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Digital Photography Basics
Photography Genres

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Landscape photography

The term landscape originates from the Dutch word landschap, meaning
landship". Landscape photography can be a way to see the world in all its
glory and show art through life. But finding that perfect frame isn't restricted to
the likes of professional photographers such as Ansel Adams. With the proper
equipment and techniques, you can take great landscape photos, too.
Landscape photography comes in a variety of styles, which we'll take a look at
below:
- Representational photography can be thought of as, "What you see is what
you get." In this style of landscape photography, the photographer doesn't do
anything to alter the scene but captures the essence of nature. Composition
of the photograph, light, timing, and weather are all important aspects when
using this style. Much like an impressionistic painting, landscape
photographs can employ impressionistic techniques, and use of soft filters
can give photos illusive effects. Although the viewer can still make out what
the subject of the photo is, the actual picture itself might not be sharp or
clear.
- Abstract landscape photography uses a variety of techniques, namely shape
and proximity to shoot aspects of nature, but not necessarily an entire
landscape. The resulting photographs may play with patterns, shapes and
close-ups.

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Landscape photography doesn't always have to be nature photography. Urban
landscapes full of skyscrapers can also make for stunning pictures. Lines,
angles, shapes and tall buildings give landscape photographers a lot of
options to play with.

Advertising photography
Advertising photography is very important and can use a lot of post
production.
Depending on what product you are wanting to sell, advertising photography
can use many different styles and techniques. The main aim of advertising
photography is making an image that best sells the product given.
Promotional advertising has a similar approach but can actually be used for
promoting the product and not actually to sell it to the audience.

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Within promotional and advertising photography a wide range of lenses can

be used depending on what you want the image to look like. Usually a
telephoto lens will be required.
A lot of artificial lighting may be used to make sure the image you are trying to
create.The images created for advertising and promotional photography are
very posed and staged because usually the company has a plan of what the
image needs to look like. The images will be manipulated and edited also to
make sure they are of very good quality an exactly how they want them,
including colours, brightness and contrast.
Jonathan Knowles a London based photographer today is a very well known
advertising photographer specializing in still life1, people and water, whos
work is clearly well thought trough and creatively edited. He works with
different companies and agencies world wide and has award winning
photographs.

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Figure 1: The plain bright background will really catch an audiences eye. The
milk looks really different and effective, as if its holding the Weetabix up and
making it look important. The effect of the milk splashing out looks really good
and realistic. The plain background allows the main image to stand out above
it.
The fruit almost makes the image look 3D because it looks like it is jumping
out of the advert, this creates a really good effect
There is most likely some artificial lighting involved to create this overall
image.

Still life photography: The definition of a still life subject is an inanimate object but other
subjects are loosely termed as still life as well. These include flowers, food, etc. They are life
forms but they dont move.
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Fashion photography
Fashion Photography is a type of photography used for displaying clothes and
promoting fashion labels. It is mostly used for advertisements or fashion
magazines such as Vogue or Elle. Fashion photography can also be seen
online and in catalogues.
Fashion Photography was typically done in a studio for the bright lights for a
detailed photo concentrating on only the purpose but it has also been taking
place in exotic places like beaches.
Within a Fashion Photograph not only are they showing clothes they are
creating a mood in the image, for example when the models wear black
sometimes they create a sort of gloomy sad mood. When the model is
wearing bright colours with a bright background they usually create a joyful
and happy mood.
A range of different lenses can be used depending on the shoot, usually you
will not need a lens for close up shots because they need to be mid- long
shots to include the clothing in the Photograph.
The images are very staged and posed with high key artificial lighting.
Afterwards the images are manipulated and edited to fit the standards the
companies are looking for. And also to make the models look the best they
can. Fashion photography is not at all similar to other fashion photography
because a lot of photographers have very different styles and different
interests.
Horst Diekgerdes is a well known fashion photographer who shoots for the
famous vogue magazine and clothing shop H&M. He likes his images to have
a dark side and look like theyre telling a story.

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Pictures 2: Enhanced highlighting of the sea. Highly posed model with bright
red lips to stand out. Black floor to make the whole picture have a dark effect.
Plain colours, soft lighting used. White dress blends with the white part of the
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sea. Mid shot to show the clothing she is wearing and the position she is stood
in to create the mood. the blue connotes the mood of sadness

Photojournalism photography
Photojournalism allows you to create an image to help you to tell the news
story. There can be 3 different types of photojournalism work:

- Timeliness the images have meaning in the context of a recently

published record of events.

- Objectivity the situation implied by the images is a fair and accurate

representation of the events they depict in both content and tone.

