Photographers, like other professionals, follow careers that reflect their interests, backgrounds, qualifications, and preference for working in a studio or on a location. The great thing about being a beginner photographer is that you can explore pretty much every photography niche out there. But as you gain more experience in your craft, you’ll find that it’s almost impossible to master a specific style if you don’t stick to it. In this article, we’ll help you understand different types of photography jobs, and how you can excel in each of them.
Sports Photography
Sports photographers supply specialist sports publications and websites related to sporting events, as well as newspapers, sports sections, and magazines with high-speed shots. They are usually armed with long lenses that can zoom in to where the action takes place and shoot at great speeds, without ending up with underexposed images.
Sports arenas are usually swarmed with photographers, and the competition for the spot is pretty stiff. If you want to be a successful sports photographer, you should crank up your ISO so that you can experiment with angles, use a fast shutter speed, and always be prepared to click that shutter.
Editorial Photography
These photographers work for book publishers, newspapers, or magazines, supplying images to books or illustrating feature articles. They usually work with writers, designers, or editors to ensure that photos are synchronized with the text in the article. Editorial photographers can specialize in a particular field, including fashion, wildlife or travel, and sell their images to image libraries or specialist publications.
Photojournalism
Photojournalism is a genre in photography that typically covers specific stories and scenes described in the news. Photojournalists take objective photos that are historically important and they often use some elements of street photography for it. And because these photos are usually published in esteemed newspapers, professional photojournalism is a well-paid career field, particularly if these photographers are affiliated with book publishers, magazines, newspapers, or certain organizations and agencies.
Documentary Photography
Have you ever heard about war photographers? These brave people cover political and social problems that are historically significant. They capture raw emotions in real-life situations that take place in significant moments in time. Their pictures are given universal recognition as they don’t merely cover celebrities or local rallies.
If you’re thinking about taking timeless photos about presidents and world issues for a living, then documentary photography might be your calling.
Portrait Photography
Portraiture is arguably the most explored niche in photography. Nowadays, virtually everyone with a mobile phone practices portrait photography since it’s become natural to hold a camera and aim at a person.
The beauty of portrait photography is in capturing a person’s personality, usually through various poses. Professionals in this niche normally take photos of celebrities and supermodels at magazine shoots or on red carpets. In some cases, though, they also do family portraits, graduation pictures, and professional sessions for aspiring actors and models.