It seems like everyone around is just saying about style in photography. Watch master classes famous photographers, everyone talks about how important it is to find and develop your own style in photography. What is meant by the word “style”? This phrase " your unique style in photography» for a long time it was perplexing, because these were some kind of lofty matters that my brain refused to understand. More precisely, I intuitively understood what was meant. But how to develop this very style and what is it made of?!
I think that many of you have encountered a similar problem more than once. And it’s even more difficult for novice photographers to understand where to find your style in photography, when your head is filled with thoughts about how not to miss the focus and not go wrong with the exposure settings. Therefore, I decided to make the task a little easier for those who are struggling in search of their “I” in photography.
Over time, I gradually begin to understand what is included in the concept of “style” in photography. But first I’ll say very important thing, which has been said more than once before:
Style in photography is not formed overnight. It comes with years of filming and your self-development in photography. The more you shoot, the more you get to know yourself, your abilities and interests. You gradually gain a better understanding of what you like to do and what you are best at. This is the starting point in finding your own style.
What does style in photography consist of?
Personally, it seems to me that in modern photography, style is a combination of the following parameters:
The genre in photography that predominates in the author’s works.
Typically, photographers become famous for their photographs of a certain genre. There are famous reporters, portrait photographers, landscape and sports photographers, photographers who create fantastic photo collages in Photoshop, wedding photographers, professionals in the field of product and advertising photography, and so on.
Style is not about shooting everything, but about finding your own direction. Technically, you can shoot everything from pets to aerial photography, but how you position yourself in the field of photography needs to be more specific. And those photographers who shoot in different genres usually divide their portfolio and create several different sites to attract target audience for each genre separately.
Shooting technique , which can include a lot
- photographer’s lighting preferences (natural or artificial, selected light patterns or time of day/night for shooting),
- features of exposure settings (for example, someone shoots landscapes at long shutter speeds, someone shoots portraits at open apertures, someone shoots splashes of water at super-short shutter speeds, etc.),
- what mode are you shooting in (manual, shutter priority, aperture priority),
- do you use any special complex technique(HDR photography, time-lapse, multi-exposure, etc.),
- preferences for choosing focal lengths - some people tend to shoot with long focal length lenses, while others like comical ultra-wide shots, etc.
Processing technique
This is what the final image looks like, ranging from color (saturation, warm or cool colors), tones, contrast, amount and intensity of shadows and highlights in the photo, and ending with any special effects (if appropriate). In many cases, it is the treatment that distinguishes the author's style and unites photographs of the same author. One way or another, everyone develops their own “taste” for how photographs should look - bright and rich, or pale and aristocratic, or maybe you even want to go into black and white photography.
This is that elusive highlight, your uniqueness, which should appear through photographs. Ideally, this is your vision and attitude towards the world. After all, the idea of photography as a visual medium is to convey what a person sees, and everyone sees the world in their own way, starting from the perception of colors and ending with the complex processes of forming a personal opinion and attitude to what is happening around them.
Now, in order to get one step closer to your goal in finding your style in photography, try answering the following 4 questions:
1. What (who) do you like to photograph?
Finding your genre of photography and WHAT you enjoy photographing most can take a lot of time, and that's okay. First you need to try everything to choose your favorite “dish”. Experiment with different techniques and genres, and sooner or later you will find “your” genre before you know it.
It is WHAT you photograph that will directly influence HOW you photograph, i.e. to suit your style. It is quite difficult to photograph a newborn baby and a sunset over the ocean in the same style. Although one can argue with this, I will not touch on high matters now.
2. Where do you like to take photographs?
At first glance this question is not so obviously related with style in photography. But if you think about it, this is another component of your unique style. Where do you like to shoot - in a beautiful green park or in the ruins of abandoned buildings, in a studio or outdoors, in chic interiors or on busy streets?
Agree, the shooting location leaves an imprint on your photographs and sets the mood for the photographs. Some people prefer more lively, natural photographs of nature, while others are interested in interior photography. I know a rather interesting photographer who travels the world and photographs abandoned places, his photographs look dark, mysterious and cold. And, for example, some children's photographer takes portraits of laughing kids on the green grass. Of course, the mood and style of the photographs will be completely different.
3. How do you like to take photographs?
This is a question that contains several sub-questions. What do you shoot with (film or digital camera)? What are your favorite lenses? What kind of light do you shoot with (natural, flash, video light, studio light, with or without a reflector...)? If you shoot portraits, how do you ask your subjects to pose - more naturally and relaxed, or do you use complex posing techniques? All this determines your technique, which is an integral part of your style.