- Narrative the images combine with other news elements to make facts
relatable to the viewer or reader on a cultural level.
A photojournalist is still a reporter even though they are not their to write the
article. A Photojournalist has to carry around photographic equipment often
while in bad weather, dangerous locations and crowds.
Photojournalism can include daily life, war, sport, paparazzi and travel
photographs.
Paparazzi Photographs are observational and usually not very good quality,
this is due to the photographer only wanting one thing, which is to catch a
celebrity doing something. The photographs are usually not edited and left
how they are, this is so the photos look real.
Sport and travel photographs are usually manipulated to make the photograph
look better and have better quality. These images are usually to make a piece
of writing more interesting, so editing is essential sometimes.
David Burnett is a photojournalist who has 4 decades of work including, sport,
people, war, politics, famous and infamous. He was voted into the 100 most
important people in photography.

Portrait photography
Portrait photography, known as Portraiture, is one of the most common forms
of Photography. Portraits of people or groups of people are capturing mainly
face and facial expressions.
A Portraiture photographers aim is to focus on a persons face, backgrounds
are still included within the photograph but the main focus is on their face,
facial expressions an facial features.
A Portraiture isnt just a photograph of a person, it is a staged and rehearsed
photograph that the photographer places the person in a certain angle and

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place to take the photograph. The background is discussed with the

photographer and the model.
There is a construction approach to Portraiture Photography which is when
the photographer creates an idea for the photo for example, happy family and
romantic couples. These are based in a studio. With this approach there is
usually artificial lighting and post production.
The candid approach is where people are photographed doing something and
the photo is not staged but observational. This approach replies on natural
light and is used for everyday life photographs.
The environment approach is photographs taken in the environment of which
you live around, for example family, work or leisure. This tells you something
about the character involved.
The Creative approach is where photo manipulation is included and is the
main aspect of it. This approach is most popular in high street studios.
Cecil Beaton was a famous fashion and portrait photographer. He was
working for Vogue when he first started becoming a photographer then went
on to producing a lot of portraits of famous people including Marilyn Monroe.

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Pictures 3: Eye level shot to show equality. This is really effective as she use
to be seen as the most beautiful women In the world. The image suggests that
you are the same.The background is smudged together which makes it look
really effective because it gives it a sort of painted effect. Her skin is left to see
all her features Close up of Marylyn Monroe.Black and White Photograph Very
high key lighting. Background is blurry to make the image of Marylyn stand
out.

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Architectural photography
Architectural photography is the photography of buildings and similar
structures, this could include the exterior or interior of the building.
When it comes to architectural photography you need to take into
consideration the lighting, because you can only have the use of natural
lighting when photographing the exterior, whilst trying to capture the building
looking its best. Also you need to consider image distortion, because of the
vertical and horizontal lines that may appear on the camera screen you will
need to get the right camera angle for it to look good.
By using the right techniques your Photograph could come out really well, it is
important to use correct angles and manipulation. Also the colour of the
photograph is important when it comes to architectural photography.
Architectural photographers like to capture repeated unusual patterns In the
interior of buildings, which can sometimes make something look abstract
rather then the inside of a building, this can look even more effective when
using post production and manipulation. An image may or may not be
manipulated depending on what the end use of the image will be, for example
if it is for construction companies the image will stay the same but if it is
wanting to be placed in a gallery for wall art then the image will be either
manipulated or just slightly edited for better quality.
A tilt shift lens is usually used when photographing the interior of a building
because different angles can make something look really unique. The images
are observational because the building is something that you are looking at
and observing rather then it being controlled by yourself. Artificial lighting can
be used rarely but only when photographing the interior, natural lighting is
used for the exterior of a building.
You will see architectural photography in brochures, websites, galleries,
newspapers and books. People who may use architectural photography
include construction companies, architects, property developers and
consulting engineers.
Simon Kennedy was an architect and then went on to teaching architectural
photography in a school, which gave him a lot of knowledge into the subject,
and this is where he has gained his expertise from. His skills are still
developing with his equipment which gives him extremely high resolution
photographs. His work has been exhibited and published world wide.

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Picture 4: Edited to enhance the bright colours. Movement under the building
to suggest that its a busy road. High contrast and brightness.The movement
at the bottom creates sort of leading lines to make you look at the main image
itself which is of the building, which stands out above everything else.
The arrows are wear your eyes are drawn to. The image is really clever
because of the lines shown it makes you look at the whole picture.

Interior photography

Interior photography is the art in which photographers revolve their work

around different interior designs an infrastructure has to offer.

For starters, interior photography is one of those that is commercially feasible

because the photographers skill in taking these shots are always in high
demand.

There are many opportunities for interior photography as it can be used to

advertise and market a certain interior and the infrastructure itself.

Homeowners, business establishments, and other such similarities have been

known to seek the skill of those who can utilize interior photography.

For you are interested in interior photography, but do not have the basic
experience in taking them, you need not be confused or discouraged by the
thought.

