanimate item. As such, product photography is technically a form of object photography—unless the product is living, like a succulent. In object photography, items are typically non-moving, or still.



What is advertising photography?

Advertising photography focuses on taking pictures for high-impact advertisements. Companies capture and publish these images for a specific purpose because they feature elements encouraging audience engagement. For example, a clothing brand may advertise its winter line with a photograph of a family wearing the featured items. The image may depict the family sitting around a fireplace and spending quality time together. This kind of image elicits strong emotions, and consumers may want to replicate the cozy and family-oriented vibes by purchasing the clothing items themselves.

Persuading consumers to buy

A successful advertising photograph can inspire people to buy a product because the image makes it look more enticing. When a product can effectively sell an appealing lifestyle or benefit, consumers may be more likely to make a purchase so they can experience what the image is presenting.

Black-and-white photography

A lot of photographers think of black and white as the classical form of photography but digital technology helps make black and white photography a dynamic and creatively fulfilling modern pursuit.

Black and white photography is not just a fallback for saving a bad color photo but an equally valid creative pursuit that opens up all kinds of opportunities for personal expression and experimentation.


Surreal photography

What is surrealism?

Surrealism as a whole is an artistic movement that began in the early 1920s.“photographers started to use their tools in ways that weren’t necessarily representational.” With surrealism, nonrepresentational photography had a movement it could thrive within.

Elements of surreal images.

Surrealism is distinct from abstraction. Both surrealism and abstraction were a break from art that was strictly representational, but they have different approaches. Abstraction uses colors, shapes, textures, and other elements to evoke feelings or ideas. Surrealism has recognizable images, but they’re often displayed in an unusual way. An evocative picture of cubes? Abstract. A building made entirely of human hands? Surreal. “Surrealism is always tied into reality in some way,” says Tryforos. “Even though it’s not realistic, it needs to be believable.”




“Surreal images tend to be dreamlike and tap into people’s unconscious,” says Tryforos. “They’re often made of different elements that are put together in unexpected ways.” Surreal images almost always contain recognizable elements from real life — human figures, clocks, apples — arranged in strange ways. The clocks might be melting, like in Dali’s Persistence of Memory, or an apple might be floating directly in front of a man’s face, like in Magritte’s The Son of Man.


Abstract photography: 

 

Abstract images are conceived or imagined outside of ‘reality’. They can encompass a huge variety of subject matter, take us out of our comfort zone, make us question what we see, or invite us to enter another realm.



As abstract photography is non-representational and the intent is not to reflect or convey anything ‘concrete’ or ‘real’, the photographer must rely on other facets of composition and structure to give meaning and substance to the work.

Viewers must be able to gain visual satisfaction and understanding from the skilful construction and manipulation of shapes and patterns into a pleasing whole.

Photographers will generally emphasise lines and curves, colours, textures, geometrical forms and their relationship to, and interaction with one another. Thus, the internal structure and intrinsic form of an abstract photograph are hugely important.



Examining Form and Structure

In the following images, you’ll see how I use these different elements to create my abstracts and provide the crucial, underlying compositional structure.

 

https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/photography/discover/surreal-photography.html

https://pathedits.com/blogs/tips/what-is-product-photography-everything-you-need-to-know-to-get-started

https://photographyexplainedpodcast.com/what-is-wedding-photography/

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/advertising-photography

https://www.nfi.edu/architecture-photography/

 

 


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