4. What inspires you and makes you take up photography?
Surely you look at the work of other photographers and admire the photographs of your favorite authors. Try to determine what it is that “catches” you when you look at a photo that makes you admire. What is it - plot, composition, color, idea, moment, technique or something else? Find what it is that attracts you to the work of your photography idols and build from there. Perhaps you like stunning colorful landscapes of vast expanses, or maybe close-up portrait shots where the main focus is the person’s eyes.
Whatever you choose, it will surely become the basis of your photography style. Learn to photograph it, accept this idea and reveal it in your own way through your work.
Good luck in finding your style in photography!
To make a vanilla style treatment, or as it can also be called “Vanilla”, the photo must be given softness, warmth, tenderness and a slightly yellowish tint. I note that many people like this style of processing, and, because of its simplicity, it is very popular.
We'll be creating a lot of adjustment layers, so I'll remind you that they're in the Layers tab. It is important that each of them appears on your palette, otherwise you will not be able to change blending modes and opacity.
Before we get started, let's take a look at what we should end up with. If you like the result, then let's not waste any more time!
Step 1
Our original photo in Photoshop.
Step 2
We create New Adjustment Layer - Levels and in the dialog box/palette that opens, change the value of the slider, which is located in the middle, to 1.25
Step 3
Now let's make another adjustment layer, but this time it will be Hue/Saturation. We are again interested in the slider that is in the middle, only now it is called “Saturation”. Change its value to -10.
Step 4
Again, as in step 2, we create Levels, but we do not enter any settings. We only change the blending mode of this layer to Soft light
Step 5
We create Fill layer(it is still in the same layers tab) and in the dialog box that opens, select the blending mode Exception and click OK. A color palette will appear where we need to specify the color #06122f. Depending on the image, you can play with the slider Opacity. In my example, I left this value at 100%.
Step 6
Let's make another one Fill layer, but this time we set the blending mode Multiplication, and select the fill color #faeed0. Transparency to taste, mine is 50%.
That's all! our vanilla in the photo is ready. Don't forget that photo editing is a matter of personal taste. You can always play with the transparency sliders, thereby achieving the optimal result for yourself.
This is what our palette with layers looks like in the final: 
If you notice an error in the text, select it and press Ctrl + Enter. Thank you!
Photography is a very multifaceted art form that includes not only portraits, reportage and landscape. There are various genres of photography, not only in the professional but also in the amateur sphere. This is what the blog will be about.
Reportage photography
Genres of photography
The peculiarity of this direction in photography is that the main part of the reporting niche is occupied by professionals. The main goal of a photographer-reporter is to convey the mood and integrity of the entire event in one photograph.
Another goal of photojournalism is to tell the facts without the subjective opinion of the photographer. The viewer usually learns about events from reportage photographs. A good photo report perfectly illustrates the news. The ability to notice the emotion and decisive moment of an event usually takes years of practice and experience.
Documentary photography
Genres of photography
Documentary photography is a reflection of history. The main difference between this direction in photography and photojournalism is that documentary photographs are usually historical evidence of a particular political or social era. Reportage photography, on the contrary, tells about a specific scene or event.
The theme of this direction in photography can be any event. A photographer can talk about the life of homeless people or war. As in reportage, the main goal of documentary photography is to objectively tell the story of events.
While reportage photography may become obsolete over time, documentary photography lives on for many years.
Sports photography
Genres of photography
Sports photography is one of the most fast-paced and exciting types of reporting. The peculiarity of this direction in photography is that in order to obtain successful photographs, the photographer needs to know many of the subtleties of the sport being photographed in order to capture the right moment in time.
Macro photography
Genres of photography
Macro photography is the photography of objects at close range. High-quality macro photography is available to a greater extent to owners of expensive lenses, while other areas of photography are more loyal to photographic equipment. However, in last years Owners of inexpensive compacts with macro settings have also begun to take up macro photography.
Macro photography has a wide scope - from flowers and insects to textures and other objects that are interesting to look at in detail.
Microphotography
Genres of photography
Microphotography uses special cameras and microscopes. The peculiarity of this direction in photography is the microscopic size of the objects being photographed. Most microphotography subjects originate in the scientific community. For example, microphotography is used in biology, medicine and even astronomy.
Glamor photography
Genres of photography
Glamor photography is one of the most popular modern styles photos. Glamor photos can be erotic, but they should not be confused with pornography. Characteristic This direction in photography is that in their works photographers strive to convey the model in a “glamorous” light. That is why in most of these photographs there is a degree of flirtation and mystery.
