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Home → Photography Techniques

25 Types of Photography You Should Know in 2025

Here is a detailed list of photography types, including a bunch of examples!

By Spencer Cox 33 Comments
Last Updated On January 21, 2025

Genres-of-Photography-Illustrations

It’s useful to understand the different types of photography and genres practiced today. On one hand, it’s good to know that you aren’t missing out on good pictures from photographers who capture different subjects than you do. But more importantly, when you see a wide range of photographic types and styles, you might be inspired to try out another genre of photography for yourself. Although this list doesn’t cover every genre, it outlines many of the most important.

Below is the list of types and genres of photography that exist today. You can click on any of the links to jump to that section within the article.

Table of Contents

  • Nature Photography
    • Landscape
    • Intimate Landscape Photography
    • Wildlife
    • Bird Photography
    • Macro
    • Underwater
    • Astrophotography
    • Aerial Photography
    • Scientific
  • People Photography
    • Portraits
    • Wedding Photography
    • Documentary
    • Sports
    • Fashion
    • Commercial
    • Street Photography
    • Event Photography
    • Travel
    • Pet Photography
  • Manmade Objects
    • Product Photography
    • Real Estate
    • Food
    • Still Life Photography
    • Architecture
  • Abstract Photography
  • Other Types of Photography

Nature Photography

Landscape

Landscape photography is another way of saying scenic or environmental photography. It involves taking pictures of a natural scene – often large and grand, but sometimes smaller and more intimate – in a way that brings the viewer into a scene. Landscape photography is one of the most popular types today, spinning off several sub-genres such as storm photography, seascapes, and so on. With a broader definition, it also includes “urban landscape” photography and manmade scenes.

Landscape photography is a very accessible type of photography, but that doesn’t mean it is easy to master!

Landscape Photography
NIKON D800E + 24mm f/1.4 @ 24mm, ISO 100, 8 seconds, f/16.0

Intimate Landscape Photography

Intimate landscape photography sounds like it could be a subgenre of landscape photography, but it’s different enough to warrant a separate category. Unlike traditional landscape photography that aims for showing off grand scenes, intimate landscape photography shows a closer part of the scene that is often closer to the viewer, and thus feels more intimate.

Abstract pond grasses intimate landscape
Mamiya 7 + Mamiya 210mm f/8, Kodak E100, tripod, no filters

Unlike traditional landscape photography, intimate landscape photography offers more flexibility at a given location to do something a little different and more surprising than the classic obvious shot. It often involves using longer lenses and focusing on a specific part of the landscape that really appeals to your visual sense. I suggest taking a closer look at our intimate landscape article for more information.

Wildlife

Wildlife photography can bring out some of the most intense photographers you’ll meet – people who might spend hours on end waiting for an animal to wander into the perfect spot, or search for creatures that most people would rather try to avoid. But it’s also something you can practice in your own backyard, or a short drive from where you live, since there are animals to be found everywhere. From time to time, you’ll see a photo series of urban wildlife that rivals the best images captured in more remote locations.

Groundhog_Jason_Polak
Nikon D500 + 500PF @ 500mm, ISO 720, 1/500, f/5.6 © Jason Polak

Bird Photography

In 2024, I just had to sneak in bird photography into this list! Bird photography is a subgenre of wildlife photography but it is so specialized that it certainly deserves a category all on its own. At the very least, I am sure most bird photographers don’t even know that other animals exist!

Hornero_LUT_Jason_Polak
NIKON D500 @ 500mm, ISO 1100, 10/6400, f/5.6 © Jason Polak

Bird photography is one of the most challenging genres of photography because birds are often hidden in forests and fly very fast, so often high shutter speeds are required. Nevertheless, it is also one of the most rewarding genres of willdife. Plus, unlike most other sorts of animals, birds can be easily found everywhere!

Macro

One of the most accessible types of photography is macro, the art of capturing small creatures and objects that we ordinarily overlook. Macro photography is usually associated with images of bugs and flowers, but even subjects like snowflakes or water droplets in the studio can make for amazing macro photos. A related style of photography is simply “close-up” photography, which might not be as magnified as true macro work, but still isolates a small slice of the world that otherwise may not stand out.

Although a dedicated macro lens can be expensive, a set of extension tubes is much cheaper and likely works just fine with your current equipment. For photographers who only ever take pictures when they travel, my top recommendation is to start practicing macro photography one way or another. It’s not easy to master, but you’ll learn some very useful technical skills and take some stellar photos along the way.

