Photography
28 types of photography styles and genres.
From portraiture to photojournalism to product and lifestyle photography, explore the many photography types and photo styles practised in India. Discover your options before choosing a genre to focus on.
Which photography types are right for you?
Whatever you’re interested in, be it people, animals, nature, food or fashion, there’s a type of photography geared around that specific subject matter. Everything under the sun, literally, is something you can photograph. With so many photography styles practised today, this list of 28 photography categories will help both beginners and professionals find their creative direction.
Photograph the natural world.
If plants, animals or the outdoors interest you, these photography types might be right for you.
Nature photography: Get tips for capturing the great outdoors and wildlife photography. With weather to work around and lighting you can’t always control, it’s important to plan ahead and bring the right gear, whether your aim is photos of mountains, trees or deer.
In India, think Himalayan peaks, Western Ghats rainforests, Sundarbans mangroves and Thar Desert dunes—rich locations for nature and wildlife photography across seasons.
Landscape photography: Learn more about the timing, lighting and technical challenges of capturing beautiful vistas, dense forests or vast deserts. Get tips from landscape photographers on the necessity of a tripod and which lenses and shutter speeds are best.
Iconic Indian landscapes include Ladakh’s high-altitude valleys, Rann of Kutch salt flats, Nilgiris tea estates and Konkan coastlines—ideal for sunrise/sunset landscape photography.
Astrophotography: For those who find themselves staring into the night sky in wonder, astrophotography (a form of long exposure photography) is a good photography genre to explore. With tripods and extremely long shutter speeds, you can capture stunning starscapes, time-lapse images and light paintings that show how stars move in the sky as the Earth rotates.
Dark-sky favourites in India include Spiti, Ladakh, Jaisalmer outskirts and Andaman & Nicobar—great for Milky Way season and star trails.
Storm photography: If the sky within our troposphere piques your interest, you can study weather and take incredible photos through lighting and storm photography. The right gear and safety precautions are essential when shooting weather. With patience, practice and the right timing, electrifying pictures are in your future.
Monsoon storm photography along the Konkan and Malabar coasts and pre-monsoon lightning in Central India can produce dramatic skies, safety first.
Pet photography: Get up close and personal with animals and take photos of people’s pets. Animal photography comes with its own special challenges, but preparation and an ability to adapt during a shoot will help you to snap great shots. Plus, learn some post-processing techniques to make photos of dogs and cats with dark fur pop.
Urban India’s growing pet culture, with studios and home sessions in Mumbai, Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, and beyond, is driving demand for candid pet photography and brand campaigns.
Macro photography: From insects and small birds to extreme close-ups of flowers and fruits, macro photos make the small appear larger than life. These photos can require a macro lens to capture and the plane of focus is very narrow, making a steady workspace essential. But with photography tips and advice from pros, you can investigate this window into a smaller world.
Biodiversity hotspots like the Western Ghats and Northeast India are prime for macro photography of insects, frogs and flora.
Flower photography: For those more interested in flora than fauna, flower photos are a great genre of photography to explore. These passive subjects are a good way for beginners to learn about shallow depth of field, lighting, exposure and other skills.
Seasonal blooms, from the Valley of Flowers and Kaas Plateau to Mughal gardens, offer vibrant subjects for flower photography and close-ups.
Capture cityscapes and structures.
It can be artistic or commercial when you photograph man-made structures and the tips for showing buildings in their most compelling light vary depending on your goal. From heritage temples to modern skyscrapers, these photography types highlight India’s architectural diversity.
Architecture photography: From shots of skyscrapers to gothic gargoyles, architectural photography is all about how to showcase the interesting vantage points of buildings and highlighting their intriguing features. A wide-angle lens and knowledge of how to shoot in natural light will help.
In India, architectural photography encompasses heritage sites and monuments such as the Sun Temple in Konark and the Gateway of India, religious structures like the Meenakshi Amman Temple in Madurai and the Golden Temple in Amritsar, colonial-era facades like the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in Mumbai and Vidhana Soudha in Bengaluru, as well as modern city skylines, offering endless creative opportunities.
Real estate photography: For a more commercial take on building photography, real estate photography provides an opportunity to build a career capturing home photos. Advice on technical choices surrounding gear and lighting can help you to build a foundation to grow your real estate photography skills.
