Understanding Photographers: Fields of Photography and Necessary Skills

In the world of photography, a photographer is not just a person who takes pictures but also an artist who knows how to turn fleeting moments into immortal works. If you are curious about how they "turn" time into art and want to discover the secrets, types and elements to become a professional photographer, let's join Sadesign to explore the journey right after this!

1. What is a Photographer?

A photographer is a person who specializes in taking pictures with a professional camera or digital equipment to record moments, stories, or ideas through images. A photographer's job is not only to press the shutter, but also includes many other skills such as composition, lighting, color and photo editing to create works of art or images with commercial value.

2. Classification of photographers

Photography is not just about taking pictures, but it is divided into many different fields depending on the purpose of use and the subject being photographed. Below are some common types of photography that photographers can pursue:

2.1. Portrait Photographer

Portrait photography is a genre that focuses on people, capturing their moments, emotions, and personalities through images. A portrait photographer needs to have the skills to pose, adjust the light, and communicate well with the model to create natural, deep photos.

Popular types of portrait photography:

Personal photography: Artistic photos, professional profile photos for use on social media or work profiles.
Family photography: Capture memorable moments of family members, usually done in a studio or outdoors.
Children's Photography: Capture the lovely, innocent moments of children.
Business Photography: Create professional images of leaders and business people for use on websites, magazines or communication materials.

2.2. Event Photographer

Event photography focuses on capturing important moments in events large and small, from personal to corporate. Photographers in this field need to be able to react quickly, capture important moments without affecting the progress of the event.

Popular types of event photography:

Wedding photography: Capture beautiful and memorable moments on the bride and groom's big day.
Taking photos of conferences and corporate events: Preserving images of major events such as seminars, exhibitions, press conferences.
Birthday and party photography: Capture happy memories of parties.
Sports photography: Capture impressive moments in matches and sporting events.

2.3. Fashion Photographer

Fashion photography is a highly creative field that specializes in capturing collections of clothing, accessories, and models to promote fashion brands. Photographers in this industry often work with designers, fashion brands, magazines, and professional models.

Types of fashion photography:

Lookbook photography: A photo series to promote fashion products for a brand.
Magazine photography: Images appear in fashion publications such as Vogue, Elle, Harper's Bazaar…
Catwalk Photography: Capture moments on the fashion runway.
Advertising photography: Photography of fashion products for marketing campaigns.

2.4. Product Photographer

Product photography is an important field in e-commerce and marketing, helping to promote products professionally. Photographers in this field need to have knowledge of lighting, shooting angles and post-production techniques to highlight the product.

Types of product photography:

Product photography for e-commerce: Create sharp, realistic photos that help customers visualize the product.
Creative product photography: Photos with artistic arrangements, often used in advertising.
360-degree photography: Show products from multiple angles to enhance the buyer experience.

2.5. Landscape Photographer

Landscape photography focuses on the beauty of nature, architecture, urban areas and special scenes. Photographers pursuing this field need patience, the ability to use natural light and editing skills to highlight every detail in the image.

Types of landscape photography:

Nature photography: Capture the beauty of forests, mountains, rivers, lakes, oceans...
Architectural Photography: Focuses on constructions, buildings, urban architecture.
Travel Photography : Combining landscapes and local culture, conveying the spirit of each destination.

2.6. Photojournalist

Journalistic photography is a field that records authentic moments of life, events, and people with the purpose of reporting and reflecting social reality. Photographers in this field must have good observation skills, work quickly, and respect the objectivity of events.

Types of photojournalism:

News photos: Record important political, social, economic events.
Photojournalism: Telling a story through images, often accompanied by a journalistic article.
Documentary photography: Recording social issues and daily life from a realistic perspective.

3. Skills needed for a photographer

To become a professional photographer, you need not only a good camera but also important skills. Below are the core skills that help photographers develop and create impressive photos.

3.1. Photography techniques

Photography techniques are fundamental elements that any photographer needs to master. Understanding the technical parameters helps you control the quality of your photos and create more professional photos.

Aperture (f/stop): Determines the depth of field (DOF). Large apertures (f/1.8, f/2.8) help blur the background, suitable for portrait photography. Small apertures (f/11, f/16) help sharpen the entire image, suitable for landscape photography.

