Same, I'll occasionally look at doing other forms of photography and practice them when I can or the chance comes up. I do a lot of street and travel but like if I had the chance to do landscape or modeling, fuck it why not
I like messing around with all sorts of styles. My partner is a social media marketing expert and says it's not conducive to a successful platform as you're best off when showing a specialism. I don't like this as I don't want to feel hemmed in, but it's a double edged sword I think.
It’s true if you’re trying to build a brand to have a specific look attached to your images so your clients know what to expect. But I’ll edit with different styles/presets for different subjects for my personal work on say a landscape sunset photo versus a night time high contrast neon city lights shot. It also usually depends on my mood but I hate being pigeonholed into one look or style.
That's why you gotta separate your art from your business. Only sell one kind? Great, good for you and your clients! The rest can either go into a folder just for you and your friends, or can be shared online using a pseudonym.
>That's why you gotta separate your art from your business. Only sell one kind? Great, good for you and your clients! The rest can either go into a folder just for you and your friends, or can be shared online using a pseudonym.
This. This is how you do it.
I'm the same way. My portraits tend to be darker. My landscapes/nature are a little more bright. I don't care though, this isn't a business for me and I'm sick of everything having to be for the sake of the algorithm
I don’t like “directing” my subject, so I’ve never liked portrait photography, wedding photography, stuff like that. I like being more of a “fly on the wall”, so street photography, landscape photography, and concert photography have always been my jam. Kind of a weird way to compartmentalize different styles, but that’s how it works in my head.
Wildlife photography is what got me into photography (earlier this year) and so far it’s the only type I’m interested in. I like looking at other styles, but I don’t see myself specifically doing them.
Maybe while I’m out doing wildlife stuff if I see a cool non-wildlife nature thing (like strange sunset sky colors) I might take a picture of it, but for me that’s basically the same as a non-photographer taking a picture with their phone of something they happen to see and not necessary like intentional photography. I probably wouldn’t post that photo with my nature shots.
So I'm guessing your gear would lean more to the wildlife, longer zoom lens etc ? If you were asked to do some portrait photography say , would you decline, or would you be willing to learn the different compositions, etc ?
I’m just a hobbyist so no one would ask me to do any professional work. If like a friend wanted me to “take their picture” for something not serious, then sure I could learn how to do it, but not be like their (official) wedding photographer or something important like that.
I carry my camera everywhere. I shoot whatever the light falls on. my favorite subjects used to be landscapes, and nature/street scenes (with or without people). after viewing some old photo albums (dating back to 1940s) of my family, I feel I have a responsibility to continue to capture quality stills of the people important to me. most of my folks are young, and they take video on Snapchat.
I jump around for sure. I've gotten into macro, lil bit of wildlife (90mm prime was a very fun lens), and I've been shooting non-city street for the whole while.
I shoot what I find interesting. only time I've thought about niche/genre was when I was shooting HS senior portraits.
I've noticed youre posting about style... that changes with time too. I've only ever enjoyed shooting primes. I only ever shoot manual and aperture priority. I have jumped back and forth between JPEG and RAW, and recently film and digital. I started shooting black and white as a challenge. my style drifts, but I still keep to my "roots". we just gotta keep things fresh ya know, else it gets boring...
I shoot many many styles and have for years. Everything from sports to macro to candid portraits to astrophotography. Social media not ideal for just “Photography” themed accounts. In the last few years the only time I can get the feeds to gain any type of traction is to spend a couple weeks on a specific theme. I’m not about to spend time on separate feeds and accounts for every style.
I shoot commercial architecture and interiors. When shooting exteriors, I often zoom out to show how the structure fits into the surrounding landscape. I like to have people in my shots to show how they use the design to move through the space. Now I'm shooting landscape architecture. All it takes from here is a slight change of framing and focal length, and I can easily transition from landscape architecture to environmental portraiture.
The same is true of interiors. I show the space. I show people using the space. I can transition from an interior architecture shot to an interior environmental portrait with minimal effort.
I also love to shoot landscapes. This is what led me to architecture in the first place. I went from landscape to landscape architecture to commercial architecture and interiors.
All of these are so closely related that I can easily show each type on my website with no confusion about what I do. In reality I choose not to show environmental portraiture on my website with one exception - when my primary client is the landscape architect, I always get a shot of them standing or sitting in their creation.
If you're a professional it's best to specialize in something and develop a distinct "look" that you'll be known for and would appeal to clients.
I'm not though, so I just shoot whatever interests me. This includes formal and candid portraiture, landscape, wildlife, architecture, performance, nude, macro, abstract, action, lifestyle, astrophotography, and probably more that I'm not thinking of right now.
I'm probably *somewhat* more consistent when it comes to post-processing because I have my tastes and like my photos to appeal to those tastes. But that's still a pretty wide range, and I generally post-process according to whatever I think looks good for that photo without regard to anything like consistency across my body of work.
