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Home → Essays and Inspiration

Why You Should Experiment with Different Genres of Photography

By Adam Sheridan 12 Comments
Published On January 28, 2025

Many of us have a “go-to” thing to photograph. Often, this subject or style is the reason we got into photography in the first place. For me, it is portraiture. I love the dynamic feeling of capturing a moment in time of a person’s life—whether it’s at a key event like their wedding, or creating a unique moment in the studio with creative portraiture. I also love how complex people are as subjects, and how you can convey nearly any mood or emotion in a person’s face.

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NIKON Z 9 + NIKKOR Z 50mm f/1.8 S @ 50mm, ISO 64, 1/200, f/8.0

For as much as I love photographing people, though, it can be a lot of fun to experiment with photographing different types of subjects. I’ve also found that doing this has helped me grow as a photographer.

When trying new subjects, one thing that I’m reminded of is how various concepts (technical considerations, composition, light, mood, etc) apply to all forms of photography. Because of this, I find it both useful and fun to experiment with a variety of types of photography. And often, I will find some idea or inspiration that carries back to the portrait world.

In this article, I will talk about the photography genres that I enjoy and find make me a better photographer in general. I will also compare how they differ from portraiture and why practicing them improves my photography.

The inspiration for this article is straightforward—I just got back from California, helping to run Photography Life’s Death Valley Workshop. My wife and I also spent some time exploring California before the workshop. I decided to give myself the challenge to try and capture images on this trip in a variety of photography genres. All the images in this article (apart from the one above) are from this trip. Hopefully, you’ll find some inspiration here for your own journey in photography.

Landscape

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Mamiya 645 1000s, 80mm, Portra 400

Spencer and I were recently talking about the differences between landscape and people photography. With people, you often have more control over many variables: the light, your subject’s placement and expression, and so on. However, there is one variable where landscape photography is actually more flexible: your choice of subject.

Usually in portrait photography, your subject is chosen in advance, especially if you’ve been hired by a client. But with landscapes, if your initial subject doesn’t work right, then you can simply choose a new subject! This is a freeing feeling but also requires being on the hunt for good subjects constantly, which is good practice.

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NIKON Z 9 + NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S @ 38mm, ISO 320, 1/100, f/9.0

Although you can’t move the sun in landscape photography, you can control the light with the direction you face and the time you show up. For example, I took the following two images within a day of each other—first before sunrise and second after sunset. The mood of these photos is different. If I had photographed it at mid-day instead, that would be yet another type of light, and even more different from these.

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NIKON Z 9 + NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S @ 44mm, ISO 64, 16/10, f/8.0
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NIKON Z 9 + NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S @ 46mm, ISO 64, 6/10, f/8.0

Wildlife

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NIKON Z 9 + NIKKOR Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S @ 200mm, ISO 64, 1/400, f/2.8

This was not a wildlife-focused trip, so I didn’t have my longest lens with me. I did, however, find a few fun animals to photograph. Wildlife photography in some ways is fairly similar to portraiture, only with less control over your subject and more unpredictability (unless you photograph children, which can be about as unpredictable as photographing wildlife).

I find wildlife photography good practice because of the constraints—I can’t ask the animal to turn towards the light, or take a few steps to the left. This places additional emphasis on what I can control, and it also requires patience. Plus, there is the importance of learning animal behavior.

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NIKON Z 9 + NIKKOR Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S @ 101mm, ISO 100, 1/250, f/2.8
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NIKON Z 9 + NIKKOR Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S @ 200mm, ISO 64, 1/500, f/2.8

Abstract/Macro

The fun thing about abstract and macro photography is that all the emphasis is on the details. How does the light and texture align to convey a feeling? You aren’t as constrained by the literal subject in front of you.

Also, you have to be even more careful than normal with composition, as distractions around the edges can draw attention away from the purpose of the image. Abstracts rarely have an obvious start and stop point, so figuring out exactly how to frame it can be the difference between an image that is successful or not.

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NIKON Z 9 + NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S @ 44mm, ISO 110, 1/250, f/13.0

I also like that abstracts and macro photography train you to look for details. Even in a scene that doesn’t have any traditional subjects or grand landscapes, there can still be good photos.

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NIKON Z 9 + NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S @ 47mm, ISO 64, 1/25, f/20.0
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NIKON Z 9 + NIKKOR Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S @ 200mm, ISO 360, 1/250, f/8.0

Often, when I think of abstracts, I think of close-up, zoomed-in type photos. However, in the right scene, an abstract can cover a large amount of space, like the photo above, where an entire granite shelf with trees is an abstract image.

Conclusion

I hope that the ideas in this article encourage you to go out and experiment with different types of photography. I’m confident that you will see real growth by taking the constraints and flexibility of different genres and practicing with them. Let me know if there are other styles of photography that you enjoy experimenting with!

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Filed Under: Essays and Inspiration Tagged With: Composition, Creativity, Essays, Landscape Photography, Travel

About Adam Sheridan

I'm Adam, a Colorado-based wedding, music, and portrait photographer. I also love talking about the business side of photography. When not taking pictures, I'm probably out hiking with my wife (OK, I take pictures on the hikes too). My work can be found on Instagram and My Website.

