Types of Photography

Photography is an expansive art form that includes more than just portraiture, landscape or glamour photography. Both professional and amateur photographers may favor specific types of photography over others. While a professional photographer may work in photojournalism, an amateur may be particularly interested in macrophotography. Read on to learn more about the various types of photography.

Photojournalism
Although amateurs may break into this field without formal training, photojournalism is often limited to professionals. One reason photojournalism is generally practiced by professionals is that serious photojournalists must be sure that their shots maintain the integrity of the original scene.
Photojournalism requires the photographer to shoot only the facts: no alteration or embellishment of the photo is permitted. Photojournalism pictures are often powerful images that engage the viewer with the news story. Knowing how to take such shots to capture the original emotion is often learned only through years of practice and experience.

Documentary Photography
Documentary photographs tell stories with images. The main difference between photojournalism and documentary photography is that documentary photography is meant to serve as a historical document of a political or social era while photojournalism documents a particular scene or instance.
A documentary photographer may shoot a series of images of the inner city homeless or chronicle the events of international combat. Any topic may be the subject of documentary photography. As with photojournalism, documentary photography seeks to show the truth without manipulating the image.

Action Photography
While professionals who take action shots may specialize in a variety of different subjects, sports photography is one of the fastest and most exciting types of photography. As with any action shot, a good sports photographer has to know his or her subject well enough to anticipate when to take pictures. The same rule goes for photographers taking action shots of animals in nature or of a plane taking off.

Macrophotography
Macrophotography describes the field of photography in which pictures are taken at close range. Once restricted to photographers with advanced and expensive equipment, macrophotography is now easier for amateurs to practice with digital cameras with macro settings. Macrophotography subjects may include insects, flowers, the texture of a woven sweater or any object where close-up photography reveals interesting details.

Microphotography
Microphotography uses specialized cameras and microscopes to capture images of extremely small subjects. Most applications of microphotography are best suited for the scientific world. For example, microphotography is used in disciplines as diverse as astronomy, biology and medicine.

Glamour Photography
Glamour photography, sometimes confused with pornography, may be sexy and erotic but it is not pornographic. Instead of focusing on nudity or lurid poses, glamour photography seeks to capture its subject in suggestive poses that emphasize curves and shadows. As the name implies, the goal of glamour photography is to depict the model in a glamorous light. Consequently, many glamour shots carry flirtatious, mysterious and playful tones.

Aerial Photography
An aerial photographer specializes in taking photos from the air. Photos may be used for surveying or construction, to capture birds or weather on film or for military purposes. Aerial photographers have used planes, ultralights, parachutes, balloons and remote controlled aircraft to take pictures from the air.

Underwater Photography
Underwater photography is usually employed by scuba divers or snorkelers. However, the cost of scuba diving, coupled with often expensive and unwieldy underwater photography equipment, makes this one of the less common types of photography. Similarly, if an amateur has the equipment and the scuba know-how, taking shots underwater can be complicated, as scuba goggles are magnified and distort the photographer’s vision.

Art Photography
Artistic photography can embrace a wide variety of subjects. While a nature photographer may use underwater photography to create an art show based on sea life, a portrait photographer’s show may feature black and white artistic portraitures. In all cases, the photographs must have aesthetic value to be considered art.

Portraiture
Portraiture is one of the oldest types of photography. Whether the subject is your family or your pet, the goal of portraiture is to capture the personality of the subject or group of subjects on film.


Wedding Photography
Wedding photography is a blend of different types of photography. Although the wedding album is a documentary of the wedding day, wedding photos can be retouched and edited to produce a variety of effects. For example, a photographer may treat some of the pictures with sepia toning to give them a more classic, timeless look.
In addition, a wedding photographer must have portrait photography skills. He may also have to employ glamour photography techniques to capture the bride and groom at their best.

Advertising Photography
Because photography plays a vital role in advertising, many professional photographers devote their careers to advertising photography. The need for unique and eye-catching advertising copy means the photographer may work with multiple types of photography, including macrophotography and glamour photography.

Travel Photography
Travel photography may span several categories of photography, including advertising, documentary or vernacular photography that depicts a particularly local or historical flavor. A travel photographer can capture the feel of a location with both landscapes and portraiture.