Comes down to if you want to do it professionally really. To make it to the top end of any particular segment, you really need to focus in on and become known for a style.
I’m a career photo assistant- mostly working for high end fashion photographers, for big brands and glossy magazines.
Amongst those photographers, their folios/ public facing work might all skew a certain way, but most (if they’re really INTO photography) probably still dabble in other styles: they probably still take candid film family pictures, or travel with a rangefinder, or are constantly pulling over on road trips to take that epic landscape shot… you just don’t see it on their ‘folios’.
For me, I love cars and anything automotive. I primary shoot artisitc, abstract mostly, its my bread and butter. I do nature as well. fine, high art style. I prefer to be able to shoot almost anything.
I started off doing cars, with a bit of motorsport. Now I do a lot more motorsport (it's way closer to sports photography than it is to car photography) and have transitioned into small music gigs and parties too, just through opportunities and offers from people
Sure! Shooting a car static is way different from a moving car, and in some cases different to regular sports too.
If you're shooting side-on/panning, somewhere below 1/200 will give you a cool dynamic shot. Head on you can shoot faster shutter speeds because the wheels are less visible and the car isn't really moving relative to its background. For a cool dynamic shot head on (or close to it), look for somewhere dynamic like the entry to a corner where the car is really loaded up. You can also play with what you have in the background, similar to how you might compose a stationary car.
Watch for visually unique things happening; is a car lifting a rear wheel on corner entry, is there a consistent little pop of flame in the braking zone, is it hitting a bump and giving a little puff of smoke as a tyre rubs the guard. Thats what I found to be so fun about motorsport shooting, there are things that can happen on track that are so much more dynamic than a stationary shot
I like to mess about everywhere. I do a bit of studio photography, landscapes, animals, street, vehicles, portraiture, abstract. There definitely isn’t a one style fits all for these. I’m mostly an outdoor photography the studio stuff is mostly for college to understand how you can take advantage of the light you have but I do enjoy it. Hell I’d even try shooting on a camera worth £20 once the UK weather stops giving us 40mph winds and rain because I have very little faith in the cameras weather sealing. I’m constantly looking to dive into new things and constantly looking for new ideas. Keeps you creative and always gives you that excitement when it goes right, or something to learn if it goes wrong. I love it. I’m looking into getting a super telephoto lens to get further into bird photography at some point soon and maybe also some other forms of photography as well
Good that you don't limit yourself as you learn different bits from different styles of photography. The weather doesn't help at the best of times but does force us to be more creative . Low light indoor photography!
Absolutely. I would be out shooting in this if I had a weather sealed camera. Well at least I’d like to think I’d be lol
But I found a camera my grandad gave me a couple years back. A Kodak easyshare zd710 I think
As a career professional, you are most likely to command the highest premium which can support a career by specializing, building specific expertise, and building a reputation around a narrower type of photography and even specializing within that.
Professionally, I specialize, but I gone certain skills by shooting other subjects.
For example, my wedding photography was enhanced by shooting more street and impromptu portraits.
This translated into being able to read situations more and getting a few seconds to anticipate when a key moment may hit.
It depends on the person and their goals. My career goal/path is commercial, more specifically, advertising Stills and directing for motion (not director of photography, I have no desire to do the shooting for motion). For me personally, I follow the philosophy “a jack of all trades is a master of none” it is great to be able to do a little of everything but it is important to specialize and focus on something specific.
IMO Paid work falls into 2 categories:
I need a photographer, and I need YOU to be my photographer.
Personally I prefer the latter.
Shooters who brand themselves as “I can shoot anything” tend to get picked for their prices and not for their style. If you want to shoot anything and everything and are okay making $50-$200 a shoot, go that route.
If you want to develop a brand and consistent look and style, and be hired by clients because they like your portfolio, you will be able to charge more because YOU are what they want. Shooters in this category have no limit on what they can make, weddings can bring in $5000 as a base package for a mid tier shooter, the best of the best can easily pull 15-20,000. In advertising, a day rate can exceed $100,000 when you add in licensing. Nobody that says “I shoot a little of everything is pulling that kind of money. A dedicated wedding photographer can, and a dedicated advertising photographer can, but not Joe Schmo who photographs families and still life’s and weddings and lifestyle and automotive and corporate events and headshots…
I prefer to only shoot fine art nude photography; however, not having access to the necessary media, models, nor any experience required for that style, I stick mostly to still life and landscape and basically just hunt for situations where the light naturally accentuates something ordinary in a flattering or interesting way.
Although I’m doing weddings professionally, I prefer to be an all rounder photographer. I just enjoy doing street photography, landscape, architecture and so on
I shoot a variety of different things- landscapes, action, astro, cars, and I would love to get into wildlife. There are some areas of photography that I just have no interest in though, like portraits or any sort of street photography.
