Documentary photography

This type of photography focuses not so much on planning and careful setup, instead it concentrates on showing spontaneity: a candid photographer prefers not to plan his pictures and captures people without having them pose. He likes to be unobtrusive in order to achieve this. This, of course, contrasts with other types of photography where the photographer carefully stages or composes his images, like in portrait, landscape or still life photography. A candid photographer captures moments in time from life as it really is. Also see street photography, documentary photography.

Taking (candid) photos of people and/or animals in public places - think of streets, shops, stations, parks, trains, beaches, festivals, conventions, etc. The aim of this genre is to capture everyday moments and people's interactions with each other and their environment. Also see documentary photography.

Taking photos that tell a news story. Photo journalism is closely related to documentary photography and street photography, but distinguishes itself from those types of photography by being dependent on timeliness (the shots a photo journalists takes are to illustrate news stories and therefore they have to be available for publication quickly) and objectivity (the scenes depicted in the images should be a correct representation of the news events they illustrate). A photo journalist is a photographer who often has to take instant decisions, who always carries photographic equipment, and who regularly has to endure discomforts and sometimes even dangers.