Aerial photography
genres in photography
Aerial photography includes all types of photographs taken from a bird's eye view. The peculiarity of this direction in photography lies in the complexity of its implementation. “Aerial” photographers use airplanes, parachutes, Balloons and remotely controlled aircraft.
Underwater photography
genres in photography
Underwater photography is one of the common hobbies of scuba divers. The narrow focus and unpopularity of this direction in photography is a consequence of the high cost of the hobby, as well as the high cost of photographic equipment for underwater photography. In addition, even if an amateur photographer has scuba gear and equipment, underwater photography is often complicated by the fact that it is difficult to see a good scene through an underwater mask.
Artistic photography
genres in photography
Fine art photography covers many subjects. An underwater photographer can create an artistic series, and a portrait artist can create an expressive black and white portrait, which only emphasizes the versatility of this direction in photography. The main requirement for photography that claims to be artistic is to have aesthetic value.
Not long ago, I noted that very few photographers create photographs that resemble a still frame from a film in their style. Pair famous photographers who shoot in this genre live here in New York. I arranged a meeting with them not only for them to tell us about their personal projects, but also to talk about how they achieve a cinematic effect in their photographs.
Whether or not you like the treatment, I personally find this intersection of action and freeze-frame quite interesting.
For this project, I invited two photographers who shoot in this style and live in New York: Dennis Cacho and Andrew Maurer. If you still don’t quite understand what style we’re talking about, just below I give visual examples of photographs with cinematic processing.
Some of Andrew's photos:
Andrew, recalling how he came to this style, says that he first wondered about the composition of the frame. The next stage was an interest in working with color. Andrew ultimately formed his style in an attempt to make photographs like frozen film scenes.
You can find out a little more information in this short interview:
Dennis also demonstrates the skill and vision of cinematic photography in his photographs:
Andrew and Dennis both share a love of storytelling. When I asked them what motivates them to create these kinds of photographs, Dennis chimed in: “I love seeing how much a photograph can convey and tell a story that doesn't exist. If we talk about what attracted me to this genre, then it’s probably the drama with which certain scenes in the photographs are illuminated and the peculiarity of framing.”
How it all happens
Dennis and Andrew shoot with the same cameras, but their approaches are slightly different. Andrew shoots mostly with Carl Zeiss primes and manually adjusts focus using the LCD screen. Dennis changes optics, but prefers to shoot in a more traditional way - using a viewfinder.
We spent a couple of hours with Andrew and Dennis, walking the streets of the city and taking photographs. The main task was to tell the history of the city, but with one nuance - the narration should be from the perspective of the photographer. It was interesting to see how differently the same plot can be played out by different people.
A few photos of the guys at work:
Andrew (left) and Dennis (right)
Manual focusing with lensCarl Zeiss
Tailor Sam, business owner. After a couple of shots, he began to persistently invite us to try on his costumes.
Another heroine is Helen. He has lived on the next street for about 50 years.
As Dennis noted, the challenge isn't just about capturing an interesting subject. Not only the person in the photo is important, but what surrounds this person is no less significant. Sometimes, before you press the shutter button, you should observe the person in the frame.
Andrew shares a similar view. It is extremely important to provide the viewer with an interesting perspective. Composing a beautiful shot in street conditions, when nothing depends on you, can sometimes be very difficult. Sometimes you guess what the development of events will be, and sometimes you don’t - that’s the problem. On the one hand, such spontaneity sometimes causes difficulty, but on the other hand, this is precisely what captivates this genre of photography.
Some photos of Dennis:
Posing Sam.
And some pictures from Andrew:
Helen agreed to pose
Andrew captured Sam as he scanned passersby, looking for a buyer who could buy his suit.
Do the guys really tell a story that can be tied together? The history of a city where everything is interconnected. It's up to us, the viewers, to decide.
Benefits in working with clients
It’s funny, but both photographers found their practice in this genre useful when working with clients. Andrew explains:
“I met my favorite photographers from all over the world, who came to New York to visit me. I got to be part of advertising campaigns, collaborated with Canon - Asia, Carl Zeiss Lenses - Germany.” I also conducted commercial shoots for large hotels and business projects in New York. And at the moment I'm working on a video series with Dj Premier.
Dennis also used the cinematic effect in his work with clients:
“This genre has helped me get several commercial clients. I was once asked to photograph an engagement in this style; the couple wanted to move away from traditional photographs.”
How to get a cinematic effect in your photos
I asked the guys how they get this movie effect. Both came to the conclusion that there is no magic formula, which could be applied to all photographs. But, despite the fact that each individual frame has a lot of its own nuances, nevertheless, there is one general approach.
