11 Various Types of Photography | Different Lenses used |

Photography is the combination of two Greek words, 'photo' (light) and 'graphein' (to draw something). So photography together means to draw something using light. This term was coined by Sir John F.W. Herschel in 1839. Don't worry, we won't go much deeper into its history. All I wanted to say is, photography is all about capturing the moments, stories, emotions and expression in a single frame.

But there are various types of photography one can do. It depends on the subject (what you are going to capture). These genres takes different perspective and lenses to get the perfect image. Let me tell you the different types of photography and the best lenses one can use accordingly.

Types of Photography:

• Wildlife Photography: It is the type of photography where the subjects are flora and fauna. The plants and animals (in most cases) are focused here to shoot. This is the most difficult type of photography because it is difficult to capture animals in their proper habitat. A wildlife photographer should have a lot of patience and should be very alert to capture that one perfect moment. The manual mode and the proper knowledge of exposure triangle is must for wildlife photography. For wildlife, the lenses 80-400 mm, 70-300 mm, 10-400 mm and 150-600 mm are much preferable.

                                                                             

Wildlife Photography

Credits: @photo_fia_

• Portrait Photography: It is the most famous genre of photography. Portraiture is all about capturing someone's mood and expression. The main focus in a portraiture is on the eyes of the subject. A photographer can play with the shadows and highlights while capturing a portrait. One thing to note here is that a portrait is never recommended to shoot in a front/direct light because it makes the skin very harsh. The soft tones/textures will give you a great portraiture. The pose of the subject should also be flattering. Except outdoor shoots, shooting the portraits in a studio lights will surely give desirable results. For portraits, 35 mm, 50 mm, 85 mm, 135 mm and 70-200 mm are the few lenses which will give you great results.

Portrait Photography

Credits: @photo_fia_

• Product/Advertisement Photography: Product/Advertisement Photography is all about capturing the photo of any particular product. Mostly, the purpose of capturing the photo is to sell it. If it is so, then it is called advertisement photography. A model using the product for advertising purpose may/may not be present. If he is there, then the photographer should focus on product as well as the model of the advertisement. Generally, the product photography is studio based and is done with careful control of backgrounds, shadows, and lighting. Food photography is a specialized niche and restaurants need to advertise their meals. The shots of jewelry is also the part of product photography. The best lenses for product photography are 50 mm, 24-105 mm, 90 mm, and 24 mm.

Product Photography

Credits: @polarbear_clicks

• Wedding Photography: It is another popular genre of photography. It primarily focuses on the photography of events related to weddings. The main focus is on the portrait shots of bride and bridegroom. A wedding photographer needs to capture every moment of that special occasion which is not so easy task. Apart from the day of wedding shoot, a pre-wedding shoot is also also done to announce the wedding and even to make invitations and thank you cards. Its very important to have a good wedding photographer (who has practical and theoretical knowledge of photography and camera) so that one can have some amazing photographs of his/her special day. The lenses like 70-200 mm, 35 mm, 50 mm, 85 mm, 16-35 mm and 24-70 mm would be my choice for shooting a wedding.

Wedding Photography

Credits: @the_shoot_wala_2914

Pre-Wedding Photography

Credits: @the_shoot_wala_2914

• Landscape Photography: Almost everyone has shot at least one photograph of this genre. The landscape photography is all about capturing the beauty of nature in a frame. It also helps the photographer to get closer to the nature. Although, sometimes we need to wait for the perfect light to get a perfect shot. 18-10 mm, 16-35 mm and 24-70 mm are the best lenses to shoot landscapes.

Landscape Photography

Credits: @photo_fia_

• Macro Photography: Macro photography involves the extreme close-up shots of very small things (living or non-living) which results in their magnified and detailed image. The macro photography helps to see such detailing of the subject which is not visible through naked eyes. Nowadays, smartphone cameras are also giving macro lenses but they are unable to give much clarity. To resolve this problem, external lenses are also available in market which together with the mobile camera can give you some amazing shots. 100 mm macro lens can be used to get some quality macro shots.

Macro Photography

Credits: @polarbear_clicks

• Night Photography: This is the way to capture the beauty of world in darkness. This photography is somehow difficult from the other genres as there is no light at night and I already mentioned photography is about drawing something using light. So, to capture the world during night, a photographer must have a good knowledge of exposure, shutter speed and aperture i.e. exposure triangle. A photographer can even create some creative shots which aren't visible with naked eyes. A tripod is must to shoot at night to avoid camera shake because a slow shutter speed is required to shoot in the dark. 35 mm, 24 mm and 50 mm are few lenses which I would prefer for shooting during night.

Night Photography

 Credits: @photo_fia_

• Street Photography: This is all about capturing life and culture in a candid manner. This is easiest way of photography but at the same time its difficult too. Got confused? Don't worry, I will explain. If we talk on the basis of knowledge of photographer about light and exposure, its the easiest genre. But the challenge here is that the photographer should tell a story through his images. The one watching the image should understand what the photographer has tried to tell through his photograph. Lenses like 35 mm, 24 mm and 50 mm are what I would prefer for this purpose.

Street Photography

Credits: @photo_fia_

• Event Photography: Ever attended a concert or event of any celebrity? If yes, you must have faced the crowd there. The event photography is all about capturing the glimpses of such events. The main focus is on the celebrity and the crowd present at that event. Instead of enjoying the event, the photographer works hard to capture such events in form of photographs. 14-24 mm, 24-70 mm and 70-200 mm are few lenses which will give the best results.

Event Photography

Credits: @polarbear_clicks

• Panning Photography: In Panning Photography, the photographer has to pan (move) his camera horizontally with the subject in focus. The outcome will give you the sense of motion where the background will be blurred and the subject will look relatively sharp. Panning is the result of combination of slow shutter speed with camera motion. It is indeed an interesting technique but also needs a bit of patience to get the perfect shot. Basic lenses like 18-55 mm and 50 mm would be enough for wide-angled shots.

Panning Photography

Credits: @photo_fia_

• Silhouette Photography: Usually, it is said that the direction of your subject and the light source should not be the same. But silhouettes are the proofs that you can take beautiful images in this condition too. Silhouette photography is all about displaying a great contrast between the foreground and the background. This results in an outline that appears dark against a bright background. One can shoot many creative shots in silhouettes, and that's why its my favorite genre to shoot. Though silhouettes can be clicked by any lens, it would be better to use the fixed low-light lenses like 35 mm and 50 mm.

Silhouette Photography

Credits: @photo_fia_

Except these, there are several types of photography like Still Life and Astro Photography, but it is not possible to mention all of them in a single blog. I will let you know about them some other time. Let me know in the comment section which type of photography you found much interesting among them. :)