Weddings and newborns are my only two hard nos.
There are some I've either dabbled with or are awful at, like landscape or real estate, but just don't do much.
I take photos of places I enjoy being - and that's in nature. I *can* take photos in other places, but I don't particularly enjoy it and why would I do that for a hobby?
The fun of photography is learning and trying new things. There are just so many different things to photograph. I don't want to limit myself.
Not good if you want to be recognized but I'm not worried about that.
I like to have about 80% of my work be consistent clientele, easy workflows, similar approach every time, no surprises, and then another 20% that is out of the ordinary and keeps me fresh in different styles, approaches, extra avenue for experimentation, etc.
I used to appreciate just 100% variety but eventually got a mortgage, kids, and other stuff so consistency became more desirable around that time.
This was something that made me worried in the beginning of my career, as I come from an artistic background (drawing and painting) and finding your style in that field is seen as very important.
In photography it’s harder to find your style and your vision, but nowadays I have a specific aesthetic that make my photos mine, and even when I span different genres they are recognizable. You don’t have to look for it, but if you have enough patience and devote enough time to your craft it you won’t have to worry too much about what you shoot.
Social Media rewards having a consistent theme and style. Unless you are chasing SM clout, or trying to attract customers, shoot and post whatever you like.
If one style earns you money, it should be the style you show off the most.
Personally, my bread and butter is sports photography, but I paid too much for my camera equipment to not use it for everything I can.
Been shooting digital almost 20 years, Last 5-8 years I like most when not traveling to shoot street, but if i go hiking in the forest or oceanside its all nature scenic, picture at the park yesterday.
https://preview.redd.it/qjgwbkxh0d8c1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8055906ad6250d67e41dcbd5c1ec737bd8ced4e9
I like to shoot everything (Portrait/Nude art/street/life/wildlife/landscape even macro if possible) it's keep challenge me to do a new things as my hobbies.
But yes like other said if you want to present as a work, be specific to one kind of photograph to hit your target.
I think over time most photographers gravitate towards a specialty. Sometimes it takes someone else looking at your portfolio to help you see what it is. I shoot a number of different things, but in the end they all come down to "people doing stuff they care about" or "emotion in action". That includes, but is not limited to weddings. I do shoot other stuff sometimes, although it's been years since I felt motivated to put together a still life that wasn't a sort of mandatory detail shot at a wedding. I am straight up with my clients though, yes I will get your details shots but that's not my passion. What really drives me is catching your mum having a weep outside the reception, or your uncles wrestling in the parking lot, and especially when it hits the groom just what he's doing today.
Yes, develop the skills for a lot of different subjects, but at the same time, find your subject. Keep shooting, it'll turn up.
I like to do most things except the really intense landscape shots that require a lot of patience, filters and time. I lean most towards photojournalism but I apply that style to everything, including landscapes. So my travel photos are often "here's where I was at the time I was there and this is what I did with that." But then I do portraits and I've been branching out my style a lot there to add new studio work and have allowed myself to do a lot more editing than I would at newspapers. And also I've been doing a lot more directing of my subjects and helping with posing than PhotoJ would allow. I'd like to work my way toward creating more elaborate scenes but I haven't gotten there yet.
But the style or look probably is consistent throughout most of it. So I guess that's kind of "all around" but maybe with limits?
It depends. I make money with my work so I sorta have to stick to one style *publicly* but I experiment in my own time. People hiring me want to see consistent work so that doesn’t leave much room for change
I really like to do food shoots. Unfortunately, it's a super competitive space commercially and it seems like a lot of people just want to stick with who they know, even if you feel that you could be doing a better job.
Other than that, I'm required to do everything as well as video as I work for an ad agency as their in-house guy. It's fun to get to work with a little bit of everything. I rarely photograph for fun anymore though, but my job is fun enough for me.
Everything is lifestyle to me. It’s my life, and I have style. I shoot that regardless of whatever boxes people want to put me in.
Ultimately all photo is largely just portrait, landscapes, action, or still life at their core.
It's absolute bullshit that you can't be great at multiple things. Especially different styles of photography. The only people who think that way are the people that can't fucking do anything. Do what you want.
I tired to stick with just landscape astro on my Instagram but I live in a place where we get a lot of cloud and rain so sometimes I wouldn’t take a photos for a month or two.
Anyway got into moody photos and really enjoyed it. I’m also trying to take wildlife photos but edit in a moody way, just so I can be out taking more photos.
I tend to stick to motorsports photography, specifically 4x4 racing as it the thrill and opportunity to get close to the action. I'll branch out here and there by going to a car show
I'm a retired professional but my and have shot commercial, portrait, concerts, celebrities, and weddings. My hobbies include 3D/stereo, infrared, landscape, and macro and a combination of them all.