Type of photography macro
NIKON D7000 + 105mm f/2.8 @ 105mm, ISO 1250, 1/250, f/22.0

Underwater

It isn’t always easy to take underwater photos, even if you live in the right location for it. Not only do you need a good waterproof camera, but you also need some specific lighting equipment the moment you start taking photos more than a short distance from the surface. Add in scuba gear and the requisite training for longer dives, and you can see why this is one of the trickier genres to start practicing. But if you put in the money and effort, you’ll end up with photos that not nearly as many people are taking today. Underwater photography spans everything from wildlife and macro to portraits that are striking to the eye.

Underwater Photography Example
NIKON D7000 + 105mm f/2.8 @ 105mm, ISO 3200, 1/100, f/2.8

Astrophotography

Encompassing everything from smartphone images taken through a telescope to deep-space photographs from the Hubble, astrophotography can be one of the most humbling types of photography to practice. It’s humbling for two reasons: First, the size and scale of subjects captured in this style of photography are enough to bring on existential awe in almost anyone. But more to the point, if you don’t have excellent exposure and post-processing techniques, any lack of knowledge will be immediately obvious.

Andromeda Galaxy Photo
NIKON Z 6 II + VR 300mm f/4E + 2x TC @ 600mm, ISO 51200, 6 seconds, f/8.0, 100 image stack

There is also a genre of “astrolandscape” photography that includes the Milky Way with a slice of Earth in the foreground. Although it is still tricky to take astrolandscape photos, they’re a bit easier for most photographers to master.

Milky Way over Grand Teton National Park
NIKON D800E + 20mm f/1.8 @ 20mm, ISO 3200, 20 seconds, f/2.2

Aerial Photography

Whether this is simply a branch of landscape photography or a genre of its own is debatable, but either way, aerial photography is experiencing an explosion in popularity today thanks to the advent of high-quality consumer drones. Aerial photography also encompasses high-altitude images from planes and helicopters, as well as images where the subject is manmade rather than a landscape per se.

Five Image Average from Drone
DJI Mavic 2 Pro Drone @ ISO 100, 1/1600, f/4.0

Scientific

Scientific photography is a broad category, encompassing everything from extreme magnification microscope photography to, again, astrophotography. Some manmade objects sneak their way into this as well, like photos of particle colliders or the space station that periodically go viral. It’s a type of photography that I hope continues to see more and more attention in the future, since it has the power to show us entirely new sights and change the way we think about the world.

Solar Eclipse Photograph
NIKON D810 + 150-600mm f/5-6.3 @ 850mm, ISO 100, 1/50, f/11.0, © Nasim Mansurov

People Photography

Portraits

The broadest type of people photography is portraiture, covering everything from family portraits to fine-art photography and commercial work. Often, the goal of portraiture is to show the character of a subject – to capture the person’s personality and emotion in an image. Portrait photography is also quite an accessible genre overall, not requiring more than a single prime lens and flash to start at a high level (or whatever equipment you already have if you’re just testing the waters). But capturing the essence of a subject, or meeting the goals for your commercial project, can take a lifetime of work.

Monochrome Portrait Photograph
NIKON D7000 + 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 34mm, ISO 360, 1/100, f/2.8

Wedding Photography

One of the most important events in many people’s lives is a wedding, and that means wedding photographers have a huge responsibility. Not only do wedding photographers need to have good camera and lighting skills, but they also must know how to work with people and capture the right emotions almost effortlessly. This is a difficult type of photography to practice, and you only get one chance to do it right, so I have a lot of respect for good wedding photographers.

Wedding Photography Genre
NIKON D800E + 85mm f/1.4 @ 85mm, ISO 400, 1/1000, f/2.0 © Nasim Mansurov

Documentary

Documentary photographers seek to convey news or information in their images. Sometimes, the photos depict a moment so striking that it crosses the line into art or otherwise causes viewers to have an emotional reaction. Documentary photography can happen anywhere, from local news stories to reporting directly from war zones. In the best of cases, documentary photos shed light on important yet little-known events, or celebrate the best examples of humanity for everyone to see. Not all documentary photos are newsworthy; sometimes, they simply document a different place or culture.

Documentary Photo Example
NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 24-70mm f/4 S @ 24mm, ISO 3200, 1/13, f/4.0

Sports

Another broad style of photography is sports photography, from international events like the Olympics to adventure-based photography in the most remote areas of the world. Even a parent photographing their child playing sports is part of this genre – a type of photography which requires top-notch autofocus skills, good timing, and often a very fast shutter speed.

Adventure Sport Photography
NIKON D800E + 70-200mm f/4 @ 200mm, ISO 140, 1/800, f/7.1

Fashion

A cousin of portraiture, but distinct enough to count as its own genre, is fashion photography. This is a fast-paced world, and the best fashion photographers are intimately knowledgeable not just about lighting and photography but also the clothing styles they’re photographing. Fashion photographs are usually intended for brands and advertisements, but not always, especially in today’s Instagram world.

