PhotographyGenres

Advertising&Promotional

Advertisingandpromotionalphotographyiswhenacompany/corporation/organisationpaysa
photographertotakephotosofaproduct.Otherthingscanalsobeusedinpromotionalphotography
suchasabandorservice.

Promotionalphotographsareusuallypairedwithtextabouttheproduct,usuallythenameoftheproduct
butalsosomeadditionaltextsuchasasloganorabriefdescriptionoftheproduct.Sometimesthe
manufacturerslogowillbeincorporatedintotheadvertifthephotosubjectisaproduct.

Finalpromotionalcontentcanbefoundinmanyplaces.Usuallyitisfoundinprintmediasuchas
magazines,newspapersandpromotionalleaflets.Howeveritcanalsobefoundinonlineadvertisements
onwebsitesandalsoplacedonabillboard.

Inthisexample,aplainblackbackgroundisusedwhichhelptheproductstand
out.Lightinghasbeenusedtoaddanoutlinetothesubjectsofthephoto(bottle
andglass).

Thelightinghasalsobeenusedinawaythatmakesthebottleappeartoglow
green.Thishasbeendonetohelpconnotetheflavourofthedrink(apple/pear)
toviewersoftheadvert.

Inthisexample,theproducthasbeenplaced
onabackgroundthatsetsthestageforthe
environmentsandscenariosthattheproduct
issupposedtobeusedit(outdoors,rural
areas,rockclimbing).

Abrighterlighthasbeenshoneonthe
producttomakeitreflectandappearbrighter
intheenvironment,connotingtothe
audiencethatitstandsoutamongother
products.

Thisproductusesaplainwhitebackgroundtodraw
attentiontothesubjectproduct.Thephotouses
vibrantcolourstodrawattentiontotheadvert.
Fruitandwaterhavebeenaddedininpostproduction
tohelpconnotetotheaudiencethatthedrinkis
refreshingandhasanicetasteoffruitinit.

Fashion

Fashionphotographyisusedtodisplayandoftenadvertiseclothing.Models,peoplethatwearthe
clothesbeingshownoff,areoftenmadetoposeinawaythatshowsofftheclothingfrommanydifferent
anglesandviewpoints.

FashionphotosaremostlyfoundinfashionmagazinessuchasVogueandVanityFair.Theyarealso
oftenblownupintolargepostersandputuparoundclothingstores,tohelpshowoffanddisplaythe
productsthestorehasforsale.

Lightplaysalargepartinfashionphotography,asithastobeusedinawaythatmakesviewersfocus
onthesubjectofthephoto(inthiscasethemodelandclothes).Spotlightsareshoneonthemodelto
helpmakehim/herappearbrighterandmorevibrantthanthebackground(ifapplicable,mostfashion
shootsuseaplaincolouredbackground).EditingisalsodonetothephotoinprogramslikePhotoShop
andGIMP,usuallytohelpremoveanyblemishesorerrorsinthephoto,andtochangecolour,
brightnessandcontrastlevelsinthephototohelpgetabetterimage.

Asubgenreoffashionphotography,knownashautefashion(highfashioninFrench)isadisplayof
extremelyuniqueclothingdesigns,whicharealsoaccompaniedbyaheftypricetag.Designsareoften
overlyeccentric,andwouldntbeseenworninpublic.

Thisimage,takenin1949byphotographerToniFrissell,showsoffthetypeof
clothesthatwereinfashioninthatera.Thelongdressthatthewomanis
wearingaccompaniedbytheelbowlengthglovesshowsthetypeofclothes
thatwereconsideredfashionableandstylishforwomentowearintheyears
thatfollowedaftertheendofWorldWarTwo.

ThispiecebyaphotographerthatgoesbythenameAliquehas
beentakentoshowoffamoremoderndressdesign,onethatcould
possiblybeconsideredtouchingonHautePhotography.Thebright
colourofthedresshavebeenlitteninawaythatmakestheblack
contrast.Thefanusedtoaddthewindeffecttothefabrichasbeen
leftondisplay,whereasinotherphotographyshootsfocusingon
fashionthisprobablywouldntbethere.Itwaslikelytohavebeenleft
thereasaformofartisticstatementfromthephotographer.

ThisphotoisaprimeexampleofwhatHauteFashionphotographyis
about:strangedesignedclothesthatprobablywouldntbecomfortableto
wearbutcostaboutthesameasanewMercedesBenzanyway.This
photowastakenduringtheElieSaabHauteCouturein2015.

Portraiture

Portraiturephotographyfocusesonlyontheperson/peopleintheimage.Theseareportraitphotographs
havealargevarietyofapplications.Portraitscanbefoundmostcommonlyininterviewarticles,
wikipediaarticles,orothertypesofinformativearticle.Theyarealsousedinthingssuchasregister
databasesandIDcards.

Thisportraitisreferredtoascandidphotography.Often
setup/faked,candidshotsaremadetoappearasifthemodelisnt
actuallyawarethatthephotoisbeingtaken,andthattheyaredoing
nothingoutoftheordinary.Tohelpenforcethiseffect,modelsoften
keeptheireyesoffthecameraandlookatsomethingelsethatisnt
nearthephotographer/camera.Thebackgroundofthephotohas
beentakenoutoffocusandblurredinthephototohelpadddefinition
tothemodelandhelpthemstandout.Naturallightingfromthesun
hasbeenangledinawaythatmakesthemodelshairstandout.