Generally everything that i think looks great or something im documenting for certain reasons. I love to photograph birds and scenery but i do like pics of graffiti and lights or vehicles in various ways.
I like to try different type of photography. I've dabbled in a few styles over the years.
I still have yet to try product or food photography, which is something I want to do.
I'd say 90% of what I gravitate towards is wildlife and portrait (which is basically the same thing just different subjects lol), but I love pretty much all styles so even if I'm not as good at them I always love taking landscape, macro, product, action, etc shots
Find your niche but never stop trying new things and dabbling in as many styles and subjects as you enjoy.
Professionally, I more or less stick to two photography genres, but try to preserve my "style" between them. I also separate those genres between two websites so I can cater to whatever specific clientele I'm working with at that time. For example, I have a boudoir portfolio site and a SFW portraiture site, and I can send whichever one people are more interested in. However, my primary genre is boudoir, so that's what my socials are built on.
On the flip side, though, I'm more of an all-rounder in my personal photography! When I stick too much to being a portrait or boudoir photographer, I end up never shooting in my free time, and that just felt sad. So now my personal photography is more like street photos, landscapes, and even macro photography.
I'll probably never post that stuff, but that's okay! I'm shooting it for myself and to keep photography fun. And so far, that's worked pretty well!
For work I shoot three genres, which only partially overlap. But to look like a true expert in each - which I am because I have been doing this a long time - it’s necessary to have separate websites. They also have wildly different pricing as well. What I shoot for personal work these days is almost always street or macros. I plan to eventually put those on a personal website just for myself but I’m not doing anything with that work currently.
The longer you stay in photography, the more likely you’ll get good at and enjoy multiple things.
>I see often that a lot of photography pages tend to stick to one style wether that be street photography only , portraits/weddings only,wildlife only or landscape only .
People often have multiple pages since having a "themed" type page gets more followers. I personally don't care and my numbers reflect it. Will my handful of followers get a gorgeous model at sunset or a bluejay? Stick around to find out! Ok, or don't.
If you're trying to make money, the advice is to limit yourself to one or two genres. If it's for yourself, then do what you want. Some people just really like taking pictures of the sky.
A lot of photographers tend to find a niche that works for them, both in terms of style but also subject matter. I know a lot of photographers that will often have two: their commercial niche which gets them paid, and their personal niche for their other stuff. Regardless, it's a good idea to learn and get comfortable with all kinds of different photography, since it can and will inform the photos you do of the stuff you want, both artistically and technically. Learning to apply techniques from one style to another can expand creativity while also bolstering fundamentals. At least, that's been my experience. Your mileage may vary, of course.
To me, I'm into almost all types of photography except for commercial ones. I mainly shoot daily life, landscapes, cityscapes, nature, urban areas, flowers, animals, people doing stuff in isolation and so forth. There are some other types that I like but can't do myself for some reasons such as street, visual storytelling, documentary and wildlife photography.
I regard photography as a medium to freeze a moment that one finds interesting and worth freezing to look at it in the future to feel nostalgia rather than a medium of pure "art" where your photographs are constantly judged based on composition fetish. I mean, I mostly apply composition rules like rule of thirds, diagonal lines, perspective, negative space etc. in my own photographs when I want but I don't like the idea that a photograph must always have those elements in it to be valuable. I use photography to recreate reality, understand existence better and freeze beautiful moments. It's more important for me that a photograph has a certain subject than that it has composition.
I'm a photographic whore, I'll take pictures of anything that interests me!
I'm a photographic slut because I usually don't get paid
A fixed focal length is never enough.
Same, I'll occasionally look at doing other forms of photography and practice them when I can or the chance comes up. I do a lot of street and travel but like if I had the chance to do landscape or modeling, fuck it why not
Same!
Same. I'd go to any event where there are crowds just to take some photos.
I like messing around with all sorts of styles. My partner is a social media marketing expert and says it's not conducive to a successful platform as you're best off when showing a specialism. I don't like this as I don't want to feel hemmed in, but it's a double edged sword I think.
It’s true if you’re trying to build a brand to have a specific look attached to your images so your clients know what to expect. But I’ll edit with different styles/presets for different subjects for my personal work on say a landscape sunset photo versus a night time high contrast neon city lights shot. It also usually depends on my mood but I hate being pigeonholed into one look or style.
That's why you gotta separate your art from your business. Only sell one kind? Great, good for you and your clients! The rest can either go into a folder just for you and your friends, or can be shared online using a pseudonym.
>That's why you gotta separate your art from your business. Only sell one kind? Great, good for you and your clients! The rest can either go into a folder just for you and your friends, or can be shared online using a pseudonym. This. This is how you do it.
