|
Many people enjoy photography in general, but some like to focus on just one type of photography. There are various
styles of photography or because it is your passion. Certain types of photography, such as underwater, will mean you
will require special equipment to enjoy it. Consider the following types
of photography.
The types pf photography can be divided into dozens of categories, many with
lots of sub-categories. The following list describes some common types of
photography.
Aerial Photography
Aerial photography is the taking of photographs of the ground from an elevated position. The term usually refers to
images in which the camera is not supported by a ground-based structure. Cameras may be hand held or mounted, and
photographs may be taken by a photographer, triggered remotely or triggered automatically. Platforms for aerial
photography include fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, balloons, blimps and dirigibles, rockets, kites, poles and
parachutes.
Animal Photography
Animal Photography is a favorite pastime of many photographers, both amateur and professional. Whether it be a family pet, livestock such as horses, tiny insects, brightly feathered birds, or wild animals such as deer, the basics of animal photography are universal across subject animal type.
Architectural photography
Architectural photography should be easy - after all, buildings don’t move, they don’t blink, and you’re not worried about getting them to smile.
While all of this may be true, that’s where the difference ends in doing architectural photography and photographing people.
Baby Photography
Baby pictures are wonderful, heart-warming, and everybody takes them. In
fact, after the blessed event makes their grand entrance, parents take
hundreds and thousands of baby portraits
in the 3 - 4 months following the birth.
Bird Photography
Bird photography is devoted to capturing interesting birds in action, such as eating, fighting, or in flight. Although
usually shot in the wild, zoos are also a frequent location for bird photography.
The techniques of bird photography differ greatly from those used in landscape photography. For example, in bird
photography fast apertures are used to achieve a fast shutter speed, freeze the subject's motion, and blur the
backgrounds, while landscape photographers prefer small apertures. Birds also usually shot with long
telephoto
lenses from a great distance; the use of such telephoto lenses frequently necessitates the use of a
tripod (since the
longer the lens, the harder it is to handhold). Many bird photographers use blinds or camouflage.
Concert Photography
If you’ve ever tried to take a picture at a concert you may have had some trouble. Dim concert halls with lit stages typically pose a problem for
photographers who are not used to taking pictures under those conditions. Here are some tips to help you improve your
concert photos.
Go Manual
The first thing you’re going to have to do to take good concert pictures is learn how to use the manual controls on your camera. The automatic settings in your camera more than likely will adjust for either the room you’re in, or the stage lighting….not taking into account the other as well. The result is often blurry pictures where you can’t tell what (if anything) is on the screen. Using your manual controls will enable you to tell the camera exactly what type of situation you’re working with and achieve the optimal picture quality.
and be sure to turn your flash off
Digital Stock Photography
Digital Stock Photography.
Digital photography is a form of photography that utilizes digital technology to make images of subjects. Until the advent of such technology, photography used photographic film to create images which could be made visible by
photographic processing. By contrast,
digital photographs can be displayed, printed, stored, manipulated, transmitted, and archived using digital and computer techniques, without chemical processing.
Digital Stock photography consists of existing photographs that can be licensed for specific uses. Publishers, advertising agencies, graphic artists, and others use stock photography to fulfill the needs of their creative assignments.
Glamour Photography
Glamour Photography is the photographing of a model with the emphasis on the subject. Photographers use a combination of cosmetics, lighting and airbrushing techniques to produce the most physically appealing image of the model possible.
Hiking Photography
Hiking Photography
Infrared Photography
In infrared photography, the
film or image sensor used is sensitive to infrared light. The part of the spectrum used is
referred to as near-infrared to distinguish it from far-infrared, which is the domain of thermal imaging. Wavelengths
used for photography range from about 700 nm to about 900 nm. Usually an "infrared filter" is used; this lets infrared
(IR) light pass through to the camera, but blocks all or most of the visible light spectrum (the
filter As a result looks
black or deep red).
When these filters are used together with infrared-sensitive film or sensors, very interesting "in-camera effects" can
be obtained; false-color or black-and-white images with a dreamlike or sometimes lurid appearance known as the "Wood
Effect," an effect mainly caused by foliage (such as tree leaves and grass) strongly reflecting in the same way visible
light is reflected from snow. There is a small contribution from chlorophyll fluorescence, but this is extremely small
and is not the real cause of the brightness seen in infrared photographs. The effect is named after the infrared
photography pioneer Robert W. Wood, and not after the material wood, which does not glow under infrared.