Andrew described his approach as follows:
I start processing in DPP (Digital Photo Professional), here I straighten the RAW file. I adjust the tones and play with the curves a little, then load the photo into Lightroom. In Lightroom, I already do color correction, correct perspective, and crop. If necessary, I add finishing touches in Photoshop.
Dennis prefers to do basic color manipulation in Lightroom. Working on an image is divided into several simple steps, which, in turn, bring enormous changes.
Step 1
Open the RAW file in Lightroom.
Step 2
Adjust the color scheme using the sliders in the section Split Toning. For this photo, warm tones were added to make the colors even more autumnal.
Step 3
Adjust color saturation and luminace.
Step 4
Adjust dark colors, color temperature and shadows.
Step 5
Add a vignette effect and some noise to make your photo look less digital and more like film.
Step 6
Export the file to Photoshop.
Step 7
Create a new layer with a black fill below the main layer.
Step 8
Use the tool Marquee tool(Rectangular area) and select fixed values for the height and width of the image. Set the width to 16 and the height to 9 to get a widescreen image. Stretch the rectangular area to cover the area of the 16:9 image. Then in the menu go to Image > Crop(Image - Cropping).
Step 9
For a fixed value Marquee tool enter values of 2.35 for width and 1 for height to create an anamorphic film format. We select the area, but do not crop it yet. Instead, we go back to the layers panel and create a layer mask, clicking on the link connecting the layer and mask to detach them from each other.
Step 10
Let's go back to the layers panel. Right-click on the layer mask and select the graph Apply Layer Mask(Apply Layer Mask).
Step 11
To fit the image perfectly between the black porridge, press Cmd (Ctrl on Windows) and A to select the entire document, then right-click on Layer Mask and select Apply Layer Mask.
Step 12
Click on the layer, go to the menu Layers - Align Layers to Selection(Layers - Align layers to selected fragment), to align the image vertically, check Vertical Centers(Vertical centers).
More details and detailed instructions on cinematic framing you will find in this video tutorial:
Conclusion
I hope that the article was useful to you, and you will be able to diversify your photos with a new processing style. I think it's an amazing idea to turn photographs into still frames from a movie. I am sure that in the future we will see an increase in the popularity of this view of photography, because cinema is something that never goes out of style.
Photography, like any other art form, requires the existence of different genres. The genre of photography is a concept that reflects the most important properties and phenomena of photographic art in one or another of its manifestations.
Working in each specific genre requires the photographer to have certain skills and photographic equipment. But you should not focus exclusively on photographic equipment, because photography is, first of all, the art of displaying the world and one’s own vision of reality. Moreover, the photographic image is the most powerful and unique means of expression and communication; it offers a dynamic variety of perception, performance and interpretation.
Exists big number genres of photography, many of which are borrowed from classical painting. Below are the most popular genres of photography; the list includes ten popular genres of photography today.
Genres of photography. Astrophotography
Astrophotography is a popular, but very expensive genre of photography, in which not many masters can afford to work. The essence of the genre is to photograph astronomical objects in outer space. Astrophotography is mainly used for scientific research and is very popular among scientists and astronomers. Astrophotography photographers photograph stars, nebulae, and planets. The “simplest” subject to photograph is the Moon. Even masters who do not have supernatural equipment can photograph the moon; a powerful telephoto lens and a superzoom will be enough for this.
Photo: Karam Al Snjarae 
Photo: Karam Al Snjarae 
Photo: Josh Quint
Genres of photography. Aerial photography
Aerial photography is another popular, but not cheap, genre of photography. The essence of the genre is that the photographer films the surface of the earth from a bird's eye view, allowing viewers to look at reality from above. Aerial photography is especially popular in places where any vehicles, except for a helicopter, are not available, as well as in places of infection and natural disasters. Today, aerial photography is often used in cartography, helping to create topographic maps and conducting environmental studies. One example of stunning and meaningful aerial photography is documentary"House. Rendezvous with the Planet,” directed by Luc Besson and photographed by Yann Arthus-Bertrand.
Photo: Tier Ecke 
Photo: Ivan Yakovlev 
Photo: Arjan Groot Genres of photography. Architecture
One of the oldest genres of photography is architectural photography. Even during the birth of photography as such, architectural photography was one of the most “convenient” photography genres to implement. The main task of architectural photography is to accurately display the building, depicting its shape, size and structure, without any edits or additions. Despite the fact that at first glance this genre seems simple, there are many rules in architectural photography, and there are strict requirements for the photographs themselves. It is important that the master, when photographing this or that structure, does not distort its shape or color, that the light is soft and illuminates the building evenly.
