Types of Photography

Photographic work can be divided into dozens of categories, many with lots of sub-categories. The following list describes some common types of photography.

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