India’s fast-growing housing market, co-working hubs, and luxury apartments are creating demand for professional real estate photography, especially for digital listings and property portals.
Drone photography: You can take nature photos from the air, but drones bring an especially unique perspective to photographs of buildings, highways and bridges. Discover the challenges involved when you pilot a drone to snap pictures and gain advice on how to get the best images from this bird’s eye view.
Drone photography is increasingly used for wedding venues, tourism campaigns, real estate shoots, and film production, though it requires adherence to DGCA drone regulations.
Aerial photography: Aerial photography encompasses any photo taken from an elevated perspective, including drones. Whether you want to try your hand at photography from a helicopter or the top of a skyscraper, investigate the ins and outs of this sky-bound method of shooting.
Aerial photography also includes cultural and festival shots such as Kumbh Mela gatherings and Ratha Yatra processions, as well as landmarks and cityscapes, natural views like the backwaters of Kerala and the sand dunes of the Thar Desert, along with adventure and tourism experiences including helicopter rides at Vaishno Devi and aerial perspectives of tea plantations in Assam and Darjeeling.
Work with people.
From fashion photography to personal portraits, these types of photography are perfect if you want to take aim at people. Whether for creative expression or commercial work, people photography covers styles that highlight culture, personality, and stories through the lens.
Portrait photography: Portrait photographers need a mastery of their camera and an ability to make a subject feel at ease. A great portrait is more than a good picture of someone, it tells their story. Get more information on portrait lighting and sitting and hand poses for your subjects to help improve your shoots.
Portrait photography in India often involves capturing traditional attire, family milestones, or spiritual portraits in regions like Varanasi and Rajasthan. Artists also explore modern portraiture in urban hubs, blending cultural identity with contemporary expression.
Headshot photography: A more commercial form of portrait photography, headshots are professional photos used for resumes, websites and social media profiles. Learn how headshots differ from portraits and how to snap a great business-ready shot of a subject.
Headshot photography has grown with India’s booming startup ecosystem and IT sector, where professionals need high-quality images for LinkedIn and portfolios. Actors, models, and influencers also increasingly demand polished headshots for casting calls and brand collaborations.
Fashion photography: Work with models to create stylish photoshoots. Whether your aim is runway photography, catalogue or editorial shots, the ability to take client direction and give guidance to models, all while snapping great shots, is key.
Fashion photography thrives in India’s diverse landscape, from capturing couture during Lakmé Fashion Week to cataloguing regional textiles like Banarasi silk or Kanjeevaram sarees. Photographers also collaborate with e-commerce brands and independent designers to showcase modern and traditional fashion.
Sports photography: While documenting live sports falls more into the realm of photojournalism, more commercial sports photography can showcase apparel and products, typically worn by an athlete. Whichever type of sports photos you hope to take, the ability to work in fast-paced environments with and around people is essential.
Sports photographers in India often capture the thrill of cricket, kabaddi, and hockey, documenting both players and fan culture. Commercially, brands rely on sports photographers for campaigns featuring athletes in apparel, gear, or promotional shoots.
Documentary photography: Chronicle community events and other important aspects of people’s lives in this genre for aspiring photojournalists or anyone with an inquiring nature. Unlike a curated photoshoot where a photographer can tweak and adjust a model or their surroundings, documentary photography aims to capture reality and, through photos, tell a true story.
Documentary photography in India often covers powerful stories like rural livelihoods, social movements, and festivals such as Durga Puja or Holi. Photographers use this style to preserve narratives that reflect the diversity of everyday Indian life.
Take lifestyle photos.
From momentous occasions to the little moments of everyday life, get snapshots of the world and people around you with these styles of candid photography.
Street photography: A perfect place to start for budding photographers, this form of lifestyle photography focuses on capturing life in a certain setting. From a bustling market to a scene from a local park, if you can be agile enough to find new perspectives while being observant of your surroundings, you can shoot intriguing street photography.
Street photography in India often brings to life the vibrancy of markets like those filled with spices, textiles, or street food vendors. Photographers also document daily moments on railway platforms, riversides, or narrow lanes that reveal the essence of Indian urban and rural life.
