LO1 - Photographic Genres

Photo Journalism

“Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism (the collecting, editing, and presenting of news material for publication or broadcast) that employs images in order to tell a news story.”

Photo Journalism is used when wanting to document a particular event, as most people want to actually see what is happening to this sort of Photography allows pressing News to be further shown to people.

James Nachtwey is a famous and esteemed Photojournalist, here is some of his work:

This is some of Nick Ut's work, another Photojournalist:

Portrait Photography

'Portrait photography or portraiture is photography of a person or group of people that displays the expression, personality, and mood of the subject. Like other types of portraiture, the focus of the photograph is usually the person's face, although the entire body and the background or context may be included.'

Portrait photography can have a variety of uses, as the close up nature of it can allow for many different narratives to be told through emotion evoking facial expressions. Portraits can also be used for documenting as they can provide proof that someone was in a specific place.

Steve McCurry is a very well known Portrait Photographer who is very good at showing culture in his Portraits

Some of Lisa Kristine's work:

Landscape Photography

'Landscape photography shows spaces within the world, sometimes vast and unending, but other times microscopic. Landscape photographs typically capture the presence of nature but can also focus on man-made features or disturbances of landscapes.'

Landscapes are good for many things, most commonly showing vast landscapes. Be they rural or urban, Landscapes are a great way to showcase wide shot views of areas. Because of how much detail Landscapes can and do usually capture, there is so much experimentation that can be done with them varying from colour change to playing with different Depths of Field 

 Ansel Adams is a famous Landscape photographer who has a very distinct style - Black and White environmental Landscapes. 

Galen Rowell again focuses on the environment in his Landscapes.

Night Photography

'Night photography refers to photographs taken outdoors between dusk and dawn.Night photographers generally have a choice between using artificial light and using a long exposure, exposing the scene for seconds, minutes, and even hours in order to give the film or digital sensor enough time to capture a usable image.'

Night photography is a brilliant way of showing how beautiful and vibrant night life can actually be, so a very common convention Night Photographers use is a Slow Shutter speed thus allowing more light in to the camera and therefore being able make interesting and rather breathtaking patterns with all the colours that come put when the sun goes down.

Michael Bosanko is a famous Night Photographer who is very well known for is excessive use of contrasting neon colours made by lights and Show Shutter Speeds

Brassai is known for his Night Photography, specifically his interesting use of silhouettes to tell a narrative in what would otherwise seem like a pretty plain image

Wildlife Photography

'Wildlife photography is a loosely-defined profession which demands a passion for nature and art. Wildlife photographers make a career of traveling to remote areas and taking pictures of wild animals and natural scenery.'

Wildlife Photography can be useful to show insight on how full of like Earth is, and can bring some needed attention to the pressing issues that our Wildlife faces as we continue to treat our planet as we do. It isn't always easy for the majority of people to really get to see how truly diverse the natural world is, so having Wildlife Photography allows for viewers to see at least a hint of the natural world.

Suzi Eszterhas is very good at capturing some of the more furious members of the animal Kingdom such as Tigers and Lions

Here are some of Jon Cornforth's amazing underwater shots of the Wildlife Under the Sea

Fashion Photography

'Fashion photography is a genre of photography devoted to displaying clothing and other fashion items. Fashion photography is most often conducted for advertisements or fashion magazines such as Vogue, Vanity Fair, or Elle.'

Fashion Photography is often used to advertise new products from Fashion companies, so photos have to be so good and detailed that they convince viewers to buy the products in the photo. So, naturally there is a lot that goes into these photos to assure they are as visually appealing as they possibly can be.

Steven Meisel is a well known Fashion photographer, here is some of his work:

Mario Sorrenti is famous for his intricate use of colours within his fashion, he focuses on close ups so he can really show of the fashion in the photo 

Street Photography

'Street photography is photography that features the chance encounters and random accidents within public places. Street photography does not necessitate the presence of a street or even the urban environment.'

Street photography is useful because it can shed some light on some more local culture that perhaps goes under-appreciated in everyday life, but thanks to Street Photoraphers, viewers can be reminded of what it means to be where they are from as opposed to culture from other places in the world.

Here are some of Bernd Schaefers's street art shots 

    Ian Cox is bets known for his Street Art Photography, as he often adds a narrative on top of the narrative told by the street art itself, here's some of his work