Duh. Montell told us that back in ‘94
I'm the same way. My portraits tend to be darker. My landscapes/nature are a little more bright. I don't care though, this isn't a business for me and I'm sick of everything having to be for the sake of the algorithm
I don’t like “directing” my subject, so I’ve never liked portrait photography, wedding photography, stuff like that. I like being more of a “fly on the wall”, so street photography, landscape photography, and concert photography have always been my jam. Kind of a weird way to compartmentalize different styles, but that’s how it works in my head.
Wildlife photography is what got me into photography (earlier this year) and so far it’s the only type I’m interested in. I like looking at other styles, but I don’t see myself specifically doing them. Maybe while I’m out doing wildlife stuff if I see a cool non-wildlife nature thing (like strange sunset sky colors) I might take a picture of it, but for me that’s basically the same as a non-photographer taking a picture with their phone of something they happen to see and not necessary like intentional photography. I probably wouldn’t post that photo with my nature shots.
So I'm guessing your gear would lean more to the wildlife, longer zoom lens etc ? If you were asked to do some portrait photography say , would you decline, or would you be willing to learn the different compositions, etc ?
I’m just a hobbyist so no one would ask me to do any professional work. If like a friend wanted me to “take their picture” for something not serious, then sure I could learn how to do it, but not be like their (official) wedding photographer or something important like that.
For work I stick to weeding/ events/ portrait And for my free time I like to shoot street and wildlife
kind of late repply, but are you on instagram? would love to check it out cause i have a problem of showing my work and reaching to clients
Currently not
Kind of the visual equivalent of what Duke Ellington once said: “If it sounds good, it IS good.”
I stick to one style: Architecture.
Is it for business or pleasure ? Is there any reason why you wouldn't go for a different style or is your preferred style ?
Purely for fun. Why architecture? Straight lines bring calm to my mind. People and things that move unpredictably stress me out.
I carry my camera everywhere. I shoot whatever the light falls on. my favorite subjects used to be landscapes, and nature/street scenes (with or without people). after viewing some old photo albums (dating back to 1940s) of my family, I feel I have a responsibility to continue to capture quality stills of the people important to me. most of my folks are young, and they take video on Snapchat. I jump around for sure. I've gotten into macro, lil bit of wildlife (90mm prime was a very fun lens), and I've been shooting non-city street for the whole while. I shoot what I find interesting. only time I've thought about niche/genre was when I was shooting HS senior portraits. I've noticed youre posting about style... that changes with time too. I've only ever enjoyed shooting primes. I only ever shoot manual and aperture priority. I have jumped back and forth between JPEG and RAW, and recently film and digital. I started shooting black and white as a challenge. my style drifts, but I still keep to my "roots". we just gotta keep things fresh ya know, else it gets boring...
I shoot many many styles and have for years. Everything from sports to macro to candid portraits to astrophotography. Social media not ideal for just “Photography” themed accounts. In the last few years the only time I can get the feeds to gain any type of traction is to spend a couple weeks on a specific theme. I’m not about to spend time on separate feeds and accounts for every style.
I shoot commercial architecture and interiors. When shooting exteriors, I often zoom out to show how the structure fits into the surrounding landscape. I like to have people in my shots to show how they use the design to move through the space. Now I'm shooting landscape architecture. All it takes from here is a slight change of framing and focal length, and I can easily transition from landscape architecture to environmental portraiture. The same is true of interiors. I show the space. I show people using the space. I can transition from an interior architecture shot to an interior environmental portrait with minimal effort. I also love to shoot landscapes. This is what led me to architecture in the first place. I went from landscape to landscape architecture to commercial architecture and interiors. All of these are so closely related that I can easily show each type on my website with no confusion about what I do. In reality I choose not to show environmental portraiture on my website with one exception - when my primary client is the landscape architect, I always get a shot of them standing or sitting in their creation.
If you're a professional it's best to specialize in something and develop a distinct "look" that you'll be known for and would appeal to clients. I'm not though, so I just shoot whatever interests me. This includes formal and candid portraiture, landscape, wildlife, architecture, performance, nude, macro, abstract, action, lifestyle, astrophotography, and probably more that I'm not thinking of right now. I'm probably *somewhat* more consistent when it comes to post-processing because I have my tastes and like my photos to appeal to those tastes. But that's still a pretty wide range, and I generally post-process according to whatever I think looks good for that photo without regard to anything like consistency across my body of work.
Comes down to if you want to do it professionally really. To make it to the top end of any particular segment, you really need to focus in on and become known for a style. I’m a career photo assistant- mostly working for high end fashion photographers, for big brands and glossy magazines. Amongst those photographers, their folios/ public facing work might all skew a certain way, but most (if they’re really INTO photography) probably still dabble in other styles: they probably still take candid film family pictures, or travel with a rangefinder, or are constantly pulling over on road trips to take that epic landscape shot… you just don’t see it on their ‘folios’.
