Genres, Movements & Theory — 60 Terms Defined

Abstract Photography Genres, Movements & Theory Photography that emphasises form, colour, texture and pattern over the identification of its subject.

Advertising Photography Genres, Movements & Theory Photography commissioned to promote a product, service or brand.

Aerial Photography Genres, Movements & Theory m (altitude) Photography made from an elevated platform — aircraft, helicopter, drone or kite — looking down on the subject.

Architectural Photography Genres, Movements & Theory Photography of buildings and structures, concerned with form, space and the accurate rendering of geometry.

Astrophotography Genres, Movements & Theory seconds Photography of the night sky, from wide-field starscapes to magnified images of deep-sky objects. Rule of 500: t ≈ 500 / focal length

Aura Genres, Movements & Theory Walter Benjamin's term for the unique presence of an original artwork, which he argued mechanical reproduction dissolves.

Body of Work Genres, Movements & Theory count A sustained group of photographs unified by subject, approach or idea, developed over an extended period.

Caption and Context Genres, Movements & Theory The text and setting accompanying a photograph, which largely determine how it is understood.

Conceptual Photography Genres, Movements & Theory Photography in which the governing idea precedes and directs the image, rather than the image being discovered.

Consent and Privacy Genres, Movements & Theory The question of when a person's permission is required to photograph them and to publish the result.

Documentary Photography Genres, Movements & Theory Photography that records a subject, community or situation over time with the intention of describing it truthfully.

Düsseldorf School Genres, Movements & Theory A group of German photographers taught by Bernd and Hilla Becher, known for large-format, systematic and often very large-scale work.

Editorial Photography Genres, Movements & Theory Photography made to accompany published text — articles, features and interviews — rather than to advertise.

Environmental Portrait Genres, Movements & Theory A portrait made in a setting that tells the viewer something about the subject's life, work or identity.

Event Photography Genres, Movements & Theory Photography documenting conferences, parties, ceremonies and corporate functions.

Farm Security Administration Genres, Movements & Theory count A United States government programme of the 1930s and 40s that commissioned photographers to document rural poverty during the Depression.

Fashion Photography Genres, Movements & Theory Photography made to present clothing and to construct a mood or identity around it.

Fine Art Photography Genres, Movements & Theory Photography made primarily as an expressive work rather than to document, illustrate or sell a product.

Food Photography Genres, Movements & Theory Photography of prepared food, for menus, packaging, editorial and cookbooks.

Group f/64 Genres, Movements & Theory A short-lived association of West Coast American photographers formed in 1932 to advocate sharp, unmanipulated photography.

Headshot Genres, Movements & Theory A tightly framed portrait of the head and shoulders, made for professional identification and representation.

Humanist Photography Genres, Movements & Theory A postwar movement, strongest in France, that photographed ordinary life with warmth and an emphasis on shared human experience.

Indexicality Genres, Movements & Theory The property of a photograph as a physical trace of light reflected from a real object, rather than a depiction made by hand.

Interior Photography Genres, Movements & Theory Photography of the inside of buildings, balancing artificial light, daylight and the character of a space.