Photographic work can be divided into dozens of categories, many with lots of sub-categories. Photography is an all-encompassing term used for all types of image capture. But there are in fact distinct variations in the manner in which photography is approached in different genres. Different genres of photography require a different style and perspective. The techniques used by photographers differ based on the subject, the situation and the end use of the image or scene. Photography has always been considered an art and a creative process. This creativity is enhanced by the availability of camera features that make possible a wide range of ideas and styles. The numerous styles can be grouped under the following heads:
Advertising Photography: Advertising photography is made to illustrate a service or product. These images are normally done with an advertising agency, design firm or with an in-house corporate design team. With the colossal rise of corporate and business firms expanding their respective ventures all through India, advertising photography can indeed be called the most growing and profitable profession in present terms. The high-end and glossy magazines or the catchy and arresting advertisements shot by the men, advertising and their taglines has never been better in the country. The digital age must also be included in this profitable rise in the success graph. Photographers like Iqbal Mohamed and other luminaries bring out their very best through the advertisements. The angle, the manner, the thought concept in which advertising photography is done is bound to attract both the common man and the businessmen alike.
Aerial Photography: Aerial photography is the capturing of photographs from above with a camera mounted, or hand held, on an aircraft, helicopter, balloon, rocket, kite, skydiver or similar vehicle. It was widely used for military purposes during World War I.
Architectural Photography: Architectural Photography finds analyses of the various uses and techniques of architectural photography. City photographers may specialize in photographing the main sites and attractions of a city. They also take architecture pictures and may work for an architect or government to take pictures of construction sites for buildings, bridges and roads.
Adventure photography: Standing for the shooting of adventurous occasions in several spheres, adventure photography encompasses various kinds of capturing images. It can be in a forest, a tour of the rocky ranges, or anything one admires to make it into an adventure. Indian adventure photography has always been on the rise, and the present times are also witnessing numerous daring photographers attempting the impossible. Adventurous camping calls for several such instances. The scope in adventure is truly vast and immense, when everything can be incorporated, provided one has the eye for detail. The wildlife tours, mountain tours to the mysterious Himalayas, or even underwater beauty can give one ample opportunities for adventure photography.
Astrography: Also known as space photography, astrophotography is generally done by the help of a telescope, that entails making photographs of astronomical objects in the sky like moon, sun, planets, starts and deep sky objects such as star clusters and galaxies.
Baby Photography: People generally love to capture their pre-child age, just to look back happily several years later. Baby photography is generally linked with portrait photography over the years. Professionals are now becoming experts in this genre, and people in India are also slowly responding to it.
Commercial photography: This includes a vast scope under it, comprising advertising photography, editorial photography, photojournalism, portrait and wedding photography and fine art photography.
Concert Photography: This demands a tough job and is among the most difficult ones. Concert photography calls for filming magnum programmes by singers, dancers, or full band concert shows. The Indian concept of concert photography is also hugely on the rise. With the escalating popularity of concerts in the country, be it rock, folk, dances, film music, classical etc., the craze never ceases. As such, professionalism can also be seen in the field. The challenging job to film the crowd, the performer, the ambience, the musical accompaniments, can call for excellent expertise.
Documentary photography: This kind usually refers to a type of professional photojournalism, but it may also be an amateur or student pursuit. The photographer attempts to produce truthful, objective, and usually candid photography of a particular subject, most often pictures of people. Indian documentary photography had already started its enriching journey in the 20th century, with people like Raghubir Singh leading the path. The documentation of people, their lives, the atmosphere around them, be it in rural or metropolitan India, photographers in India have successfully captured them in every frame. Subjects evoking the sense of moroseness, wonder, musings, are generally given primary importance by documentary photographers. With each passing day, the technique has become more advanced, and the predominance of black and white imagery in each documentary photograph, make its look and its feel more haunting.
Equine Photography: Includes photographs of horses and everything connected with horses.