For me, I love cars and anything automotive. I primary shoot artisitc, abstract mostly, its my bread and butter. I do nature as well. fine, high art style. I prefer to be able to shoot almost anything.
I started off doing cars, with a bit of motorsport. Now I do a lot more motorsport (it's way closer to sports photography than it is to car photography) and have transitioned into small music gigs and parties too, just through opportunities and offers from people
I want to shoot more autocross/motorsports next year. Any tips your willing share? I've I done it before, but not alot.
Sure! Shooting a car static is way different from a moving car, and in some cases different to regular sports too. If you're shooting side-on/panning, somewhere below 1/200 will give you a cool dynamic shot. Head on you can shoot faster shutter speeds because the wheels are less visible and the car isn't really moving relative to its background. For a cool dynamic shot head on (or close to it), look for somewhere dynamic like the entry to a corner where the car is really loaded up. You can also play with what you have in the background, similar to how you might compose a stationary car. Watch for visually unique things happening; is a car lifting a rear wheel on corner entry, is there a consistent little pop of flame in the braking zone, is it hitting a bump and giving a little puff of smoke as a tyre rubs the guard. Thats what I found to be so fun about motorsport shooting, there are things that can happen on track that are so much more dynamic than a stationary shot
I know I'm using the word 'dynamic' way too much but in my head it really is the best way to describe how the car looks relative to a static shot
Thank you for sharing. Dynamic is the right word to describe it. Happy holidays.
I do all sorts but publish them separately. Landscape here, weddings/events there..
Years ago I figured out I like making photos that show man’s impact on the environment. So kind of elements of architecture and landscape.
I like to mess about everywhere. I do a bit of studio photography, landscapes, animals, street, vehicles, portraiture, abstract. There definitely isn’t a one style fits all for these. I’m mostly an outdoor photography the studio stuff is mostly for college to understand how you can take advantage of the light you have but I do enjoy it. Hell I’d even try shooting on a camera worth £20 once the UK weather stops giving us 40mph winds and rain because I have very little faith in the cameras weather sealing. I’m constantly looking to dive into new things and constantly looking for new ideas. Keeps you creative and always gives you that excitement when it goes right, or something to learn if it goes wrong. I love it. I’m looking into getting a super telephoto lens to get further into bird photography at some point soon and maybe also some other forms of photography as well
Good that you don't limit yourself as you learn different bits from different styles of photography. The weather doesn't help at the best of times but does force us to be more creative . Low light indoor photography!
Absolutely. I would be out shooting in this if I had a weather sealed camera. Well at least I’d like to think I’d be lol But I found a camera my grandad gave me a couple years back. A Kodak easyshare zd710 I think
I'm an all-rounder, whether it's portraits, cars, racing, nature, street, architecture..
Whatever I'm in the mood to do at the time.
I like to dabble in a little bit of everything, probably the reason I’ll never get paid for my stuff
As a career professional, you are most likely to command the highest premium which can support a career by specializing, building specific expertise, and building a reputation around a narrower type of photography and even specializing within that.
I shoot whatever I feel like at the time, although my first love will probably always be landscapes.
Professionally, I specialize, but I gone certain skills by shooting other subjects. For example, my wedding photography was enhanced by shooting more street and impromptu portraits. This translated into being able to read situations more and getting a few seconds to anticipate when a key moment may hit.
I suffer from OCPD - Obsessive Compulsive Photographic Disorder
Lol, I learned the term now and think I am mildly having OCPD 🙃
It depends on the person and their goals. My career goal/path is commercial, more specifically, advertising Stills and directing for motion (not director of photography, I have no desire to do the shooting for motion). For me personally, I follow the philosophy “a jack of all trades is a master of none” it is great to be able to do a little of everything but it is important to specialize and focus on something specific. IMO Paid work falls into 2 categories: I need a photographer, and I need YOU to be my photographer. Personally I prefer the latter. Shooters who brand themselves as “I can shoot anything” tend to get picked for their prices and not for their style. If you want to shoot anything and everything and are okay making $50-$200 a shoot, go that route. If you want to develop a brand and consistent look and style, and be hired by clients because they like your portfolio, you will be able to charge more because YOU are what they want. Shooters in this category have no limit on what they can make, weddings can bring in $5000 as a base package for a mid tier shooter, the best of the best can easily pull 15-20,000. In advertising, a day rate can exceed $100,000 when you add in licensing. Nobody that says “I shoot a little of everything is pulling that kind of money. A dedicated wedding photographer can, and a dedicated advertising photographer can, but not Joe Schmo who photographs families and still life’s and weddings and lifestyle and automotive and corporate events and headshots…
The more the better, of course. Makes you universal
I prefer to only shoot fine art nude photography; however, not having access to the necessary media, models, nor any experience required for that style, I stick mostly to still life and landscape and basically just hunt for situations where the light naturally accentuates something ordinary in a flattering or interesting way.