Fashion Example
NIKON D800E + 35mm f/1.4 @ 35mm, ISO 100, 1/200, f/5.6 © Lola Mansurov

Commercial

Commercial photography of people is anything intended to sell a product, especially advertisements and even stock photos. Commercial photographers often simply capture the products themselves, although that’s something I’ll cover later in this article; people are still used very frequently in advertising campaigns today. Usually, the goal of commercial photography is to create images that match the emotions and message the brand in question is trying to convey. These photographers need special skills in studio lighting and visualization to make the client’s plan a reality.

Type of Photography Commercial
NIKON D3S + 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 98mm, ISO 400, 1/160, f/8.0 © Nasim Mansurov

Street Photography

Street photography is about capturing slices of life that happen in common areas in a city, such as parks and sidewalks. Good street photos find meaning and purpose in seemingly ordinary moments or interactions, making viewers think about something they would otherwise pass by. Street photography is often associated with black and white work on 35mm film, but modern-day street photos utilize almost any post-processing styles and camera equipment.

Black and White Street Photo
NIKON D7000 + 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55mm, ISO 640, 1/10, f/2.8

Event Photography

Aside from weddings, there are broader classes of events that deserve recognition as a separate genre of photography. For example, corporate events, concerts, parades, and other celebrations all count as event photography. You can expect unpredictability and fast-paced scenes – but also interesting human interactions and sometimes (like with concert photos) very good light. Skilled event photographers are able to convey emotions so that viewers are able to relive the moment.

Van Halen World Tour 2012
NIKON D700 + 300mm f/4 @ 300mm, ISO 3200, 1/160, f/5.6 © Nasim Mansurov

Travel

One of the broadest types of people photography is travel – photographing life in another area of the world, whether portraits or candid images. Good travel photography captures the striking similarities and differences among people across the world, making us feel more connected and aware of how other people live.

Travel Photography Genre
NIKON Z 7 + 70-200mm f/4 @ 200mm, ISO 200, 1/6400, f/4.0

Pet Photography

Pet photography doesn’t fit perfectly under one of this article’s broader categories, but I put it at the end of “people photography” because pets are an important part of many people’s families. And similar skills apply to pet photography as portraiture – understanding light, dealing with fast-paced chaos, and conveying the essence of your subject. Aside from selfies, this might just be the most popular genre of photography today!

Pet Photography Genre Example
NIKON D7000 + 50mm f/1.4 @ 50mm, ISO 720, 1/160, f/1.4

Manmade Objects

Product Photography

Another branch of commercial photography is product photography, where you are typically shooting in a studio with careful lighting to accentuate the product in question (though sometimes outdoors or on location). In the same way as commercial portraiture, a product photographer’s goal is to match the vision of the company in question. An outdoor brand will have different needs from a high-end lifestyle company, even if both sell the same underlying type of product, such as clothing or backpacks.

Nikon Z7 II
Product photo of the Nikon Z7 II that I took for our review

Real Estate

A very common career in photography is to photograph real estate. You’d be surprised how important it is to have a good, creative eye and top-notch photography skills if you want your real estate photos to stand out. Good real estate photographers will take a long time to make sure the lines in their photos are straight, the windows aren’t overexposed, and the interior lighting is as appealing as possible.

Real-Estate-Photo-Example
NIKON Z 7 + NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S @ 15mm, ISO 100, 1/2, f/16.0

Food

Food photography has experienced a remarkable growth in popularity in recent years thanks to social media. Previously, it was essentially a sub-genre of commercial work – advertisements, cookbooks, menus, and so on – but it’s becoming more a part of documentary photography today.

No matter the final output, though, food photos almost always try to capture their subject in the most appetizing way possible. Sometimes, food photographers will replace the actual foods in an image with artificial substitutes that look tastier, such as glue rather than milk when photographing cereal!

Food Photography
NIKON D300 + 50mm f/1.4 @ 50mm, ISO 200, 1/200, f/3.2 © Lola Mansurov

Still Life Photography

Another broad style of photography is still life photography, taking pictures in a studio of a manufactured scene in order to look as good as possible. Although still life photography sometimes includes living things such as plants, I’m putting it under the “manmade objects” category because it can include almost anything. Some of the most interesting still life images I’ve seen are of seemingly boring objects like silverware and office supplies.