Fine arts photography: Sometimes simply referred to as art photography, fine arts photography stands for high-quality archival photographic prints that are produced to fulfill the creative vision of an individual professional and often reproduced in limited editions. As the genre specifies, fine arts photographers of Indian origin are indeed very few. The kind demands a strict aesthetic sense of fine arts and a proper understanding of the picture, for one`s own self. Perhaps due to its difficulties, the new breed of photographers is yet to showcase their promise in fine arts photography. The already established generation amongst Indians though has been successful to capture the innate feel of a picture. Creativity, a sense of satisfaction or fulfillment, visionary power and presence of mind are some of the necessary qualities to pursue a career in fine arts photography. Leading institutes of Indian photography are offering courses in the art of fin arts photography.
Fine Arts Nude Photography: Also called as erotic photography, this genre dates back to the history of the art and process of taking pictures of unclothed subjects. Viewed with much criticism around the world, nude photography sometimes borders on pornography, and generally not sensed as `fine art`. That might be the very reason that it is banned in several countries across the globe. Although, nude photography is looked at with veneration since the Victorian Age. Back then, portraits were painted, even from the royal family. But, with passage of time, man has become more thinkable, with impurity tinting the art. This goes the same with Indian nude photography. It is highly looked at as a taboo, with the rural and classless people seeing it as mockery. As a result, it is no longer a `fine art`, merely reduced to uncouth batterings. Today, with the rise of fashion magazines (some even imported from abroad), one gets to rarely see a classy nude pictorial representation. In spite of being reduced down to sleaziness and disowned by the government, nude photography in India has made a name of its own in the upper sociable classes, with men like Vikram Bawa and Madhur Shroff.
Feature photography: Feature photography stands for a pictorial representation of a story, or daily news item. Considered one of the most challenging subjects to deal with as a photographer, feature photography basically comes under photojournalism. Journalists can successfully be called feature photographers. Feature photos primarily utilise the following elements - slice of life, human interest, humour, character profile and artistic expression. Quite naturally, being related to journalism as a profession, the Indian feature photography scenario is extremely promising. Whether for daily newspaper, or magazine article, feature photographers generally bring out a beautiful rendition of a story that needs to be told. The pictorial illustration of day-to-day lives and its troubles and happiness in the Indian context looks well worked out. With the escalating demand of special featured articles - both in written and video format, feature photography in India is looking towards exploring new horizons.
Food Photography: Signifies a still life specialization of general commercial photography. The main applications of food photography are in book and magazine editorials on food, including cookbooks, advertising and package design. The Indian scenario looks extremely promising in terms of food pictorial representation, with the sudden booming of swanky and snazzy restaurants. Young restaurateurs are willing out to shell out the moolah, and foodies are also gobbling it up with fulfillment. As such, magazines dedicated to delectable and mouth-watering menus are always up in the platter. The essence of the picture itself has to appeal to the diner, to pull his gastronomical interest. And with men like Atul Kasbekar and Sanjeev Prabhu in the scenario of food photography, India has never been so much attracted towards food in a new manner.
Glamour or Fashion photography: This is a genre of photography devoted to displaying clothing and other fashion items. Fashion photography is most often conducted for advertisements or fashion magazines. Over time, fashion photography has developed its own aesthetic in which the clothes and fashions are enhanced by exotic locations and story lines.
Infrared Photography: With this type of photography one can get interesting "in-camera effects": false-color or black and white images with a dreamlike or sometimes lurid appearance.
Landscape Photography: This demands an artistic interpretation of the land, its features, beauty and its definition.
Macro photography: Macro photography is a type of close-up photography, where the image is as large or larger than the subject.
Nature photography: This refers to a particular form of photography with a stronger accent on the aesthetical value of the photo, taken outdoors and devoted to displaying natural elements such as landscapes, plants and wildlife.