The other attributes of infrared photographs include very dark skies and penetration of atmospheric haze, caused by
reduced Rayleigh scattering and Mie scattering, respectively, compared to visible light. The dark skies, in turn,
result in less infrared light in shadows and dark reflections of those skies from water, and clouds will stand out
strongly. These wavelengths also penetrate a few millimeters into skin and give a milky look to portraits, although
eyes often look black.
Landscape Photography
Landscape photography is a genre intended to show different spaces within the world, sometimes vast and unending, but
other times microscopic.
While many landscape photographers show little or no human activity in their photos, striving to attain 'pure' unsullied
landscapes that are normally devoid of human influence, using instead subjects such as strongly defined landforms,
weather, and ambient light. Despite this, there is no pure or absolute definition of what makes a landscape in
photography, as such it has become a very broad term, encompassing urban, industrial , macro and Nature photography.
A beach full of parasols and sunbathers can be a landscape photo, but so can the view through an electron microscope,
which shows a different type of landscape. Waterfalls, and mountains are especially popular in classic landscape
photography, often calling for Large Format cameras and neutral density or polarizing filters. Though many
photographs are inspired by traditional landscape painting, the term in photography is very broad, most places and
things can be photographed as a landscape, a kitchen, a lamp, a wall, or even the human body can be turned into a
rolling vista by a skilled photographer.
Macro Photography
Macro photography is close-up photography. The classical definition is that the image projected on the "film plane"
(i.e., film or a digital sensor) is close to the same size as the subject. On
35 mm film (for example), the lens is
typically optimized to focus sharply on a small area approaching the size of the film frame. Most 35mm format macro
lenses achieve at least 1:2, that is to say, the image on the film is 1/2 the size of the object being photographed.
Many 35mm macro lenses are 1:1, meaning the image on the film is the same size as the object being photographed.
Another important distinction is that lenses designed for macro are usually at their sharpest at macro focus distances
and are not quite as sharp at other focus distances.
In recent years, the term macro has been used in marketing material to mean being able to focus on a subject close
enough so that when a regular 6×4 inch (15×10 cm) print is made, the image is life-size or larger. This requires a
magnification ratio of only approximately 1:4, more easily attainable by lens
Nature Photography
Nature photography refers to a wide range of photography taken outdoors and devoted to displaying natural elements such as landscapes (See Landscape Photography), wildlife, plants, and close-ups of natural scenes and textures. Nature photography tends to put a stronger emphasis on the aesthetic value of the photo than other
photography genres, such as
photojournalism and
documentary photography
Night Photography
Night photography refers to photographs taken outdoors between dusk and dawn. Night photographers generally have a
choice between using artificial light or using a long
exposure, exposing the scene for seconds or even minutes, in
order to give the film enough time to capture a usable image, and to compensate for reciprocity failure. With the
progress of high-speed films, higher-sensitivity digital image sensors, wide-aperture lenses, and the ever-greater
power of urban lights, night photography is increasingly possible using available light.
Nude Photography
Nude photography is a style of art photography which depicts the nude human body as a study. Nude photography should be
distinguished from erotic photography, which has a sexually suggestive component.
Many photographers consider an art nude photograph to be a one that studies the human body, rather than the person.
A photograph of a person that is meant to be recognized is called a portrait, and nude photographs often do not show a
face at all. Nude photography is generally not a
snapshot, but a composed image of a person in a still position. As an
art form, nude photography is a stylized depiction of the nude body with the line and form of the human figure as the
primary objective. Photographers sometimes use extremes of light and shadow, oiled skin, and shadows falling across
the body to show texture and structure of the body
Panoramic Photography
Panoramic photography is a technique of photography, using specialised equipment or software, that captures images with
elongated fields of view. It is sometimes known as wide format photography. The term has also been applied to a
photograph that is cropped to a relatively wide aspect ratio. While there is no formal division between "wide-angle"
and "panoramic" photography, "wide angle" normally refers to a type of lens, but this lens type does not necessarily
image a panorama. An image made with an ultra wide angle fisheye lens covering the normal film frame of 1:1.33 is not
automatically considered to be a panorama. An image showing a field of view approximating, or greater than, that of
the human eye - about 160° by 75° - may be termed panoramic. This generally means that an image with an aspect ratio
of 2:1 or larger, the image being at least twice as wide as its height. The resulting images take the form of a wide
strip. Some panoramic images have aspect ratios of 4:1 and sometimes 10:1, covering fields of view of up to 360 degrees.
