10 Essential Types of Portrait Photography You Need to Know

Published on 14 April 2023 9 min read

Portrait photography is all about capturing the essence of a person's character, emotions, and personality. With so many different styles available, it can be challenging to find the perfect type for your next photoshoot. In this blog, we'll explore 10 essential types of portrait photography you need to know to capture the perfect shot every time.

1. Traditional Portraiture

Traditional portraiture is a classic style that has been around for centuries. This type of portrait photography focuses on capturing a person's face and expression in a formal and timeless manner. Here are some key features of traditional portraiture:

Posed: The subject is usually posed in a way that highlights their best features and conveys a sense of dignity or elegance.
Lighting: Traditional portraits often use soft, even lighting to create a flattering and timeless look.
Background: Simple, uncluttered backgrounds are common in traditional portraiture, ensuring that the focus remains on the subject.
Wardrobe: The subject's clothing should complement their appearance and enhance the overall portrait, often leaning towards more formal attire.

Traditional portrait photography is an excellent choice for professional headshots, family portraits, and milestone celebrations. By mastering the art of traditional portraiture, you'll be well-equipped to capture stunning, timeless images that your clients will treasure for years to come.

2. Environmental Portraits

Environmental portraits are a fantastic way to showcase not just the subject, but also their surroundings and the context in which they live, work, or play. This type of portrait photography tells a story by including elements of the environment that are important to the subject. Here are some key aspects of environmental portraits:

Location: The setting plays a significant role in environmental portraits, whether it's the subject's workplace, home, or a favorite outdoor spot.
Composition: Both the subject and the environment should be carefully composed within the frame, striking a balance between the two.
Interaction: The subject's interaction with their surroundings is essential, illustrating the connection between them and the environment.
Storytelling: Environmental portraits often tell a compelling story about the subject, revealing aspects of their personality, hobbies, or occupation.

Environmental portrait photography allows you to create unique, personalized images that capture the essence of your subject and their world. By incorporating the environment into the portrait, you can create a narrative that speaks volumes about who they are and what they love.

3. Candid Portraits

Candid portraits are all about capturing the essence of a person in their most natural, unposed state. This type of portrait photography focuses on the spontaneity and genuine emotions of the subject, creating a sense of authenticity and rawness. Here are some key aspects of candid portraits:

Unposed: The subject is not aware of the camera or is not deliberately posing, allowing for a more genuine expression of emotions and personality.
Timing: Capturing the perfect candid moment requires patience and anticipation, as well as a keen eye for subtle changes in facial expressions and body language.
Storytelling: Candid portraits often reveal a story about the subject's emotions, relationships, or experiences, providing a glimpse into their true selves.
Technique: A good candid portrait often involves using a longer lens, shooting from a distance, or blending in with the environment to avoid drawing attention to the camera.

By focusing on capturing your subject's natural reactions and unguarded moments, candid portrait photography offers a refreshing and honest portrayal of people in their everyday lives. This approach allows you to create images that are both relatable and memorable, showing the true essence of your subject.

4. Glamour Portraits

Glamour portraits are all about showcasing the beauty and allure of the subject, often with a touch of elegance and sophistication. This type of portrait photography emphasizes the subject's appearance and style, creating captivating and visually striking images. Here are some key aspects of glamour portraits:

Styling: Glamour portraits often involve professional makeup, hairstyling, and wardrobe choices, designed to enhance the subject's features and make them look their best.
Posing: Unlike candid portraits, glamour portraits usually involve directed posing, with the subject adopting specific postures and expressions to convey a sense of allure and confidence.
Lighting: Glamour portrait photography often uses carefully controlled lighting setups to create flattering, dramatic, or moody effects, accentuating the subject's features and adding depth to the image.
Retouching: Post-processing techniques, such as skin smoothing and color grading, are often used in glamour portraits to enhance the final image and create a polished, professional look.

With their focus on beauty and elegance, glamour portraits create a captivating representation of the subject, often evoking a sense of fantasy or aspiration. By carefully considering styling, posing, lighting, and retouching, you can create stunning glamour portraits that showcase the unique charm and allure of your subjects.