Night photography: This genre generally refers to photographs taken outdoors between twilight and dusk. The photographers generally have a choice between using artificial light or using a long exposure, exposing the scene for seconds or even minutes, in order to give the film enough time to capture a usable image, and to compensate for reciprocity failure. With the advent of the digital camera, shooting at night in India has become a happening concept, that photographers are lapping up fast. The darkened image of the quaint alleys, the hidden paradise, and several other places that were perhaps lying unexplored, are now coming up to the limelight. Night photography in India is gradually taking a fresh turn, with photographers becoming more and more interested in this genre.
Pet Photography: Pet photographers are professionals in taking pictures of animals at homes. They might share a studio with a pet groomer or are on good terms with the nearby groomers and pet stores.
Portrait photography: This genre has been around since the invention and popularisation of the camera, and is a cheaper and often more accessible method than portrait painting, which had been used by distinguished figures before the use of the camera. Indian portrait photography was already enriched during the 19th-20th centuries, which have now become even more uplifted. Professional photographers are now shooting in their aesthetic styles, innovating and sharpening their intellect through unusual portraiture. The Indian prospect has also changed hugely, with more and more common men showing interest in the genre. It is no longer restricted to the families of royalties. People have started to think out of the box, and students are now opting for such innovative courses, instead of the customary ones.
Travel Photography: This kind of photography is done to showcase locations, illustrate travel literature, etc. The primary aim here is to document every information, chiefly done by professionals. Travel photography in India is exceedingly profiting, with numerous kinds of adventurous tours being conducted every time. The magic of such photography is that, one can virtually click as many and every type of photograph to one`s heart content. And India is always there to present tourists with surprises at its each corner. Whether an individual is an amateur or a pro in this field, travel photography can be documented to one`s purpose and intention. Indian wildlife, adventurous, feature landscape or nature photographers, primarily use travelling as their base to illustrate a pictorial representation. Almost every college opting photography as an option, give a student to study travel photography as a subject. Indian travel scenario has never looked such shining, equipped with plenty photographic opportunities.
Forensic photography: Sometimes also referred to as forensic imaging or crime scene photography, this is the art of producing an accurate reproduction of a crime scene or an accident scene for the benefit of a court or to aid in the investigation.
Underwater photography: Underwater photography is the process of taking photographs while underwater. It is usually done while scuba diving, but can be done while snorkeling or swimming. Equipped with the latest digital cameras, specially fitted for filming underwater, Indian photographers have already started exploring the limits below, looking beyond just the land and air. Today, Indian tourists have become more conscious to visit the untouched lands, which provided opportunities to further one`s knowledge about life underwater. Previously, cameras had to be imported from foreign countries to capture those stunning images one gets to see now in glossy magazines or in television channels. But, now, with travelling in the likes of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Daman and Diu or Lakshadweep Island, underwater photography ahs also increased by leaps and bounds.
Wedding photography: This is probably one of the most complicated, but at the same time challenging forms of photography that requires a great deal of responsibility, skills, and knowledge.
Wildlife photography: Wildlife photography is the act of taking photographs of wildlife, which is regarded as being one of the more challenging forms of photography as it has several different requirements.
Sports photography: The specialized art of shooting people engaged in sports, games and adventure activities.
War photography: War photography, though a pretty new entrant in the genre, calls for extensive pictorial coverage of an ongoing war, directly live from the warfront.
Family photography: Generally referring to a longtime pictorial familial reunion of several generations, for some special occasion.
Stock photography: It consists of existing photographs that can be commissioned for specific uses. Publishers, advertising agencies, graphic artists, and others use stock photography to carry through the needs of their creative assignments. Though criticism has already started to pour in the Indian stock photographic state of affairs, yet good points do lie in the sly. Also referred to as photo archive or photo library, with the gradual rise of computers and the world wide web in the country, stock photography is booming and seen as a promising business prospect for people planning to open an archive for themselves. The immense stock that is available in any internet portal, professionals are extremely helped in their workable purposes. Stock photographs can range from any topic under the sun, but they basically cater to the library of ancient and heritage sculptures and constructions for future usage. Indian stock photography is building its asset day by day, and even students are profited by it. Special agencies have opened up in this regard, to facilitate governmental and private purposes.
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