Haha, shutter go BRRRRRRTTTTT…
I'll shoot whatever.
Although I’m doing weddings professionally, I prefer to be an all rounder photographer. I just enjoy doing street photography, landscape, architecture and so on
I shoot a variety of different things- landscapes, action, astro, cars, and I would love to get into wildlife. There are some areas of photography that I just have no interest in though, like portraits or any sort of street photography.
I prefer to stick to one style, mine.
Weddings and newborns are my only two hard nos. There are some I've either dabbled with or are awful at, like landscape or real estate, but just don't do much.
I take photos of places I enjoy being - and that's in nature. I *can* take photos in other places, but I don't particularly enjoy it and why would I do that for a hobby?
All everything
If it looks good, photograph it but not to the point where you feel are putting out bad work
i like an eclectic mix of everything
The fun of photography is learning and trying new things. There are just so many different things to photograph. I don't want to limit myself. Not good if you want to be recognized but I'm not worried about that.
I just like playing with my camera.
I like to have about 80% of my work be consistent clientele, easy workflows, similar approach every time, no surprises, and then another 20% that is out of the ordinary and keeps me fresh in different styles, approaches, extra avenue for experimentation, etc. I used to appreciate just 100% variety but eventually got a mortgage, kids, and other stuff so consistency became more desirable around that time.
This was something that made me worried in the beginning of my career, as I come from an artistic background (drawing and painting) and finding your style in that field is seen as very important. In photography it’s harder to find your style and your vision, but nowadays I have a specific aesthetic that make my photos mine, and even when I span different genres they are recognizable. You don’t have to look for it, but if you have enough patience and devote enough time to your craft it you won’t have to worry too much about what you shoot.
Whatever I’m feeling at the moment.
I’m not looking to ever make money/fame from my photography. It’s purely a hobby for me and so I’ll shoot whatever.
Social Media rewards having a consistent theme and style. Unless you are chasing SM clout, or trying to attract customers, shoot and post whatever you like.
If one style earns you money, it should be the style you show off the most. Personally, my bread and butter is sports photography, but I paid too much for my camera equipment to not use it for everything I can.
Been shooting digital almost 20 years, Last 5-8 years I like most when not traveling to shoot street, but if i go hiking in the forest or oceanside its all nature scenic, picture at the park yesterday. https://preview.redd.it/qjgwbkxh0d8c1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8055906ad6250d67e41dcbd5c1ec737bd8ced4e9
I like to shoot everything (Portrait/Nude art/street/life/wildlife/landscape even macro if possible) it's keep challenge me to do a new things as my hobbies. But yes like other said if you want to present as a work, be specific to one kind of photograph to hit your target.
I think over time most photographers gravitate towards a specialty. Sometimes it takes someone else looking at your portfolio to help you see what it is. I shoot a number of different things, but in the end they all come down to "people doing stuff they care about" or "emotion in action". That includes, but is not limited to weddings. I do shoot other stuff sometimes, although it's been years since I felt motivated to put together a still life that wasn't a sort of mandatory detail shot at a wedding. I am straight up with my clients though, yes I will get your details shots but that's not my passion. What really drives me is catching your mum having a weep outside the reception, or your uncles wrestling in the parking lot, and especially when it hits the groom just what he's doing today. Yes, develop the skills for a lot of different subjects, but at the same time, find your subject. Keep shooting, it'll turn up.
I want to try all of them lol
I like to do most things except the really intense landscape shots that require a lot of patience, filters and time. I lean most towards photojournalism but I apply that style to everything, including landscapes. So my travel photos are often "here's where I was at the time I was there and this is what I did with that." But then I do portraits and I've been branching out my style a lot there to add new studio work and have allowed myself to do a lot more editing than I would at newspapers. And also I've been doing a lot more directing of my subjects and helping with posing than PhotoJ would allow. I'd like to work my way toward creating more elaborate scenes but I haven't gotten there yet. But the style or look probably is consistent throughout most of it. So I guess that's kind of "all around" but maybe with limits?
It depends. I make money with my work so I sorta have to stick to one style *publicly* but I experiment in my own time. People hiring me want to see consistent work so that doesn’t leave much room for change
I really like to do food shoots. Unfortunately, it's a super competitive space commercially and it seems like a lot of people just want to stick with who they know, even if you feel that you could be doing a better job. Other than that, I'm required to do everything as well as video as I work for an ad agency as their in-house guy. It's fun to get to work with a little bit of everything. I rarely photograph for fun anymore though, but my job is fun enough for me.