5. Lifestyle Portraits

Lifestyle portraits capture the essence of a person's everyday life, interests, and personality, making them one of the most relatable types of portrait photography. They often incorporate natural settings, activities, and candid moments to tell a story about the subject's life. Here are some key aspects of lifestyle portraits:

Authenticity: Lifestyle portraits aim to showcase the true personality and interests of the subject, often by capturing them in their natural environment or engaging in their favorite activities.
Candid moments: These portraits often include spontaneous, unposed moments that reveal the subject's genuine emotions and reactions, creating a sense of connection and relatability for the viewer.
Personal interests: Incorporating the subject's hobbies, passions, or favorite pastimes can help make lifestyle portraits more engaging and meaningful, reflecting their unique identity and experiences.
Environmental context: The setting or background of a lifestyle portrait can provide important context and visual interest, helping to convey the subject's story and create a sense of atmosphere or mood.

By focusing on authenticity, candid moments, personal interests, and environmental context, lifestyle portraits offer a glimpse into the subject's world, revealing their true character and creating a sense of connection with the viewer. So, whether you're photographing a family at home, a musician in their studio, or a traveler exploring a new city, lifestyle portraits provide a powerful way to capture and share the unique stories of your subjects.

6. Surreal Portraits

Surreal portraits are a creative and imaginative type of portrait photography that combines elements of fantasy and reality to produce striking, dreamlike images. These portraits often challenge conventional perceptions and invite the viewer to explore a world of wonder and mystery. Here are some key features of surreal portraits:

Imagination: Surreal portraits often involve unique concepts, fantastical elements, or unexpected visual combinations, showcasing the photographer's creativity and artistic vision.
Visual storytelling: These portraits often incorporate symbolic or metaphorical elements to convey a deeper meaning or narrative, inviting the viewer to interpret and engage with the image on a more profound level.
Manipulation: Surreal portraits may involve techniques such as photo manipulation, compositing, or digital art to blend reality and fantasy, transforming ordinary subjects into extraordinary works of art.
Emotion: The dreamlike nature of surreal portraits can evoke strong emotions, such as wonder, curiosity, or even unease, creating a lasting impact on the viewer and setting them apart from other types of portrait photography.

By embracing the power of imagination, visual storytelling, manipulation, and emotion, surreal portraits offer a unique and captivating way to explore the human experience and push the boundaries of artistic expression. Whether you're inspired by the works of Salvador Dalí or simply love to experiment with new ideas, surreal portraits provide an exciting opportunity to let your creativity run wild and create truly memorable images.

7. Conceptual Portraits

Conceptual portraits are another fascinating type of portrait photography that focuses on conveying an abstract idea or concept through the use of visual elements and symbolism. Often thought-provoking and intentionally open to interpretation, these portraits encourage the viewer to think more deeply about the message and meaning behind the image. Below are some key aspects of conceptual portraits:

Concept-driven: The primary goal of conceptual portraits is to communicate a specific idea or message, often using the human subject as a canvas for expressing these abstract themes.
Symbolism: Conceptual portraits frequently incorporate symbols, visual metaphors, or other artistic elements to help convey the intended concept, adding depth and complexity to the image.
Emotive: These portraits often evoke strong emotions or provoke thought, encouraging the viewer to engage with the image on a deeper level and consider the broader implications of the concept being presented.
Experimental: Conceptual portraits provide a great opportunity for photographers to push the boundaries of their creativity and explore new techniques, compositions, and ideas in their quest to communicate a specific concept.

Conceptual portraits can be a powerful way to explore complex ideas and emotions, challenge the viewer's perceptions, and create a lasting impact through thought-provoking imagery. If you're passionate about using photography as a means of communication and self-expression, conceptual portraits could be an inspiring and rewarding avenue to pursue within the diverse world of portrait photography.

