Aerial |
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From a plane, helicopter, balloon or other airborne device. |
Adventure, Action |
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Adventure sports, daring feats, etc. |
Amateur |
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Any type of photography practiced by non-professionals. |
Animal, Pet |
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Pets and their relationships with humans. Note that the human content is often as important as the animal. |
Architecture, Real Estate |
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The art of making property appear attractive. Often involves panoramic photography. |
Artistic |
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Photography in which creative composition is the goal. |
Astrophotography |
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Space photography, through a telescope. |
Aura |
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A controversial type of photography which some claim can photograph a person's aura. Often confused with Kirlian photography. |
Black & White |
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Not simply photography without colour, black and white photography explores shapes, tones and textures. Shadows and highlights become much more important. |
Camera Phone |
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"Convenience" photography using a mobile phone's built-in camera. While not the best quality, camera phones have opened a new world of spontaneous, on-the-spot photo opportunities. |
Commercial |
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Product shots, advertising, etc. |
Digiscoping |
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Photography through a telescope or binoculars. |
Documentary |
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Journalism, Events, Historical, Political, etc. |
Event |
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Concerts, parties, festivals, weddings, etc. |
Forensic |
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Police and legal photography. |
Infrared |
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Photography in which the recording medium is sensitive to infrared light rather than the normal visible light spectrum. |
Large Format |
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For use on posters, billboards, etc. |
Kirlian |
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A type of contact print photography in which an object touching a photographic plate is connected to a high voltage source, creating an aura-like image. Often confused with aura photography. |
Macro |
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The art of photographing very small and/or close-up objects. |
Medical |
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Specialized photography for clinical purposes, i.e. to help reveal and diagnose illness. |
Microscopic |
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Any technique for photographing objects too small to be visible to humans. |
Modeling |
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Photographing objects to be converted into 3D models. |
Nature |
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Landscapes, animals, plants, sea, etc. |
Night |
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Any technique used to capture images at night. Often includes infrared photography. |
Panoramic |
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Views of wide areas, up to complete 360° panoramas. |
Paranormal |
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Ghosts, unexplained phenomena, etc. |
People |
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Candid, Family, Fashion, Glamour, Passports & Visas, Portrait, Pregnancy, School, Sports, Wedding |
Pinhole |
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Uses the most basic type of camera possible — a box with a tiny hole to let light in. |
Scenic |
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Landscape, Cityscape |
Satellite |
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Views of Earth from orbit. |
Scientific |
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Any specialized photography used for scientific endeavour, e.g. electron microscopy photographs, medical photography, astrophotography, etc. |
Sports |
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The specialized art of shooting people engaged in sports, games and adventure activities. |
Stereoscopic (3-D) |
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Involves taking two photos simultaneously to simulate 3-D vision. |
Stock |
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Photographs taken for distribution to other people, for use in their projects. These photos tend to be quite generic, e.g. people working, landscapes, places, etc. |
Time-lapse |
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Photographs with a very long exposure, used to illustrate something happening over time. A popular example is a street at night with car lights blurred into long lines. |
Travel |
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Photography to showcase locations, illustrate travel literature, etc. |
Ultraviolet |
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Photography in which the recording medium is sensitive to ultraviolet light rather than the normal visible light spectrum. |
Underwater |
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Any type of photography taken under water with a water-tight camera housing. |
Urban, Industrial |
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Emphasizing urban environments. |