Modern styles of photography (part 3)
Published: 22.09.2020
The variety of photography styles opens up wide horizons for creativity. Understanding the principles of the main photography styles gives a push towards creating your own unique genre.
Travel photography
Documenting a place that highlights cultural, historical, tourist, or iconic aspects is travel photography. Starting from the 1850s, this genre became incredibly popular thanks to travel publications like National Geographic and Conde Nast Travel.
Images convey the atmosphere of a place, as well as the feeling that the land, the people inhabiting it, and their culture give. This very broad genre uses elements of portrait, landscape, architectural, street, and night photography. The technique of black and white photography is also successfully used in this genre. For tips on taking photos while traveling, read inour article.
Underwater photography
Underwater photography - images of marine life, underwater environment (including shipwrecks, geological features, cave systems, and other underwater landscapes).
Equipment is an important aspect of this genre, as default cameras are not waterproof. Or limited to a certain depth.
Underwater photographyRequires lens adjustment, as water reduces the viewing angle by 25-30%. The transparency of the water, the presence of waves or air bubbles, currents, dangerous marine life, and proximity to the seabed all affect the photos. The time of day and location in relation to the sun play an important role in underwater photography, as do the settings of the camera used. Mastering this genre is more difficult due to the additional equipment costs and special safety considerations during shooting.
Artistic (creative) photography
A style that is difficult to define includes a huge number of concepts and techniques. It encourages experimentation and creativity in composition, as well as in the equipment and methods used to capture the image.
Artistic photography includes photos taken with a fisheye lens or through a crystal ball, which alter the perspective of the image. High dynamic range (HDR) photography and forced perspective photography also fall into this photographic niche. Concepts such as popular baby photoshoots are another form of creative photography.
Experiment with filters, textures, and opacity, as well as shutter speed, multiple exposure, and motion blur to create a new perspective. Use other artistic techniques: hand coloring, cutting and pasting other printed images to createCollage.
Each photo is a masterpiece! Don't hide unique shots in your phones and cameras from viewers. A worthy way to showcase your talent and preserve memories is to print photos on canvas.
Documentary photography
Some consider this style to be part of professional photojournalism. Documentary photography allows capturing images of real life, typically in the context of historical events and everyday life.
The main difference between these styles is that documentary photography tends to capture an event, subject, environment, or theme over a longer period of time, adding context to a specific storyline. Photojournalism typically deals with a more short-term style of photography, focusing on "breaking news.
Aerial photography
The shoot shows a scene from a bird's eye view. This requires a helicopter, airplane. Due to accessibility issues, many photographers are using the latest advancements, using drones instead of flying in an airplane with their cameras and taking pictures themselves.
Using drones allows for taking photos remotely or automatically. However, in many countries, there are strict rules regarding the use of drones. Keep this in mind to avoid problems.
Minimalist photography
This style involves capturing a scene using limited or minimal elements. Color, lines, patterns, shapes, and textures can play a significant role in these types of photographs.
Based on the minimalist art movement of the 1950s, minimalist photography promotes artistic simplicity. The focus in the frames is on natural landscapes or scenes, often taken at sunrise, early morning, or at night. The images create a sense of barrenness or emptiness, demonstrating the precision and simplicity of using limited elements in the composition of the frame.
Night photography
For night shooting, it is necessary to adjust the camera settings and use special methods for capturing images in low light conditions.
Popular techniques include long exposure, slow motion, light painting, and spiral photography.
In addition to capturing the night sky, night photography includes city skylines, industrial scenes and factories, fireworks, nightlife or live concerts, roads illuminated by streetlights, caves, abandoned buildings, bodies of water illuminated by moonlight, and much more.
Tripods, remote shutter cables or self-timers, flashes, manual focusing, remote timers, and special lenses - all of these can be useful when shooting at night. Many smartphones have a night mode to facilitate mobile night photography.
Photo for social networks
This is an all-encompassing genre in which images are used for publications on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, and other social networks. Photos are taken in practically all styles.
For personal messages, images are used to capture moments or tell a person's life story, helping to shape their online image. In commercial companies, photos are used to promote the brand or sell a product/service.
Create a Light album from cool photos. You don't need to print the photos separately for this. We will print your photos directly on the pages of the Light album. Upload your images to the free editor Mapi7 and create a themed Light album. You can upload photos from your phone.
Surrealist photography
The style is similar to abstract photography. The final image is not always immediately recognizable. Surrealistic photography encourages photographers to find unique perspectives for capturing images.
Food, fashion photos, conceptual portraits, or close-ups are sometimes shot with a surrealistic aesthetic. The images are later edited to add a creepy or supernatural effect. The ultimate goal of this style is to create images with a unique perspective, blurring the boundaries between a fairy-tale setting and reality.
Underwater landscapes are often classified as surrealistic due to their supernatural atmosphere. Landscape photography, taken in the right conditions, can also include aspects of surrealism.
A variety of photography styles allow for experimentation and skill refinement. The easiest way to showcase your work is in the Light Portfolio album. Upload photos toFree editor Mapi7and create a unique Portfolio in your own style.
Remember, experience and practice go hand in hand. If you found something in this list that you have never tried shooting before or even thought about shooting, don't waste time and take that shot!