8. Black and White Portraits

Black and white portraits are a timeless and classic type of portrait photography that emphasizes the use of monochrome tones to create striking images. By removing color from the equation, these portraits draw attention to the subject's features, expressions, and emotions, while also highlighting the interplay of light and shadow. Here are some key aspects of black and white portraits:

Emphasis on form and contrast: Black and white portraits focus on shapes, textures, and the contrast between light and dark, which can result in images with a strong visual impact and a sense of depth.
Emotional intensity: The absence of color in black and white portraits can evoke a sense of nostalgia, moodiness, or drama, amplifying the emotional connection between the viewer and the subject.
Timelessness: One of the most appealing aspects of black and white portraits is their timeless quality, which can give your images a classic, enduring appeal that transcends trends and fads.
Artistic interpretation: Working in black and white allows photographers to explore different artistic styles and techniques, such as high-key or low-key lighting, and encourages them to experiment with various shades of gray to create visually striking images.

If you're looking to create captivating portraits that focus on the essence of your subject and evoke strong emotions, black and white portrait photography might be the perfect choice for you. With its unique blend of simplicity and sophistication, this style of photography offers endless creative possibilities and can help you produce memorable images that stand the test of time.

9. Studio Portraits

Studio portraits are a type of portrait photography that takes place in a controlled indoor environment, where photographers have full control over lighting, backgrounds, and other elements. This allows for a high degree of creativity and precision, resulting in professional-quality images. Here are some key features of studio portraits:

Controlled environment: The main advantage of studio portraits is the ability to control every aspect of the image, from lighting and composition to props and backdrops. This allows photographers to create a specific mood or atmosphere, and to highlight the subject's features in the best possible way.
Lighting techniques: Studio portrait photography offers endless possibilities when it comes to lighting techniques, such as softboxes, umbrellas, or beauty dishes. By manipulating the direction, intensity, and quality of light, photographers can create a wide range of effects and moods in their images.
Consistent results: Shooting in a studio ensures that you can reproduce the same lighting and setup for multiple subjects or sessions, which is especially important for professional photographers who need to deliver consistent results for their clients.
Collaborative process: Working in a studio often involves a team of professionals, such as makeup artists, hairstylists, and wardrobe stylists, who collaborate to create the perfect look for the subject and enhance the overall quality of the image.

Whether you're a professional photographer looking to deliver polished images for your clients or an enthusiast who wants to experiment with different lighting techniques and setups, studio portrait photography offers a world of possibilities for creating stunning and memorable images.

10. Fine Art Portraits

Fine art portraits are a unique type of portrait photography that combines the photographer's artistic vision with the subject's personality to create a powerful and emotive image. This style often goes beyond the traditional approach to portraiture, focusing on conveying a deeper meaning or message through visual storytelling. Here are some characteristics of fine art portraits:

Artistic expression: Fine art portrait photographers use their creativity and imagination to produce images that are not only visually appealing but also thought-provoking and meaningful. They may experiment with different techniques, styles, and themes to create a distinctive and personal interpretation of the subject.
Emphasis on mood and atmosphere: In fine art portraits, the focus is often on capturing a certain mood, atmosphere, or emotion, which can be achieved through the use of colors, lighting, composition, and other visual elements. This allows the photographer to tell a story and evoke feelings in the viewer.
Attention to detail: Fine art portrait photographers pay close attention to every aspect of the image, from the subject's pose and expression to the background and props, ensuring that everything contributes to the overall concept and aesthetic of the photograph.
Personal connection: A key aspect of fine art portraiture is the connection between the photographer and the subject, which enables the photographer to reveal the subject's inner world and create a sense of intimacy and authenticity in the image.

Whether you're a seasoned photographer looking to explore your artistic side or a beginner who wants to experiment with different styles and techniques, fine art portrait photography offers endless opportunities for self-expression and growth. Remember, the key to creating captivating fine art portraits lies in finding the perfect balance between technical skill and artistic vision, and in connecting with your subject on a deeper level.

If you're looking to improve your portrait photography skills, don't miss the workshop titled 'Demystifying Portrait Photography' by Cyn Lagos. This workshop will provide you with invaluable tips and techniques to enhance your portrait photography and elevate your craft to new heights.