Wedding photography: Event photography of the biggest day of a couple’s life is a big responsibility. But with the right equipment, practice and preparation, you can get great wedding photos. Learn the technical and environmental details wedding photographers need to shoot photos during a long, busy wedding day.
In India, wedding photography is a booming industry, with photographers capturing multi-day celebrations filled with rituals like the Haldi, Mehendi, and Baraat. From candid emotional portraits to grandeur-filled shots of decorated venues, photographers blend storytelling with cultural detail to preserve memories.
Learn commercial photography skills.
If you want to turn a photography hobby into a source of income, these types of photography might be up your alley. From food to fashion to consumer products, these genres focus on creating images that sell, promote, and inspire.
Food photography: The ability to take mouthwatering shots of food can help you to score commercial gig creating restaurant ads, menu photos and images for hospitality websites. It’s also a great skill to build if you want to post appetizing shots on social media. Food photographers can even licence out their work as stock photography. Learn the tricks of the trade to help you to cook up some good food photos.
Food photography in India thrives on diversity, from capturing colourful thalis, festive sweets, and street food to high-end dishes in luxury restaurants. Photographers often collaborate with food bloggers, delivery apps, and hotel chains to create content that appeals to both local and global audiences.
Product photography: From trainers to camping equipment to makeup, product photographers showcase the wares of different brands in clear, enticing photos. Explore tips for styling and editing shots of products.
Product photography is in high demand across booming e-commerce platforms like Amazon and Flipkart, as well as for D2C brands. From jewellery and handicrafts to electronics and beauty products, photographers help businesses present their offerings in a way that builds trust and drives sales.
Create artistic shots.
Discover new ways to craft intriguing images through these different explorations of photographic art.
Still life photography: Like the style of painting of the same name, still life photography encompasses photos of inanimate objects arranged in a specific composition. From the traditional bowl of fruit to an assortment of intriguing garage sale items, still life is a broad category. The skills needed to do still life can also help on a career path to food and product photography.
Still life photography in India often features traditional objects like brass lamps, clay pots, rangoli patterns, and festival offerings. Artists use this medium to highlight cultural symbolism while experimenting with textures, colours, and light.
Black-and-white photography: This stark form of photography can be perfect for inspiring artistic output, but it’s also a helpful practice for learning the foundational skills of photo composition, without the distraction of colour.
In India, black-and-white photography has been used to capture historic portraits, rural life, and architectural heritage in a striking way. Modern photographers continue this practice, turning wedding rituals, landscapes, and street life into timeless monochrome stories.
Fine art photography: From still life to landscapes and even portraits, this kind of photographic expression is defined by the photographer. Subjects and shots pursued simply for the artistic purpose of the photographer is what puts these photos in the fine art category.
Fine art photographers in India explore themes like spirituality, urbanisation, and cultural identity. From minimalist images of the Himalayas to symbolic portrayals of Indian festivals, artists create works that often feature in galleries and exhibitions.
Double exposure photography: Double exposure, a once-manual photo effect made more accessible by digital editing software, stacks two images to create a new piece. Learn the technique, then follow your inspiration to try and create new kinds of double-exposed photos.
Indian photographers use double exposure to merge cultural motifs with portraits, such as blending silhouettes with temple architecture, nature, or cityscapes. This style is popular in wedding albums and creative fashion shoots.
Surreal photography: If provocative images are your goal, surreal photography is a great genre to explore. Surrealism displays recognisable images in unique, dream-like ways. This is a perfect medium to pursue if you’re interested in creating composite images from existing photos.
Surreal photography in India often draws inspiration from mythology and folklore, combining modern portraits with fantastical landscapes or symbolic elements like lotuses, peacocks, or cosmic motifs. It’s popular in digital art, advertising, and editorial projects.
Abstract photography: Abstracts are all about point of view. Zoom in close on the cracked earth or zoom out on an aerial shot to find intriguing perspectives. If you’re interested in capturing novel views of familiar objects and landscapes, this is the type of photography for you.
Abstract photographers in India capture cracked earth in Rajasthan, reflections in monsoon puddles, or geometric temple carvings as visual art. The genre is also gaining traction in contemporary galleries and urban art projects.
Frequently asked questions.