Both the aspect ratio and coverage of field are important factors in defining a true panoramic image
Photojournalism
Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism (the collecting, editing, and presenting of news material for
publication or broadcast) that creates images in order to tell a news story. It is now usually understood to refer only
to still images, and in some cases to video used in broadcast journalism or for personal use. Photojournalism is
distinguished from other close branches of photography (such as documentary photography, street photography or
celebrity photography) by the qualities of:
Timeliness — the images have meaning in the context of a recently published
record of events.
Objectivity — the situation implied by the images is a fair and accurate representation of the events they depict in
both content and tone.
Narrative — the images combine with other news elements to make facts relatable to the viewer or reader on a cultural
level.
Portrait Photography
Portrait photography (also known
as portraiture) is the capture by means of
photography of the likeness of a person or a small group of people, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The objective is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. Like other types of portraiture, the focus of the photograph is the person's face, although the entire body and the background may be included. A portrait is generally not a snapshot, but a composed image of a person in a still position. A portrait often shows a person looking directly at the
camera.
Sports Photography
Sports photography refers to the genre of photography that covers all types of sports. In the majority of cases, it is a
branch of photojournalism.
The main application of sports photography is for editorial purposes;
dedicated sports photographers usually work for newspapers, major wire
agencies or dedicated sports magazines
Still Life Photography
Still life photography is a demanding art, one in which the photographers are expected to be able to form their work with a refined sense of lighting, coupled with compositional skills. The still life photographer makes pictures rather than takes them. Knowing where to look for propping and surfaces also is a required skill.
In addition to knowing the fundamentals of photography, still life photographers have studio-lighting skills and the ability to use large-format view cameras. Still life photography is the depiction of inanimate subject matter, most typically a small grouping of objects that are either human-made or "natural." Still life photography, more so than other types of photography, such as landscape or portraiture, gives the photographer more leeway in the arrangement of design elements within a composition.
Stock Photography
Stock photography consists of existing photographs that can be licensed for specific uses. Publishers, advertising
agencies, graphic artists, and others use stock photography to fulfill the needs of their creative assignments.
A customer who uses stock photography instead of hiring a photographer can save time and money, but can also sacrifice
creative control. Stock images can be presented in searchable online databases, purchased online, and delivered via
download or email.
A collection of stock photography may also be called a photo archive, picture library, image bank or photo bank. As
modern stock photography distributors often carry stills, video, and illustrations, none of the existing terminology
provides a perfect match.
Street Photography
Street photography is a type of documentary photography that features subjects in
candid situations within public places
such as streets, parks, beaches, malls, political conventions, and other settings.
Street photography uses the techniques of straight photography in that it shows a pure vision of something, like holding
up a mirror to society. Street photography often tends to be ironic and can be distanced from its subject matter and
often concentrates on a single human moment, caught at a decisive or poignant moment. On the other hand, much street
photography takes the opposite approach and provides a very literal and extremely personal rendering of the subject
matter, giving the audience a more visceral experience of walks of life they might only be passingly familiar with.
In the 20th century, street photographers have provided an exemplary and detailed record of street culture in Europe
and North America, and elsewhere to a somewhat lesser extent.
Sub Minature Photography
The exact boundary between cameras and formats that are "subminiature" and those that are merely "small" is the subject
of debate among enAs a resultiasts. The term "miniature" was originally used to describe the 35 mm format, so cameras that used
a format smaller than 35 mm were referred to as "sub-miniature". The smallest of the small are often referred to as
"ultra-miniature". In the interest of specificity, cameras that produce an image on the film smaller than the standard
135 format (24x36 mm) are usually included in the genre, but some do not consider half-frame 135 (18x24 mm) cameras
"subminiature", since the cameras can be almost as large as a regular 35 mm camera.