Shutter Speed: Determines how long the sensor captures light. Fast speeds (1/1000s or faster) freeze motion, while slow speeds (1/30s, 1/10s) create blur or long exposure.
ISO: Affects the brightness of the photo. Low ISO (100-200) gives sharp, grain-free photos, while high ISO (800-3200) is suitable for shooting in low-light environments.
White Balance (WB): Adjusts the color of the photo to match the ambient light, making the photo look more natural.
Focus: Understand focus modes (AF-S, AF-C, MF) to adjust to each type of photo.
Mastering photography techniques helps photographers control all elements to create high-quality photos without relying too much on post-production editing.

3.2. Creativity

Photography is not only about recording images but also the art of expressing personal views. Creativity helps photographers create photos that have their own mark and are not boring.

Find new angles: Not only shooting at normal angles, photographers need to experiment with low angles, high angles, or close-up angles to create special effects.
Use reasonable composition: Rules such as the Rule of Thirds, Leading Lines, and Framing help make the photo more harmonious.
Experiment with color and light: Understand how color combinations, contrasts, natural and artificial light can create unique visual effects.

Telling stories through images: A photo is powerful when it is not only beautiful but also conveys an emotion, story or message.
Creativity is the factor that helps photographers create their own style and attract viewers.

3.3. Knowledge about light

Light is the most important factor in photography, determining the quality and emotion of a photo. A good photographer needs to know how to use light most effectively.

Natural light: Suitable for landscape photography, outdoor portraits, street photography. Photographers need to understand the Golden Hour – the most beautiful light period in the early morning and late afternoon.
Artificial light: Used in studio, product photography, fashion. Knowing how to use flash, softbox, reflector helps create the desired lighting effect.

Soft and hard lighting techniques: Soft light creates soft shadows, making the photo more natural. Hard light creates sharp shadows, often used to create depth and strong emotions.
Light direction: Understand front light, side light, backlight to create different effects.
Good light management helps photographers control photo quality right from the moment they take the photo without having to edit too much.

3.4. Photo editing skills

Post-production is an important step to help improve image quality and express the photographer's personal style. Some popular editing software that photographers need to master include:

Adobe Lightroom: Adjust color, balance light and dark, and quickly edit images in batches.

Adobe Photoshop: More detailed post-processing such as object removal, skin beautification, photo collage, and special effects creation.
Capture One: Advanced editing tools for professional photographers.
Snapseed, VSCO: Convenient photo editing apps for mobile photography.
Some important photo editing techniques:

Brightness and contrast balance: Helps photos look harmonious, not too dark or too bright.
Color correction: Apply presets or adjust manually to create unique colors.
Remove photo flaws: Remove blemishes, wrinkles, dirt or extra details in photos.

Crop and align composition: Crop photos to optimize the frame, creating balance.
Mastering editing skills helps photographers turn original photos into more complete, professional works.

3.5. Communication skills

Not only good at technique, a professional photographer also needs good communication skills to work effectively with clients, models and colleagues.

Model posing instructions: With portrait and fashion photography, the photographer needs to know how to communicate to help the model feel natural, pose well and express emotions well.

Working with customers: Listen to needs, advise on suitable shooting styles and create trust.

Interacting with the team: When working in a studio or on a large project, the photographer needs to communicate well with the stylist, makeup artist, and director to ensure the shoot goes smoothly.

Building a personal brand: A successful photographer not only relies on his work but also needs to know how to market himself through social networks, websites and communicate with clients.

Communication skills help photographers work more effectively, build good relationships in the industry and attract more career opportunities.

4. How to become a professional photographer?

Learn photography knowledge through books, online courses or from experienced photographers.
Practice regularly to improve your skills, experiment with different photography styles.
Invest in equipment that suits your needs and field of pursuit.
Build a personal portfolio to showcase your work.
Expand your network to seek opportunities for cooperation and career development.
Photography is a creative and challenging profession, requiring perseverance and constant learning to improve skills and create your own mark.

Whether you pursue photography as a passion or a career, be persistent, experiment, and never stop creating. Each photo is a work of art that reflects your personal perspective, let the camera be the tool that helps you convey your story and emotions in the most authentic way.