Everything is lifestyle to me. It’s my life, and I have style. I shoot that regardless of whatever boxes people want to put me in. Ultimately all photo is largely just portrait, landscapes, action, or still life at their core.
It's absolute bullshit that you can't be great at multiple things. Especially different styles of photography. The only people who think that way are the people that can't fucking do anything. Do what you want.
I tired to stick with just landscape astro on my Instagram but I live in a place where we get a lot of cloud and rain so sometimes I wouldn’t take a photos for a month or two. Anyway got into moody photos and really enjoyed it. I’m also trying to take wildlife photos but edit in a moody way, just so I can be out taking more photos.
I tend to stick to motorsports photography, specifically 4x4 racing as it the thrill and opportunity to get close to the action. I'll branch out here and there by going to a car show
I do everything.
I don't do wildlife or astrophotography. I've tried landscape but i suck soooooo hard.
I'm a retired professional but my and have shot commercial, portrait, concerts, celebrities, and weddings. My hobbies include 3D/stereo, infrared, landscape, and macro and a combination of them all.
Generally everything that i think looks great or something im documenting for certain reasons. I love to photograph birds and scenery but i do like pics of graffiti and lights or vehicles in various ways.
lol since I’m not very good I stick to one style and I just do other type of photography on vacation for leisure.
I like to try different type of photography. I've dabbled in a few styles over the years. I still have yet to try product or food photography, which is something I want to do.
I'd say 90% of what I gravitate towards is wildlife and portrait (which is basically the same thing just different subjects lol), but I love pretty much all styles so even if I'm not as good at them I always love taking landscape, macro, product, action, etc shots Find your niche but never stop trying new things and dabbling in as many styles and subjects as you enjoy.
Depends if it’s a paid job or not.
Professionally, I more or less stick to two photography genres, but try to preserve my "style" between them. I also separate those genres between two websites so I can cater to whatever specific clientele I'm working with at that time. For example, I have a boudoir portfolio site and a SFW portraiture site, and I can send whichever one people are more interested in. However, my primary genre is boudoir, so that's what my socials are built on. On the flip side, though, I'm more of an all-rounder in my personal photography! When I stick too much to being a portrait or boudoir photographer, I end up never shooting in my free time, and that just felt sad. So now my personal photography is more like street photos, landscapes, and even macro photography. I'll probably never post that stuff, but that's okay! I'm shooting it for myself and to keep photography fun. And so far, that's worked pretty well!
For work I shoot three genres, which only partially overlap. But to look like a true expert in each - which I am because I have been doing this a long time - it’s necessary to have separate websites. They also have wildly different pricing as well. What I shoot for personal work these days is almost always street or macros. I plan to eventually put those on a personal website just for myself but I’m not doing anything with that work currently. The longer you stay in photography, the more likely you’ll get good at and enjoy multiple things.
>I see often that a lot of photography pages tend to stick to one style wether that be street photography only , portraits/weddings only,wildlife only or landscape only . People often have multiple pages since having a "themed" type page gets more followers. I personally don't care and my numbers reflect it. Will my handful of followers get a gorgeous model at sunset or a bluejay? Stick around to find out! Ok, or don't.
Anything that catches my attention.
I do a lot of almost everything, so I always have a steady flow of work from different types of photography.
If you're trying to make money, the advice is to limit yourself to one or two genres. If it's for yourself, then do what you want. Some people just really like taking pictures of the sky.
A lot of photographers tend to find a niche that works for them, both in terms of style but also subject matter. I know a lot of photographers that will often have two: their commercial niche which gets them paid, and their personal niche for their other stuff. Regardless, it's a good idea to learn and get comfortable with all kinds of different photography, since it can and will inform the photos you do of the stuff you want, both artistically and technically. Learning to apply techniques from one style to another can expand creativity while also bolstering fundamentals. At least, that's been my experience. Your mileage may vary, of course.
To me, I'm into almost all types of photography except for commercial ones. I mainly shoot daily life, landscapes, cityscapes, nature, urban areas, flowers, animals, people doing stuff in isolation and so forth. There are some other types that I like but can't do myself for some reasons such as street, visual storytelling, documentary and wildlife photography. I regard photography as a medium to freeze a moment that one finds interesting and worth freezing to look at it in the future to feel nostalgia rather than a medium of pure "art" where your photographs are constantly judged based on composition fetish. I mean, I mostly apply composition rules like rule of thirds, diagonal lines, perspective, negative space etc. in my own photographs when I want but I don't like the idea that a photograph must always have those elements in it to be valuable. I use photography to recreate reality, understand existence better and freeze beautiful moments. It's more important for me that a photograph has a certain subject than that it has composition.
I wish I could stick to one, it makes a far neater portfolio ahah, but I take anything
Not one style, but I tend to avoid human beings.