AF-S VR Micro-Nikkor 105mm f2.8G IF-ED sample (1)
© Nasim Mansurov

Architecture

The next type of photography on this list is also one of the most popular: architectural photography, including cityscapes and other details of buildings and construction. In many ways, architectural photography is like landscape photography, with practitioners of both genres often using tripods and careful post-processing techniques to accentuate their subject as best as possible. However, architectural photography has the added difficulty of dealing with straight lines – not an easy task if you want to avoid a skewed or tilted look in the final photo.

Type of Photography Architecture
NIKON D7000 + 24mm f/1.4 @ 24mm, ISO 200, 1/80, f/2.5

Abstract Photography

Abstract photography doesn’t really fit into any of the other categories, because you can take abstract photos in many different genres! I’ve even seem some amazing abstract wildlife photos where the photographer deliberately uses motion blur to capture their subject while moving. That said, I personally love abstract landscape photography the most. The natural world can be such an unusual place if you focus on the right subject. Try shooting with a telephoto lens to hone in on one small part of the subject. You’ll find lots of good abstract compositions.

Fabric of Water
NIKON D800E + 70-200mm f/4 @ 140mm, ISO 500, 1/500, f/5.6

Other Types of Photography

Not every photo fits neatly into a single genre of photography. Sometimes, an image will straddle the line between two or more different types, like a landscape image of manmade telescopes under the Milky Way. Is that landscape, architecture, scientific, or astrophotography? It doesn’t really matter – these genres don’t have a hard line between them, and the categories just make it easier to talk about.

Even if you’re not sure what type of photography applies to your photo, that’s perfectly fine, and it doesn’t say anything about the quality of a photo one way or another. The point of the list above is to give you some ideas for different styles of photography you may enjoy, not constrict the types of images you can take.

Let me know below if there are any types and styles of photography you’d like to learn next!

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Filed Under: Photography Techniques Tagged With: Inspiration, Photography Basics, Photography Tips

About Spencer Cox

I'm Spencer Cox, a landscape photographer based in Colorado. I started writing for Photography Life a decade ago, and now I run the website in collaboration with Nasim. I've used nearly every digital camera system under the sun, but for my personal work, I love the slow-paced nature of large format film. You can see more at my personal website and my not-exactly-active Instagram page.

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Janiah
Janiah
January 22, 2025 1:41 pm

I am a teenager wanting to do street or abstract photography what should i do start and what type of Camera do you recommend for me I am between 14 and 16
(I don’t want to disclose my age)

-3
Reply
Clara Link
Clara Link
March 23, 2024 1:08 pm

I really want been photographer for you, I am a professional photographer. I can do it. please.

-2
Reply
هانی
هانی
April 10, 2023 2:15 pm

what is name type photography from manufacture or mall ?

3
Reply
Kejml
Kejml
January 10, 2023 3:19 pm

I think I’m missing there abstract photography, but otherwise nice article and than you s for that.

0
Reply
Spencer Cox
Spencer Cox
Author
Reply to  Kejml
January 30, 2023 3:03 pm

Good idea, I just added it to the list! Thank you, Kejml.

-4
Reply
King4joy
King4joy
October 1, 2022 12:25 am

What type of photograhpy is it when one takes a photo of a portion of a painting to highlight the part that interests him the most please?

-2
Reply
Pete A
Pete A
Reply to  King4joy
October 3, 2022 2:45 am

bastardization: (5.) The creation of an inferior copy or version; corruption, degradation, or debasement.
— Wiktionary

corruption: (2.) The act of corrupting or of impairing integrity, virtue, or moral principle; the state of being corrupted or debased; loss of purity or integrity.
— Wiktionary

copyright infringement: (copyright law) The unauthorized use of copyrighted material in a manner that violates one of the copyright owner’s exclusive rights, such as the right to reproduce or perform the copyrighted work, or to make derivative works that build upon it.
— Wiktionary

-13
Reply
Ravinder
Ravinder
February 12, 2021 10:38 pm

It is my hobby. It is to remember the moment we live with open eyes. This elaboration not gives the knowledge but the inner vision to see the world, a huge photo, by the Almighty. Thanks

4
Reply
Khem
Khem
February 10, 2021 7:38 pm

Awesome

2
Reply
Anup
Anup
January 23, 2021 3:27 am

Article was good 🙏

1
Reply
Diana
Diana
December 25, 2020 11:19 am

Yes, I’d love to know the definition of “cryptic photography.” Thank you!

2
Reply
Jemma Rose Herndon
Jemma Rose Herndon
December 10, 2020 3:19 pm

I’m 12 and in 7th grade. I don’t know much about Digital Art and photographing and in my Digital Art class we have an assignment to take 5 pictures in one genre. I was wondering if you know anything about Still life photography can you please explain it to me?

7
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