Over the years, there’s not much I haven’t tried in photography. Through my involvement in camera clubs, as a judge and speaker and attending workshops, working as a professional photographer, with friends, groups and just on my own, I have tackled so much.
In the beginning of your photography journey, you tend to try everything as you have such a passion for clicking that shutter. As you get on a bit more in photography, you tend to slow down and focus on what you really like. You soon learn how much effort is involved in shooting, editing and backing up those images. Below are lists of different types of photography to explore if you haven’t already. It stretches you in capacity, can be fun and you upskill yourself at the same time.
People & Portraiture
- Portrait Photography – Focused on capturing a person or group’s personality.
- Environmental Portraiture – Photographing people in their environment like a farmer on his farm, an artist in their studio, or a wine maker in their vineyard.
- Self-Portrait / Selfie Photography – Using yourself as a model to try different concepts.
- Fashion Photography – Showcasing clothing, accessories, and style. Could include things like trying milk bath photography, throwing coloured chalk or paint or underwater portraits.
- Glamour or Boudoir Photography – Highlighting beauty and making people feel empowered by beautiful and thoughtful photography.
- Lifestyle and Event Photography – Weddings, parties, concerts, festivals, rodeos, dance competitions, etc.
- Maternity, Newborn and Family Photography – Capturing history and memories.
- Street Photography – Candid moments in public places. Can be daylight or night hours. Can be combined with Architectural Photography. Try different times of day and in different weather for added interest.
- Social Documentary Photography – Telling a story or documenting events, often social or political. Could be a protest march, natural disaster or political rally.
- Editorial Photography – Images to support articles or features in publications, both in print and online format.
- Models – Working with models of all ages in a studio or outdoors in an urban setting. Could try day or night photography and in different locations, with a variety of themed concepts.
Nature & Landscape
- Landscape Photography – Natural outdoor scenery can include long exposures on waterfalls, deserts, sunrise and sunsets, mountains, forests, rivers, storm photography and much more.
- Seascape Photography – Oceans, beaches, and coastal areas. Can include surfing photography.
- Underwater Photography – With an underwater camera or housing, seeing the world below the surface.
- Wildlife Photography – Animals in their natural habitat. You could also try to focus on one particular sub species like butterflies or frogs and collecting images of different types.
- Zoo Photography – Photographing animals in captivity.
- Astrophotography – Stars, planets, and celestial events.
- Macro Photography – Extreme close-ups of tiny subjects like insects or flowers.
- Aerial Photography – Photos taken from drones or aircraft.
- Seasonal Photography – Summer, Autumn, Winter or Spring related images including rain, fog, snow, frost, spring blossoms or summer vibes.
Urban & Architecture
- Architectural Photography – Buildings, interiors and exteriors.
- Cityscape Photography – Skylines and urban environments.
- Real Estate Photography – Homes and commercial properties.
- Industrial Photography – Machinery, construction, and work environments.
- Night Photography – Low-light or night time urban scenes such as combining street photography and architecture. Can also add in models to shoot at night time.
Creative & Abstract
- Fine Art Photography – Artistic expression and conceptual work.
- Abstract Photography – Shapes, patterns, and textures.
- Experimental Photography – Special techniques, such as in camera movement, zooming, bulb photography work, tilt shift, bokeh shapes, panning, and multiple exposures in camera.
- Surreal Photography – Dream-like or fantastical imagery using special lenses or soft-focus techniques.
- Small Car Models Photography – Often best shot with a mobile phone, cute cars in settings to make them look like real cars.
- Reflections and Shadows: Seeing how light falls and making images, either seen or set up.
- Props Photography: Can include things like prisms, mirrors and lens balls to create artistic images.
- Light Painting: With special light tools or just a torch.
- High Key or Low Key Techniques: Images featuring dark or light as their main subject.
- Working with Light: Could be light trails and long exposures, neon lights, fireworks, candlelight or blue hour and golden hour.
Commercial & Product
- Product Photography – Items for catalogues, adverts, businesses, or e-commerce.
- Food Photography – Meals and ingredients, often for advertising or social media.
- Dark Food Photography – A whole movement of food, meals and raw ingredients photographed in low light to create a mood.
- Advertising Photography – Creative imagery for ads. Can include the use of special lighting, camera tricks, ice, fire, smoke, water, fabrics, AI, etc.
- Car Photography – Cars in races or cars in shows.
- Stock Photography – Generic images for commercial licensing. I have sold thousands of stock photos over the years but now with the invention and rapid progression of AI, most designers use this in place of paying for a stock photo, but still gets you thinking creatively to shoot stock images, and practising with your camera.
- Fashion Editorial – A mix of fashion and storytelling for magazines.
- Travel Photography – Capturing people and places, landmarks and local hidden gems.
Technical & Specialized
- Sports Photography – Fast-paced action and athletes. Can be anything from runners to race cars, or jet boats, gymnasts and cyclists.
- Photojournalism – Capturing news events in real-time. Focusing on people and places to tell a story.
- Forensic Photography – Crime scenes and evidence.
- Scientific Photography – Microscopic or research-based subjects.
- Medical Photography – Clinical settings and anatomy.
- Time-lapse Photography – Capturing change over time. This is a lot of fun. Just shoot more footage than you need as it condenses down.
- Infrared Photography – Using Infrared concepts for surreal images. Can be done with a specially converted old SLR camera or in post-production.
- Lay Flat Photography – This can be done on all sorts of subjects from items in your camera bag to flowers from your garden.
Digital & Modern Styles
- Drone photography – I love the perspective my drone gives me. A bird’s eye view.
- Mobile Phone Photography – Taken with smartphones and can include videography, creative apps and editing.
- 3D/360° Photography – Immersive and interactive images.
- AI-Generated Photography – Using AI in photography workflows or creating AI generated images based on prompts.
- Shooting in Black and White in camera or another picture style. Shoot in camera by adjusting your settings through the menu, or by using post production. You could try to photograph items of a particular colour to create a set, and put together in a montage.
Finding “your thing” in photography involves discovering your unique style, purpose, and niche, often through experimentation and self-reflection. This process can involve exploring different genres, subject matter, and technical approaches to find what resonates most with your creative vision and purpose. Basically, what gets you excited to keep clicking that shutter.
First up is to experiment and explore. Use the list above to check off what you have and haven’t tried yet. Play with different styles as a genre, in camera or in post-production. Capture everything and anything to begin with. Shoot what catches your eye. Sometimes images can be shot, saved and used to enhance other images such as texture images of scratched walls, rusty textures, or mottled wood. These can be overlaid on other images to create an artistic conceptual image.
I have folders in my computer called “Sky Bank”, “Backgrounds Bank” and “Textures Bank”. If I see a great sky or cloud pattern I can shoot it and store it in my “Sky Bank” for when I might need to replace a sky in an image. The same for a great textured wall or something to use as a background image.
Ask yourself what gets you passionate. For me it’s Night Street Photography at the moment. For photographer friends it’s long exposure landscapes, dead trees in water, or macro work on bugs. For another photographer friend, shooting planes is his happy place. Ask yourself what stories you want to tell with your viewfinder.
Another idea is to set yourself a challenge. It might be shooting with only one fixed lens on a trip or shooting only in black and white. Maybe a self portrait challenge to shoot one new concept every day for a week or month. Create a story with only 10 images, or head out into the rain to shoot city portraits and looking for reflections and subjects in puddles.
By consistently experimenting, reflecting, refining your style, throwing in a few ‘out of your comfort zone’ stretching challenges, and asking yourself what you really love to shoot, you’ll eventually find your unique “thing” in photography that you love above all else.