Thisphotohashadablackandwhitefilterappliedtoit,
toaddadramaticeffect.Thephotoalsolookslikeithas
beenmodifiedinanimagemanipulationprogramlike
PhotoShop,tohelpredefinefacialfeaturesandmake
themstandoutmore,suchasapplyingtheburntool
intothewrinklesonthesubjectsforeheadtomake
themappearbiggerthanwhattheyreallyare.Once
againthebackgroundhasbeenblurredtohelpkeep
focusonthemodel.Lightingwasprobablyshoneonthe
modelfromthefront.

Thisportraitismostlyuneditedotherthanafiltertoaddtheeffect
ofanoldfilmcameraratherthanamoderndigitalone.Amore
natural,indoorlightinghasbeenusedtolightthisimageinsteadof
somethinglikeaspotlightorlampthatwouldbeusedinamore
professionalphotographyenvironment.Unliketheothertwo
examples,thebackgroundonthisportraitremainsmostly
unchangedtohelpretaintheeffectofavintagefilmbased
photograph.

Architectural

Architecturalphotographyfocusesonbuildings,structuredesign,interiordesignandotherfeaturesthat
contributetoabuildingorstructuresappearance.Architecturalphotographyalsofocusesaloton
perspective,tohelpmakestructureelementsstandout.

Architecturalphotographythatfocusesonexterioritemslikebuildingshavetomakeuseofdaylight,
meaningphotographersmayhavetowaitforlongperiodsoftimefortheperfecttimetogettheperfect
shotthattheywant.Photostakenatnightusuallyleechofambientlightthatsinthescene,suchas
streetlightsandlightsfromotherbuildings.

Interiorarchitecturalphotographycanalsoutiliseambientlight,suchaslightfromwindowsorindoor
electricallights.PostprocessinginsoftwaresuchasPhotoshopcanbeusedtohelpmodifythelighting
intheimagetohelpgiveamoredesirableeffect.

ThisphotooftheEiffelTowerhasbeentakenwitha
wideanglelensetohelpmakethestructurespan
acrosstheimageandmakeitappearbiggerthanwhat
aphototakenwithastandardlensewould.

Thisisanotherimagetakenwithawideangle
lense,easilyrecognisablebythecurved
appearanceonthehorizonoftheimage.Thewide
anglelenseinthisshothasallowedmoretobe
capturedinthepicture,aswellasemphasisethe
heightofthebuildings.

Thisimagetakenatnightgetsthemajorityofitslightfromthestreet
lightsandbuildinglights,asthereisnoothernaturallightsource
(suchasthesun).Thephotohasalsolikelybeenmodifiedin
Photoshoptohelpbrightenitup.

FineArtPhotography

Fineartphotographyisphotographydoesnthaveasetimagestyle,andisinsteaddefinedbythevision
thatthephotographerhas.Thegeneralideaofthegenreisthatthephotographeristryingtomakea
morepersonalstatementwiththeirimage,usuallyanatmosphericorevocativeone.Sometimesfineart
photographyisbasedoffjusttheaestheticoftheimage.

SteveMcCurrysAfghanGirlphotographisanexampleofafineart
photographthatreliesmostlyonaesthetic,inthiscaseitstheblendof
thegreen&redcolours.

Aninfamousandcontroversialphotographshowingalynchingin
Indianainthe1930s.Theimageissupposedtoinvokethoughts
askingwhyitwasdoneandifitwasreallynecessary.Theimageis
ofamobwhichconsistedofaround10,000peoplelynchingtwo
peopleaccusedofrape.

ThisimageshowsacanalinVenicein1894,andwastakenbyAlfred
Stieglitz,anAmericanmanwhowasverysuccessfulinpromoting
modernartandpushingtomakephotographyanacceptedartform.
Hewasbornin1864anddiedinin1946.

DocumentaryPhotography

Documentaryphotographyfocusesonphotographswhichhavebeentakentohelportosolelyrecord,
documentorchronicleevents.Photoscanberelevanttomodern,everydaylifeaswellashistoryand
eventsthathavehappenedinthepast.Documentaryphotographycanbeusedinphotojournalism,as
wellasbeanartisticformofphotography.

ThisphotowastakenduringtheVietnamWar,by
PhilipGriffiths.Hisaimwastotakephotographsthat
wouldbeeasilyinterpretedbymembersofthe
publicbackhometohelpshowthemandmakethem
understandthetragedyandhardshipofthewar.

ThisfamousphototakenbyAlfredEisenstaedtwastaken
inSeptember,1945,whenthenewsthatJapanhad
surrenderedtotheUnitedStates,markingthetrueendof
worldwarII.Theimagecapturesthehappinessthatthe
peoplehaveknowingthatthewarisfinallyoverandthere
ispeaceagain.

AnotherWWIIphotograph,thisphotobyJoe
RosenthalshowsUSsoldiersraisingtheflagonthe
JapaneseislandofIwoJima.Thisbattlewasoneof
themostfiercebattlesofthePacifictheatreduringthe
war,anditcostmanylivesofboththeJapaneseand
theAmericans.Thisphotodepictssomeofthe
survivingAmericansoldiersraisingtheflagonsome
rubbleontheislandtoshowthattheyhavewonthe
battleafteroveramonthoffighting.