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Tying straight back to our Style Interviews – the 40-minute info-packed webinar-Esque masterclass – I thought it may be useful to show you all some different photography styles and illustrate them with some incredible photographers work.

Again, as I’ve said before, style is fluid and it’s on a spectrum, I’m picking photographers I admire and selecting one of their images that best illustrates the photography style outlined. Each photographer will shoot other work, they won’t all be in one teeny tiny style window – that is normal.

It’s also worth adding here that style is heavily influenced by editing and equipment selection so you can have a very different “look” by switching up these things. Similarly, just because one illustrated image may be a portrait, that doesn’t mean that that individual can’t/won’t shoot action and visa versa.

Without further ado, here are some pet photography styles for you to learn about. Click the image to view the photographers website – do it, and give them social love too, they are incredible:

Natural Light Photography Styles

The Lifestyle Photographer

This style is quite airy, free and very “real”. It’s stunning, simple but effortlessly effective. It’s also incredibly difficult to do well. My go-to in this field is Johanna Charlton at Wildair Portraits.

The Documentary Photographer

This style is hard to show you without showing you a collection of images. It’s kind of like storytelling through a series of images. Usually using wide-to-mid angle lenses, this style aims to show real-life more than any other. You often see it in family photography and it has moved over to pets too. It’s very difficult to do really well, but Instagram grids are the best explanation, like this one from aussieyuki:

The Artist

Ah, this is quite an iconic style now and it’s heavily worked in mainland Europe but someone that does it so effortlessly well is Monica van der Madden. Other photographers in this style section also shoot this look but Monica takes it to another level. Specific things to note are shallow depth of field, incredible bokeh and awesome colours! Go and look at her work. Insane.

The Landscape Artist Photographer

Similar to the above, the Landscape Artist deserves a mention. Incredibly hard to do well, but simply jaw-dropping when it is, this photography style uses the landscape with wider shots to provide scale, impact and incredible power. The first person I ever saw do this was Alicja Zymyslowska and she creates “wow” work like…

The Event/Sports Photographer

Who else would fill this spot than Yulia Titovets. Yulia shoots pretty much all of the UK’s top-level competitions and she never ever fails to deliver. In our sport, she has less than 40 seconds to get photographs of the dog working. She delivers 3-6 images in that time which are 100% on all fronts. She never fails, and if I know she’s there, she’s guaranteed some ££ from me!

pet photography styles

Artificial Light Photography Styles

The Fine Art Photographer

Annie is a solid person to look at for this. She was part of the style interviews and describes her style as in line with “the old masters” – artists who used deep earthy tones in portraiture. It’s a style that requires impeccable lighting and carefully considered retouching. It is art.

The Wide Angle Photographer

The first person that comes to mind here is Elke Vogelsang. Incredible studio shots, lit beautifully and with a lot of impact.

The Commercial Photographer

I guess this is more me? So I’ll just add the image that’s generated the most income for me in my commercial career. Bright, light, space for copy, impactful for marketing purposes – that’s kind of it for commercial:

The High Key Photographer

This one is hard to show because it’s basically your high street studio on a white background. If you’re in the UK, think Venture – that old chain that did white background photos? Yes, that’s this.

Mixed Light Photography Styles

The Big Sky Photographer

Wide-angle once again but this time it’s mixing light. So the photographer is using both artificial and natural light at the same time. The photographer who (i think!) made this style mainstream and popular worldwide is Kaylee Greer of Dog Breath Photography. Iconic and rightly so. She’s even has a TV show!

There are many more and many more mixes of the above. Do you know a photographer who covers a different style? Drop them in the comments below and if they’re a good fit, I’ll add them in!

Remember: never copy someone else’s work – instead take inspiration then forge your own path.

I can’t wait to see what you create next!