15 Types of Portrait Photography Every Photographer Should Know

“In portraiture, you have so much leeway, so much latitude. You can be conceptual. You can be abstract. You can tell a story. You can be journalistic if you want. You have so many options available in portraiture, and you're not confined to one idea.” – Annie Leibovitz

Portraiture, as Leibovitz describes, is one of the most versatile and creatively open genres in photography. It invites experimentation, allowing you to move fluidly between storytelling, abstraction, tradition, and journalism. For professional photographers, this flexibility isn’t just creatively liberating, it’s strategically powerful.

Portrait photography offers more creative freedom than almost any other genre. For professional photographers, mastering multiple styles is not just about artistic growth. It is a way to reach new clients, expand service offerings, and build a stronger brand. All portrait photography styles, from studio portraits to candid street photography, opens different business opportunities.

The more portrait photography styles you can confidently deliver, the more versatile and marketable your business becomes.

In this guide, we break down 15 essential types of portrait photography examples that every professional should understand to sharpen their skills and grow their business.

1. Traditional Portraits

Traditional portrait photography is all about control. The lighting, pose, and backdrop are all designed to highlight the subject’s face with clarity and intention.

These portraits often use studio lights, a simple background, and classic posing techniques to create a polished and timeless image.

You’ll find this style used frequently for professional headshots, school photos, and formal family portraits.

Many photographers start with traditional portraits to master the fundamentals of lighting, camera lens choices, and how to make a subject feel comfortable in front of the camera. While it may seem old-school, traditional portraiture remains a go-to for capturing beauty in a clean, professional way.

• Common lenses: 85mm prime or 70–200mm f/2.8 for flattering compression
• Lighting setup: Key light + fill light in a triangle setup for facial definition
• Pose tips: Use classic three-quarter poses and avoid wide-angle distortion

2. Environmental Portraits

Unlike traditional portraits, environmental portraits place the subject in a natural environment that helps tell their story. A chef in the kitchen, an artist in their studio, a teacher in their classroom; these settings reveal something personal and genuine. The background becomes more than a backdrop; it becomes a co-narrator.

This style is compelling when used to highlight identity and underrepresented voices. Photographer Enrique Leyva, whose work focuses on cultural representation, captures this beautifully:

“I encourage fellow artists to observe their surroundings, capturing the stories, struggles, and dreams of those they resonate with. By delving into our own experiences, we have the power to transform perspectives and bring to light thousands of untold stories.”

That’s the essence of environmental portraits: a seamless blend of person and place that invites viewers into the subject’s world.

• Lens: 35mm or 50mm prime to include surroundings without warping the subject
• Technique: Use shallow depth of field (f/2.8–f/4) to balance subject and background
• Tip: Have subjects engage with their environment for natural storytelling

3. Lifestyle Portraits

A great portrait photography example is lifestyle portraits. These aim to freeze the rhythm of everyday life: a child’s grin mid-laugh, a couple baking on a rainy Sunday, or a family snuggled together on the couch. These sessions are often lightly directed, but they leave space for natural emotion to unfold.

When a photographer’s point of view aligns with the moment, lifestyle portraits become more than just photos; they become reflections of lived experience.

• Lens: 35mm or 50mm for a natural perspective
• Technique: Light direction but encourage real interactions (e.g., jokes, prompts)
• Tip: Shoot during golden hour for soft, warm light to enhance realism

4. Candid Portraits

Candid portraits are taken in the moment, without staging or direction. These unscripted moments often capture more emotion and truth than posed shots ever could.

Whether it’s laughter, concentration, or quiet reflection, candid photography leans into the unpredictable and honest.

Wedding and street photographers rely heavily on this approach to capture fleeting interactions.

A good candid portrait depends on observation, timing, and understanding how to work with light and angles quickly. For portrait photographers who shoot high volumes at events, having tools to sort through hundreds of these images in post-production is crucial.

• Camera settings: Use burst mode and a high shutter speed (1/250+)
• Lens: 50mm or 70–200mm to capture moments unobtrusively
• Technique: Blend into the environment and anticipate moments

5. Editorial Portraits

Editorial portraits are created to support a specific narrative, usually for magazines, blogs, or advertising photography. These images often feel stylized, conceptual, or cinematic, with wardrobe, setting, and expression working together to convey a message.

This type of portrait photo gives photographers a chance to stretch their creative side.

You might find yourself blending elements of fashion portraits, conceptual photography, or glamour photography, depending on the project.

Editorial portraits are about saying something. And that means being intentional with every detail, from location to lighting to post-production.

• Lighting: Use colored gels, directional light, or dramatic shadows
• Planning: Start with a storyboard or visual concept sketch
• Styling: Work with wardrobe/stylist to reinforce the story

6. Glamour Portraits

Glamour photography walks a fine line between fantasy and truth. With pro-level makeup, controlled lighting, and sometimes a bit of retouching, glamour portraits are about helping the subject feel confident and radiant, but not always entirely realistic.

