Photography Styles

PHOTOGRAPHY STYLES

By James Breedlove

It is inevitable that a new photographer will come to a point in making a decision as to what type of photography they want to specialize.  Sometimes as a new photographer were lead down a path by the income we have, but our heart yearns for something different.  Case in point, when we are starting out our budget may not be what we would like it to be, therefore we choose lenses to go with our camera that is substandard.  We try to justify our lens selection in many ways, but the bottom line is, we don't have the gear to reach out and get great wildlife shots, we don't have the lens to do the best landscape shot as possible.  We might struggle to get the sharpness we really want in a portrait shot and we are stuck with the kit lens or a second hand lens we purchased off ebay or from other sources.  What can we do?  As luck would have it, we are limited back to when and where the money is going to come from.  I have learned over the years that saving up for an incredible lens is difficult as there are so many things in life that require our resources to be spent towards.  But I may be time for us to truly make that sacrifice.  

Great photography comes from the knowledge of individuals that have practiced and practiced and has developed a determination to achieve one's goal.  When we go out we know we will have the right gear because our determination won't let us do it any other way.  We have executed our skill and applied ourselves to bring home the photo that will hang on the wall or someone else's wall.  We go to the store or online and purchase the best lenses possible and the best body because it will give us an edge.  We don't purchase gear simply because we can't get a great shot, we can get that with yesterday's technology, but because we will be the master of making photos.  Each facet of our camera gear help us on the way to being able to shoot whatever style of photography we wish to specialize.  

Photography of Landscapes: we know that landscapes require a clear crisp shot, which require some of the best glass, most often may require wide angle lenses and extended range lenses as well.  We must have glass that will provide us these shots.  

Photography of Wildlife and Nature: nature in general doesn't come to us, we must go to it.  Likewise, we can't always get close enough to the animals, insects or other subjects to get a shot, unless we have a telephoto lens.  Today's world in wildlife photography require good glass in front of our camera.  We can not skimp on the quality we put out.  Therefore, it may be required to have a combination of lenses that can get us the macro shots and the far end of the telephoto range.

Photography of Portraits: our customers we generally dictate how well we do here, but we know as photographers that our gear must match up to the venue.  I will want a good 24-70mm lens or a few prime lenses and a good 70-200mm with a wide aperture to compress the background when needed.  We will also need a good light source wither strobe, flash or continuous lighting.  A whole host of things will be needed in the long run, but one thing is certain our investments will pay off in the end.

Photography of Weddings: weddings require some of the best glass we can possible afford, the number of lenses we must have may actually be limited however.  Classically to operate you may need a good 24-70mm and 70-200mm lens to get your through the whole venue.  However, most often we find we might need one other specialized lens that may get us nice macro shots when needed as well.  So perhaps, a dedicated prime might work, often a 50, 60, 80, 100 mm prime lens might be all we need to get the ring shot or the shallow depth of field were looking for to complete a package.  Take in mind good photographers will have a backup camera body, have decent clothes to wear to these events and have appropriate strobe or flash to catch the shots required in dark lit or backlit situations.  

 Photography of Architecture: here we will need a good wide angle lens, and preferably wide to medium zoom say 24-70mm range.  We might want to go out and get an advantage over others in the field by purchasing a drone with 4K video or at least HD video.  Lighting may also be required to get the right perspective inside structures.

Photography of Travel: when we think of traveling we think of all the situations we could end up being in that would require a variety of lenses and gear.  But really that is up to the photographer and their perspective of what will be covered and how.  To be quite frank we only need a good flash, a all around lens like 24-70 and maybe an telephoto to get the distant things we want, so we might need a wide aperture 70-200mm lens as well.  One or two camera bodies, plenty of memory cards and batteries.  And of course a travel bag that will carry this gear.  Don't forget the tripod.

Photography of Astronomy: now that we have studied other things we decide to go into astrophotography, our budget must expand a little bit further, now we will attach telescopes to our cameras and have great support structures, heavy pods.  We will have great range 600mm might be child's play.  Occasionally, we might decide to go out and shoot the milky way galaxy or stars travel over timelapse shots in our spare time, with a nice intervalometer on hand and great power source.

Photography of Macro: here we want to get as close as we can to a subject and capture as much detail as possible, we will need at least a 1:1 ratio in our catures if not 2:1 ratio.  We will need some lighting to capture some detail and perhaps be able to blacken the background so flash or LED lighting will be necessary.  We may want to invest in tube extenders or bellows to get us a better depth of field on or subject.  But really, we might only need 2 or three lenses.  Primes may be a must for this field.

Photography of Sports or Action: here we will require fast lenses, and a camera body that is capable of keeping up with the demand of shooting multiple shots in succession.  We will likely require extended telephoto range lenses, with wide apertures to capture the moving race cars, horses, sports game or jet airplanes.  To compete in this field our lenses will not be cheap, we will likely pay a minimal of 4K to 12k for our lens and our camera body will have to match up to the level of professionalism we require.  3k to 10k body designs would be standard, I would think to get our photos published promptly.

Photography of Events: in this field you might expect that the events can demand almost anything, so a photographer must have an array of gear to meet the situation.  At least two camera bodies, and at least three lenses or more.  We could be shooting wide, in between, or shooting long distance to capture an artist on the stage, in the crowd or end up shooting up close for portraits.  Number of things may influence our shooting environment.  Especially, if the event is a riot and your trying to capture as much that is happening as possible without getting hurt or thrown in jail. 

Photography of street portraiture: here we may only need a single lens, if possible we might have a telephoto in a bag.  Over-all we will likely have a 35mm or 50mm lens on our camera, as we do not want to stand out in the crowd and we want to reduce the likelihood of getting robbed, by not sporting the fancy high dollar looking setup.  We might opt for a variable length lens just in case and sacrifice the standard lenses but, that is the individual photographers preference.  We ordinarily will not have to spend allot to get good shots in this field.

Photography of other styles/fields: there are many specialized areas, such as portraiture photography, boudoir photography, urban exploration, crime scene, technical high speed, infrared photography etc.  The important thing is knowing what the field requires and having the essentials to be able to perform the photography in question.  It may require advanced lighting, lenses and camera bodies or it may only require a camera and tripod.  Whatever the venue we must understand in a demanding environment or competing field such as photography, you should be ready to save up the money in advance and buy the lens and gear as required for the job.  Not always can we get the appropriate gear in advance, sometimes we are forced to compromise early on.  But, the end game is, if we want to make money in the field of photography, you going to have to make exceptions.  You must be able to put your camera in front of something good to shoot and you must have good equipment when you do get the opportunity to shoot.  We also must be truthful to ourselves, if we can't make our deadline of having the right stuff or be able to make a trip, we should plan on it.  Always have a backup.

So Photography Styles is all about what you like to do and once you have found what it is you want to specialize in, you much budget to get the right equipment to get the shots, and then practice, practice, practice until you can shoot upside down hanging in the dark.  In other words, you should know your camera, its layout and how your camera responds to light; no excuses.  A good photographer can shoot in any mode, but they should strive to master shooting in manual mode and shooting with camera RAW format.  They can always change these settings, but when you need to be able to dictate to your camera all the settings necessary you got to know how to change all the settings, likewise when you need as much detail in a photo as possible, you need RAW.  

Tell me what you think and please like or share this if you have received anything out of it.  This is intended for those who are considering photography as a trade.  Thank you.

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