Photo: WK Cheoh 
Photo: Alireza Behrooz 
Photo: Christos Kaouranis Genres of photography. Photographing food
Food photography has become especially popular over the past few years, thereby evolving from commercial photography into something more primitive and accessible to everyone. This is all due to the fact that many users and beginners confuse ordinary food photos on their phones with expensive photography by professional advertisers. Photographing food is popular and requires considerable skill and technical equipment. The main problems that a photographer may encounter while working are improper lighting, initially unattractive food, composition and much more. The master’s task is to photograph attractive and “tasty” food; for this he must provide all the shooting conditions, as well as be able to show the dish or product from the most advantageous position.
Photo: Zeynep Ugurdag 
Photo: Claudia Totir 
Photo: shaiith Genres of photography. Aesthetic photo
Aesthetic photography, or as it can also be called, photography with the bokeh effect is incredibly popular, and the desire to create a photo with a creative blurred background sooner or later arises in all novice photographers. Blurring the background allows you to highlight interesting aspects of the image, place accents and take a truly artistic photo. About how to create a bokeh effect in photography and what factors influence the creation of a blurred background. For inspiration, you can also check out some incredibly beautiful photos.
Photo: Lisa Holloway 
Photo: Miki Asai 
Photo: BLOAS Meven Genres of photography. Portrait
One of the most common and popular genres of photography is portrait photography. The purpose of portrait photography is to beautifully depict people, the ability to show a person’s mood, features of his appearance and expressive features in an artistic and creative form. If we are talking about a portrait, then first of all we mean the image of the model’s face, the so-called bust portrait. However, there are such concepts as half-length portrait, full-length portrait and 2/3 portrait. Many professional photographers prefer to create black and white portraits, arguing that this way they can show the most expressive features and personality of each person. Portraiture, along with architectural photography, are the oldest genres of photography.
Photo: Ann Nevreva 
Photo: Holly Spring 
Photo: rarindra prakarsa Genres of photography. Fashion or studio photography
Fashion and studio photography are the most profitable genres of photography. is placed exclusively on a commercial basis, which is why professional photographers receive good compensation for their work in the studio. Photography for clothing catalogs and magazines, online publications and advertising brochures, family and individual photography in the studio - all this applies to fashion and studio photography. This type of shooting, like any other, has its own difficulties and nuances that are undoubtedly important to take into account. Let's start with the fact that to become a prestigious fashion photographer you need to invest a lot of time and money in training and purchasing the necessary equipment. Create and make your own photography style popular.
Photo: simon-james 
Photo: Max Twain 
Photo: Oliver Oettli Genres of photography. Sport
Sports photography is no less popular and sold than fashion photography. In turn, filming sporting events also requires a lot of experience and knowledge. To photograph sports, it is important to use fast cameras and powerful lenses, be able to focus quickly and accurately manually, and be mobile and agile. Sports photography is created primarily for the further sale of your photographs to popular publications and Internet resources, and in order for editors to purchase your photograph, you need to be the best in your business.
Photo: Valentin Offner 
Photo: Fabio Davini 
Photo: Rafael Bloomberg Genres of photography. wild nature
Photography wildlife is another incredibly attractive and sought-after genre of photographic art. By photographing wild animals in their natural habitat, photographers give everyone, without exception, the opportunity to look at the life of animals, regardless of where they live. Photographing wildlife is associated with a constant risk to the life and health of the artist, and this is not only about the risk of harm from the animals themselves, but from constant travel, living in nature - constant cold or heat, humidity or lack of fresh water. Photographing wildlife requires practice and specialized equipment. Best friends Wildlife photographers need quality telephoto lenses and fast cameras.
Photo: Marco Redaelli 
Photo: Juan Pons 
Photo: Simon Roy Genres of photography. Photojournalism
Candid, sparkling photographs are the most valuable and important photographs. Such photographs are taken in a relaxed atmosphere, when the models do not pose for the photographer. During street walks, the master notices and records interesting and unexpected scenes from the lives of random passers-by. It is these kind of sincere, unstaged photographs that are the best manifestation of photography as an art. Photojournalism can be positioned as . Although photojournalism is the most popular genre of photography, capturing candid photographs can take years of constant practice and improvement. After all, the main factor in creating such photographs is spontaneity and the photographer’s ability to remain invisible to the models.
One of the founders of the photographic agency is rightfully considered the father of photojournalism