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James
James
January 28, 2025 6:18 pm

Adam, I just wanted to say that this was a delightful article and I loved your photos. I particularly enjoyed the abstract ones in the desert!

4
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Adam Sheridan
Adam Sheridan
Author
Reply to  James
January 29, 2025 8:38 am

Thanks James, glad you enjoyed it!

1
Reply
Tomas
Tomas
January 28, 2025 2:58 pm

Awesome article and pictures,especially with lens 70-200.

I am just pretty new user of new Z50 Mark II, do you think would be great combination with Z 70-200 S lens? Wouldn’t be waste of money? I have opportunity to but this lens till friday only for 2000 $ and this price doesn’t leave me cold.

Thank you for your advice

Tomas

0
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Adam Sheridan
Adam Sheridan
Author
Reply to  Tomas
January 28, 2025 3:12 pm

Thank you Tomas!

That’s a good question. I really like the Z 70-200, and it is one of my most used lenses, particularly for event photography. However, with that being said, if it’s the right lens for you depends on what you like to photograph. If I was using it primarily for landscapes, I would want something lighter, and wouldn’t care so much about the 2.8 aperture, so something more like the 24-200 would be a good fit, or potentially the 100-400 if I wanted more reach. It also depends on what other lens(s) you have and would be pairing it with. If you do photography where the 2.8 aperture is appealing, then yes, it is a great lens!

Hope that helps.

1
Reply
Tomas
Tomas
Reply to  Adam Sheridan
January 28, 2025 3:23 pm

Thank you for the quick answer.

I just came back from trip in Mexico. I love catching awesome shots of animals, thats my priority list: Animals long range, Animals short range, People, Landscape, Architecture, Reports

My current with Z50 Mark II is:
1st- kit lens DX 16-50 – using for landscape, fantastic sharp and light lens (but still comparable to my pocket iPhone 15 Pro)
2nd – kit lens DX 50-250 – using for animals, detail architecture, detail close shots (big advantages versus cellphone mainly thanks to range)
3rd – DX 24mm 1,7 – awesome lens for indoor events, I tested last month during our company xmas event and photos are brilliant! Much better versus cellphone
4th – DX Viltrox 75 1,2 – big surprise for me, still cant believe the sharpness and bokeh. Big advantage versus cellphone.

So now thinking about 1st full frame lens and options are 28-400, 70-200, 180-600 or Tamron 50-400

But its still fair to say, i am a hobbyist and it will stay the same. What do you think about my current APS-C/DX setup?

Thank you very much,
Tomas

0
Reply
Adam Sheridan
Adam Sheridan
Author
Reply to  Tomas
January 28, 2025 3:39 pm

That’s a good kit you’ve got there!
Since you already have the full 70-200 range covered with the 50-250, I would say the biggest question is if the larger aperture is worth it to you for the extra size/weight and price. The 70-200 is also sharper, but I think in practical terms the biggest benefit would be the aperture.
The 180-600 would certainly be the most different lens from the ones you currently own, and the much longer reach would open up some new options if you want to photograph animals that are smaller and/or further away.

1
Reply
Tomas
Tomas
Reply to  Adam Sheridan
January 28, 2025 3:57 pm

Thank you Adam, you hit the point! Take care!

0
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Spencer Cox
Spencer Cox
Admin
Reply to  Tomas
January 29, 2025 11:26 am

I agree with Adam and would second his recommendation for the 180-600mm! It’s going to open up totally new types of subjects for you to photograph.

0
Reply
Massimo Vignoli
Massimo Vignoli
January 28, 2025 1:29 pm

It is such an interesting topic, and I fully agree with it.
I started last century with landscapes, then moved to wildlife. Maybe this is why I like shooting Animalscapes so much. Now, I don’t know what I love more between the two.
In parallel, l had many portrait sessions in the studio and outdoors for nearly ten years. And I also like macro!
I’m sure any of those genres added something to my photography; we all are the sum of our experiences. So, adding new photography methods improves our skills in any of the other.
Beautiful article!

1
Reply
Adam Sheridan
Adam Sheridan
Author
Reply to  Massimo Vignoli
January 28, 2025 3:07 pm

Thanks Massimo! I like the way you describe that we are the sum of our experiences. So true

0
Reply
Jason Polak
Jason Polak
Admin
January 28, 2025 9:08 am

Awesome article! I like your landscapes and wildlife shots, and your Pelican has lots of personality. I think everyone should explore as many genres as they can. I feel like landscapes are the most freeing in terms of composition and lighting and choice of subject as you said, portraits are the most soothing in terms of things you can control and familiarity as it’s our own species, wildlife of course is where my heart is, and macros have the best feeling of an uncharted adventure….

1
Reply
Adam Sheridan
Adam Sheridan
Author
Reply to  Jason Polak
January 28, 2025 9:22 am

Thanks Jason! It was a fun challenge to try and get photos in all of these genres from a single trip.

0
Reply

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