13 Types Of Photography: Which One’s Right For You?

Photography, whether you do it as a hobbyist or as a professional, is a fun thing to do that allows you to be creative and artistic on so many levels. One of the best things about it is you have a lot of different niches to choose from to excel. With your camera (or even smartphone) in hand, you can explore these different niches and see how each niche can improve your skills.

Check out the most popular niches that many hobbyists and pros are into today.

1. Portrait Photography
   This is probably one of the most common directions a lot of photographers take. Portrait photography lets you meet and work with plenty of interesting people by taking their pictures and capturing their personalities on camera.
2. Still Life Photography
   As the name implies, it is taking photos of inanimate objects. It may seem simple and easy enough to do, and to a certain extent, it is. But the challenge is how to breathe life into your subjects so that you’re able to take something ordinary and dull into something interesting.
3. Fashion Photography
   Fact: fashion photography is a lucrative career. You get to take pictures of stunning models wearing the latest designer fashion, custom luxury bracelets for women, or the latest footwear. It can take you places where you get to mingle with the who’s-who of the fashion industry.
4. Sports Photography
   While some of the niches on this list don’t require a professional-grade camera, sports photography involves plenty of high-speed shooting which means you need a camera that can be armed with professional lenses so you don’t miss out on any of the action.
5. Landscape Photography
   The great thing about landscape photography is it lets you spend plenty of time outdoors. Contrary to popular belief, it is not all horizontal shots. You can also go vertically, especially when you have trees as your subject.
6. Food Photography
   Thanks to social media, especially Instagram, the food photography niche is now a lot easier to break into. You can do it for fun or for marketing, either way, you don’t need a professional camera or set-up to pull it off. Whip out your smartphone, take some snapshots, and you’re good.

7. Wildlife Photography
   Wildlife photography is quite rewarding and pays really well, given the risks and challenges that go with photographing wild animals in their natural habitat. This niche is not for everyone so if you’re interested in this, you need to give it some serious thought.
8. Toy Photography
   A fun and creative way to unleash the child in you is toy photography. There are several sub-genres in toy photography but the most popular sub-genre is action figure photography where the challenge is taking a bunch of action figures, posing them dynamically, and making them come to life.
9. Macro Photography
   Macro photography is quite fulfilling, especially if you produce outstanding photos of subjects that appear a lot bigger than they really are. You will, of course, need a macro lens to pull this one off so you need to invest in a good one to produce high-quality pictures.
10. Newborn Photography
    While it is essentially portrait photography, newborn photography is a niche on its own due to the challenges that come with photographing newborns and infants. They are sensitive to a lot of things which is why extra measures are put in place and certain special pieces of equipment are used.
11. Street Photography
    If you’re always on the go and like to capture random street images, then street photography might just be right up your alley. The great thing about it is you can use your smartphone to shoot and edit the pictures you take.
12. Weather Photography
    Well, the name explains it all. It is essentially outdoor photography that focuses on capturing different weather conditions that can get really dangerous. It may be a financially rewarding niche, especially if you get exceptional results every time but whether or not it’s worth it is up to you.
13. Stock Photography
    For those who want to make money with their photos, you might want to consider stock photography. It allows you to sell your photos that will be licensed for certain uses. It lets you be creative and artistic and earn good money on the side.

Do you think you’re a good fit for the above-mentioned niches? Which ones do you think you can easily do? Which ones seem challenging to you? Do you have any other photography ideas that were not mentioned in our list? Feel free to drop your thoughts and insights in the comments section below and let’s discuss them.