Studying different photographic techniques is one of the best ways to sharpen your eye. And there’s no better teacher than a master of the craft.
Below are 15 photography styles or visual techniques — from classic to creative — along with photographers who embody them. Use these as launchpads for experimentation and inspiration!
✧ 1. Shadow Photography
Shadows create contrast, and mood — turning empty space into visual poetry.
Inspiration:
- Fan Ho – Dramatic light and urban geometry in Hong Kong
- Dominic Dähncke – Modern and abstract uses of shadow and line
- Trent Parke – Intense, almost cinematic shadows with deep emotion
✧ 2. Reflections & Mirrors
Photographing reflections adds complexity and visual depth, offering multiple layers in a single frame.
Inspiration:
- Vivian Maier – Self-portraits and street scenes through mirrors and windows
- Lee Friedlander – Urban reflections and visual puzzles
- Saul Leiter – Rainy windows and painterly, layered compositions
✧ 3. Minimalist Composition
Minimalism is all about restraint — fewer elements with more impact.
Inspiration:
- Masao Yamamoto – Poetic, sparse black and white images
- Rinko Kawauchi – Soft pastels, delicate light, and small beauty
- Michael Kenna – Monochrome landscapes with sublime stillness
✧ 4. Motion Blur
Intentional blur can convey speed, chaos, or emotion when used thoughtfully.
Inspiration:
- Alex Webb – Dynamic street scenes with complex layering and movement
- Ernst Haas – Pioneered color and blur in the mid-20th century
- Barbara Morgan – Expressive dance photography with blur as gesture
✧ 5. Backlighting & Silhouettes
Shooting against the light flattens detail and enhances mood, often producing quiet, emotional frames.
Inspiration:
- Trent Parke – Again, brilliant backlight use in street scenes
- Constantine Manos – Bold colors and light direction
- Ming Thein – Elegant use of silhouette in architectural and street work
✧ 6. Cinematic Photography
Borrowing from film language; dramatic lighting, storytelling frames, and mood-rich color.
Inspiration:
- Gregory Crewdson – Elaborate, eerie staged tableaus
- Todd Hido – Suburban loneliness with cinematic light and tone
- Wim Wenders – Photographer/filmmaker blending both disciplines
✧ 7. Environmental Portraiture
Portraits taken in the subject’s own space, which reveals story through context.
Inspiration:
- Steve McCurry – Iconic portraits in cultural environments
- Mary Ellen Mark – Raw, deeply human documentary portraiture
- Annie Leibovitz – Known for stylized but location-grounded portraits
✧ 8. High Contrast Black & White
Bold shadows and crisp highlights equals black and white that punches.
Inspiration:
- Daido Moriyama – Gritty, chaotic high-contrast street scenes
- Sebastião Salgado – Dramatic global storytelling in monochrome
- Henri Cartier-Bresson – Classic compositions with timeless contrast
✧ 9. Surrealism / Dreamlike Imagery
When photography bends reality — blurs, composites, unusual light or expression.
Inspiration:
- Man Ray – Early surrealist pioneer
- Francesca Woodman – Ethereal, haunting self-portraits
- Brooke Shaden – Contemporary fine art surrealist
✧ 10. Color Play
Intentional use of color for emotion, symbolism, or bold visual impact.
Inspiration:
- William Eggleston – The grandfather of American color photography
- Alex Webb – Complex, multi-toned documentary work
- Fred Herzog – Street photography bursting with mid-century color
✧ 11. Negative Space
The art of using “empty” space to frame or isolate a subject.
Inspiration:
- Harry Gruyaert – Masterful use of space in color work
- André Kertész – Elegant minimalist compositions
- Nguan – Pastel-toned portraits with heavy atmospheric space
✧ 12. Symmetry & Geometry
Clean lines, architectural harmony, or perfect reflection.
Inspiration:
- Bernd and Hilla Becher – Systematic industrial symmetry
- Luigi Ghirri – Playful geometry and color
- Frederik Vercruysse – Contemporary fine art minimalism
✧ 13. Night Photography
Shooting after dark changes everything: color, mood, pace.
Inspiration:
- Brassaï – Paris by night, full of shadow and intimacy
- Rut Blees Luxemburg – Urban nightscapes with poetic light
- Todd Hido – Suburbia at night, mysterious and cinematic
✧ 14. Photojournalism / Visual Storytelling
Capturing real moments, often in challenging or emotional environments.
Inspiration:
- Lynsey Addario – Conflict and human rights work
- James Nachtwey – Haunting war photojournalism
- Dorothea Lange – Iconic Great Depression portraits and stories
✧ 15. Abstract Photography
Photos that don’t look like photos — form, color, and shadow take over.
Inspiration:
- Aaron Siskind – Abstract textures and shapes
- Uta Barth – Playing with light and blur
- Franco Fontana – Striking minimalist color landscapes
✧ Final Thought
You don’t need to copy these photographers, but you can absolutely study them.
Ask yourself:
- What do I feel when I see this image?
- What techniques are they using — light, shape, rhythm?
- What can I try in my own work to stretch how I see?
And above all, keep exploring. Your eye grows every time you step into a new visual world — even for a moment.
MELISSA MARTINSEN 