Basically, there are certain details that you have considered when taking
interior photography shots, and they are usually easy to remember. Here are
some of the details you should remember when taking interior photography:

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1. Locate a subject for the photo, and revolve around it. When walking into an
establishment it would be best to study the place itself. When you finally
find a subject, be sure to frame them well.
2. Utilize the proper lighting[lighting techniques] available in the surrounding
area. Lighting is one of the most important details in taking photos. When
taking photos of interiors, you may notice that there might be insufficient
lighting to illuminate and bring out the colors in your photo. Adjusting the
ISO in your camera could greatly help you. Most cameras have an ISO
feature specifically for this purpose. You might want to make use of the
natural shadows present in the interior as this can greatly add character to
the picture.
3. Lines, shapes, and the general public are good add-ons to the photograph.
The beauty about interiors is that it is full of different lines and shapes. This
is actually an advantage for the photographer because lines and shapes
make for a good subject matter itself. If there are people inside the
establishment, they also make a good sub-topic to the interior itself.

Fine art photography

Fine art photography is not really narrowed down to one thing. It can be
anything but very popular things in fine art are architecture, nudes and wildlife.
They can be in bright colour or black and white. Usually a lot of post
production takes place to make the images as creative as they can but
sometimes none is done.
Fine art Photographs are usually for individual sale or for publishing in books.
Whereas in photojournalism it is for newspapers and magazines. This is not
the case with fine art photography.
You see fine art photography in galleries, on the web and in books. This is
because it is for selling and publishing rather then illustrating writing.
With fine art photography any lens can be used because it is much more
independent. The photographs can be either observational or controlled.
Artificial light or Ambien light can be used and also post production usually
happens with fine art photography. All of this is because the application is so
independent and not set to specific types of photographs.
Ian Bramhams is a fine art photographer. Most of his Photographs are black
and white, Ansel Adams was a famous artist who inspired Ian to do black and
white photography. Ian is an award winning fine art photographer and
Architect who lives in Cheshire with his wife and 2 children. Ian believes that
his photographs can not be to creative, so they leave room for imagination
and creativity of someone else. He loves photographing the natural
environment in the countryside but also buildings for architecture. He likes
that sometimes in his photographs he can capture both the natural and built

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environments to create a wonderful landscape which shows the world

changing from generations.

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Picture 5: The sun seems quite low down in this photograph so it is either
really early or nearly night time.
The darkest parts of the image are the tree and also the trees/bushes in the
background, these are the parts that are most dominant and stand out the
most in the photograph.
The photograph is very passive, the scene looks very quite and no one ever
goes in this area. By the Photograph been black and white, this also makes
the photograph look passive, because of the dark colours.
The lines of the shadows on the grass create a really good effect, because
they are the first things you will see when looking at the photograph they lead
your eyes to the tree and create a sense of direction to the photograph.
There is a lot of depth of field in this photograph, it stretches far backwards
Black and white photograph.
A small f number is used so the aperture is sharp for the whole photograph
depth.
The sun words really well behind the tree in this photograph because between
the branches the light is shined through onto the grass which shows a
different range of tones throughout the grass.
Because of the light used in this photograph the tree is a silhouette, the fact
the photograph is black and white, this probably creates this affect as well.

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Documentary photography

Documentary photography is working on long term projects with multi strand

narratives. This usually involves observational photography rather then
staging. This is because Documentary photography is similar to
Photojournalism, but rather then working on one story and publishing it in a
newspaper, it is working on a long term story.
Post Production is normally used, but not to a big extent, just for making the
photos look a better quality. A wide range of lenses can be used depending
on the situation, story and location.
Documentary photography is good for telling a story through pictures. It gives
an opportunity for a photography to show daily life through images rather then
text. Documentary photography is not set to a tight deadline like
photojournalism.
It is usually shown in magazines then newspapers, because magazines have
more space for Photographs, because when reading a magazine people
usually look at more pictures and have little text.
Ambien light would be used with Documentary photography because the
images would most likely be outdoors. But some stories could include indoor
locations, so artificial light may be required.
Andrea Bruce is a Documentary Photographer focusing on the aftermath of
people living after war. She works with the washing Post and posted weekly
columns about unseen Iraq and has been working in Iraq taking photographs
from 2003 present. She tries to work in the most troubled places in the world
to show us how theyre living.
Her awards include top honors from the White House News Photographers
Association (where she has been named Photographer of the Year four
times), several awards from the International Pictures of the Year contest, and
the prestigious John Faber award from the Overseas Press Club in New
York. http://www.andreabruce.com/#/bio

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Black and White photography
The barbed wire is acting as sort of a frame for each section of the
photograph.
Lines going through the photograph creating a pattern
Low contrast, not a very sharp photograph
The photograph looks very dull and passive, there is no one about and the
whole image creates a negative mood
Nothing particularly in focus apart from the wire, the whole background is like
silhouette shapes.
The photograph is taken at eye level
There is no space in the photograph it all looks crowded, not that it is very
clear to see
Dark lighting throughout the photograph, the only high key lighting parts is
parts of the sky
A range of dark tones running throughout the photograph from white to black.

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