There are thousands of cameras that qualify as subminiature cameras, so there are too many to list here, but Minox,
Tessina, Rollei, Yashica, Mamiya, and Minolta are the best known manufacturers. All made small, precision cameras and a
few are still in production as of 2006. Getting film and processing for smaller cameras is a challenge. While a few are
still available, most require cutting your own film, and home-processing as they are no longer supported.
Time-lapse Photography
Time-lapse photography is a cinematography technique whereby each film frame is captured at a rate much slower than it
will be played back. When replayed at normal speed, time appears to be moving faster and As a result lapsing. Time-lapse
photography can be considered to be the opposite of high speed photography.
Processes that would normally appear subtle to the human eye, such as the motion of the sun and stars in the sky, become
very pronounced. Time-lapse is the extreme version of the cinematography technique of undercranking, and can be confused
with stop motion animation.
Travel Photography
Travel photography is a subcategory of photography involving the documentation of an area's landscape, people, cultures,
customs and history. The Photographic Society of America defines a travel photo as an image that expresses the feeling
of a time and place, portrays a land, its people, or a culture in its natural state, and has no geographical
limitations.
Travel photography can either be created by professionals or amateurs. Examples of professional travel photography can
be found in the National Geographic magazine. Amateur travel photography is often shared online through photo sharing
websites like Flickr or niche travel photography websites.
Underwater Photography
Underwater imaging is considered an especially challenging area of photography, since it requires very specialized
equipment and techniques to be successful. Despite these challenges, it offers the possibility of many exciting and
rare photographic opportunities. Animals such as fish and marine mammals are the most common subjects, but photographers
also pursue shipwrecks, submerged cave systems, underwater "landscapes", and portraits of fellow divers.
Underwater photography is the process of taking photographs while under water. It is usually done while scuba diving,
but can be done while snorkeling or swimming.
The primary obstacle faced by underwater photographers is the extreme loss of color and contrast when submerged to any
significant depth. The longer wavelengths of sunlight (such as red or orange) are absorbed quickly by the surrounding
water, so even to the naked eye everything appears blue-green in color. The loss of color not only increases vertically
through the water column, but also horizontally, so subjects further away from the camera will also appear colorless
and indistinct. This effect is true even in apparently clear water, such as that found around tropical coral reefs.
Video Photography
Video Photography
Wedding Photography
Wedding photography is the photography of activities relating to weddings. It covers both photographs of the couple
before marriage (for announcements, portrait displays, or thank you cards) as well as coverage of the wedding and
reception also sometimes referred to as the wedding breakfast in non-US countries. It is a major commercial endeavor
that supports the bulk of the efforts for many photography studios or independent photographers.
There are three primary approaches to wedding photography that are recognized today: Traditional Photojournalistic and
Fashion-based. Traditional wedding photography provides for more classically posed images and a great deal of
photographer control and interaction on the day of the wedding. Photojournalistic wedding photography takes its cue
from editorial reporting styles and focuses more on candid and unposed images with little photographer interaction.
These are extremes and many of today's photographers will fall somewhere in the middle of these styles.
The third style that is becoming more and more in demand is a fashion-based approach. In contemporary/fashion-based
wedding photography, photojournalistic images of the events of the day are combined with posed images that are inspired
by editorial fashion photography as would be found in magazines like Vogue or Vanity Fair.
Wildlife Photography
Wildlife photography is the act of taking photographs of wildlife. Wildlife photography is regarded as being one of the more challenging forms of
photography.
 A 500mm Telephoto Lens, rigged with flash and monopod. A setup used for when taking wildlife photographs.
Requirements are:
A technically sound photographer, such as being able to expose correctly.
Advanced photographic equipment. While wildlife photographs can be taken using basic equipment it is made easier with advanced equipment. For example, 600mm lenses in conjunction with the latest
autofocus camera bodies are generally required for bird photography.
Zoo Photography
Zoo Photography is like wildlife
photography, except your subjects are in a captive environment
There have been many spectacular and world famous photographs taken in
most types of photography with many of them coming from photojournalism, as they often cover historical events.
If you are going to focus on one certain technique make sure it is something you are interested in. You will soon
find out what equipment is needed as you go along, as well as its cost
|