Understanding Photography Genres, Styles, and Processes

text & images | © darlene almeda

Photography is a vast and expressive medium, and this page organizes it through three simple ideas that work together to describe how images live in the world: genres, styles, and processes. These categories help clarify what a photograph is about, how it looks, and how it was made—three perspectives that shape both intention and interpretation.

Accompanying each Behind the Lens image is a detailed photo-specs card—similar to EXIF data, but expanded. It includes blue-text links to related genres, styles, processes, and related topics, offering readers a deeper look at how an image was created. The card provides equipment information, location details, genre classification, and—when relevant—the stylistic approach behind the work.

Genre: Landscape + Style: Minimalist + Process: Digital

How This Classification Works

Genres describe the subject of a photograph.
Styles describe its look and emotional tone.
Processes describe the method or technique used to create it.

This structure isn’t meant to be rigid—it’s a flexible way to navigate the wide range of work shared on this site. Many images belong to more than one genre. Styles can move freely between subjects. Processes often influence mood as much as tools. Used together, these elements provide a clearer language for exploring photography’s creative possibilities.

Explore Photography Genres, Styles & Processes

Below you’ll find a growing collection of genres, styles, and processes featured across the site, each linked to articles where I share examples, techniques, and reflections on what makes that type of work meaningful.

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