Triple D. Photography: Types of Photography
What kind of photographer are you?
Nature Photography
Nature Photography can be the easiest and the hardest type of photography. If you take landscape shots, it’s fairly easy, but if you are trying to capture a moving object such as an animal or insect, things get a lot harder. My advice is to be patient. Have your camera fully charged because it may be awhile before you get a picture that you are satisfied with. Be very quiet, don’t let the subject of your photo know you’re there, you may scare them off. This is hard sometimes but it helps if your camera has the ability to zoom in at great lengths,, then you won’t have to be as close to the object. It may take several tries before you get the shot you want.
Sports Photography
I consider sports photography the hardest type of photography, yet it is one of my favorites. Moving objects are really hard to capture clearly. It also involves a lot of moving, you have to follow the team that you are shooting for the best pictures. This is more of a trial and error type of photography. You can take several hundred shots and only come up with a few good photos. The best chance you have at capturing good, clear pictures is to be as close to the playing field as possible and to have your camera on the “motion capture” or “continuous shooting setting.” Also, make sure you are paying attention, do not look through your camera lens the entire game or event, this could lead to you being injured, your camera being damaged or missing a great shot. You have to stay focused and have minimal distractions, otherwise you might miss a good shot. You have to anticipate a good shot, for example if a football is being passed focus your camera on who the ball is being passed to so you can capture the moment they catch the ball. Always make sure your camera is turned on and focused, so you ready to capture a picture at a moment’s notice.
Portrait Photography
To me, portrait photography can be staged or unstaged. To me, it's all about capturing the moments and creating memories that will simply be unforgettable. This is a perfect representation of ¨ a picture is worth a thousand words.¨
Pet Photography
Pets are not as hard as sports and children, but are not as easy as weddings. To get a good picture of your pet, the main trick is to get them to look at you. They don’t have to pose, sit or stand, let them play and have fun, just get them to pause and look at you. For these shoots your camera may not need fully charges because it could take a matter of ten minutes to get some good shots. These shots are usually just for fun, nothing serious, so have fun with them.
Wedding Photography
Wedding’s are not as hard to shoot as animals or sports because everything is in a certain format and is planned ahead of time. The only problem is staying out of the way. The wedding is about the bride and groom, not the photographer so try not to be distracting and stay out of sight. For the beginning of the wedding stand behind the minister and groom to get images of the bridal party walking down the aisle. When everyone is at the altar, including the bride, discreetly move to the back of the crowd so you can see the bridal parties’ faces. Don’t try to move a whole lot and be distracting to the guests. Be very observant of what’s going on at the altar so you don’t miss a shot. Make sure your camera is fully charged, always on and always focused. For a shoot like this your camera can be on a single shooting setting since the subjects do not move much. After the wedding, it always a good idea to stage photos with the bridal party and family. If there are children involved try to be brief and thorough with pictures to keep their attention and have the best results. Know the poses you would like the bridal party to do before hand, but also listen to the bride and groom and do what they want as well. It is never a bad idea to show up early to the wedding and get pictures of the bridal party getting ready.
Child Photography
Children can be very difficult, but also can be very fun. The most important thing is to be very patient. I would not try to model a child because it can become very stressful if the child does not want to cooperate. Just take pictures of them playing, the most unexpected pictures are the most beautiful ones. Bring toys for them to play with and be silly to get their attention.
Self Portraits
You don´t have to be photogenic to get good pictures of yourself. To get good pictures it´s good to have a tripod and put your camera on the timer setting that takes two photos back to back, so you can pick the best one. Self portraits can be fairly easy, just don´t get discouraged. It´s also a good idea to incorporate something you love in your pictures, for example I included my camera.
Black and White Photography
Not all photos are meant to become black and white. Changing photos can add a lot to a photo, or take a lot away. A black and white photo can be very soft and sentimental, but it can also take away a lot of detail. Black and white photos can also be eerie or creepy depending on the shadow, temperature and saturation you give the picture when editing.