It’s a style that’s often shaped by client expectations. As iconic portrait photographer Chris Buck observes:

“People don't want interesting pictures of themselves. They want to look young, beautiful, and thin… But it doesn't serve the photo audience. The audience should be served with interesting, complex, psychological portraits.”

That doesn’t mean glamour photography is shallow, but it reminds us that there’s room for more complexity beneath the surface.

• Lighting: Butterfly lighting or beauty dish for soft, flattering skin tones
• Retouching: Use professional retouching tools like frequency separation techniques for subtle skin smoothing
• Posing: Focus on symmetry, hands, and posture to enhance elegance

7. Fine Art Portraits

Fine art photography is where portraiture meets personal expression. These portraits are often moody, conceptual, or painterly, focusing more on artistic impact than realism.

The photographer is telling a story, or conveying a feeling, through light, shadow, styling, and post-processing.

In fine art portraits, every choice is intentional: the subject’s pose, wardrobe, background, and even the way the image is edited all serve a larger creative vision. These portraits often find homes outside of commercial work and instead end up in galleries, personal projects, or exhibitions.

For portrait photographers looking to explore their creative side, fine art is a powerful outlet.

• Lens: 85mm or tilt-shift for creative blur
• Techniques: Intentional color grading, chiaroscuro lighting, compositional symmetry
• Inspiration: Reference painters or historical art movements for themes

8. Conceptual Portraits

Conceptual photography brings an idea to life through imagery. In this type of portrait, the subject becomes part of a larger theme, whether it's about identity, social commentary, or a surreal visual metaphor.

You might use props, backdrops, or digital manipulation to bring the concept to life.

These portraits require planning, previsualization, and often some experimentation.

While similar to fine art portraits, conceptual portraits are more message-driven, with the image serving a clear narrative or symbolic purpose. For many photographers, this style bridges the gap between personal expression and portfolio development.

• Prep: Mind-map the concept and use symbolism in props/backdrops
• Technique: Composite work in Photoshop or surreal in-camera effects (e.g., prisms)
• Tip: Keep the visual metaphor consistent and intentional

9. Street Portraits

A blend of portraiture and documentary instinct, street portraits are captured in public spaces using natural light and quick intuition. The subject might be a stranger whose presence catches your eye, or someone you engage with briefly to create a portrait that feels spontaneous and unfiltered.

What makes street portraits so compelling is their ability to capture humanity in its element — people as they are, out in the world. These images often carry rawness and emotional weight, revealing the textures, diversity, and character of everyday life.

Rather than rigid posing, street photographers rely on timing, observation, and subtle direction to preserve authenticity. The result is portraiture with soul: grounded in real moments, shaped by the world around it.

• Lens: 35mm for immersive, human-scale framing
• Tip: Ask for consent for posed street portraits to build connection, following ethical photography principles
• Technique: Use natural side lighting and high ISO tolerance for low-light

10. Self-Portraits

The rise of social media and remote shooting tools has made self-portraits a powerful form of expression for both amateur and professional photographers.

Whether you're experimenting with lighting techniques, showcasing your own style, or exploring themes of identity, taking photos of yourself challenges you to think like both subject and shooter.

Self-portraits can be studio-lit or shot with a tripod and natural light. They’re popular for portfolio building, online bios, or simply creative exploration. For many photographers, self-portraits offer a safe space to try new ideas and refine their own vision, no client required.

• Gear: Use a tripod, interval timer, or remote shutter app
• Tip: Mark focus spot with a placeholder object before replacing with yourself
• Technique: Experiment with mirrors, reflections, or layering for creative shots

11. Group Portraits

When it comes to portrait photography types, group portraits are a fun one to explore. Group portraits, whether of families, teams, or friends, come with their own set of creative puzzles. How do you pose a group without making it look stiff? How do you capture genuine connection in a still image?

The best group portraits go beyond simply showing who was there. They create a sense of togetherness, using posing, body language, and interaction to highlight the relationships between people. 

Whether it is a family leaning into each other, a team caught in shared laughter, or friends reaching out to connect, the physical closeness and real moments of interaction bring the portrait to life.

As photographer Nigel Barker once reflected, even when people do not think they have a story, their relationships reveal one. 

“Some people think, ‘Well I don’t have a story.’ I’m just an average guy. But when you’ve lived 80, 90 years, you for sure have a story, if not many, many stories.”

In every group, there is a shared history and emotion that, when captured through thoughtful posing and genuine moments, tells a powerful visual story.

• Composition: Use triangles and layering to arrange people naturally
• Lens: 35mm or 50mm to include full groups without distortion
• Technique: Keep attention by giving group prompts or playful cues

12. Couple and Engagement Portraits

This type of portrait photography highlights romantic connection and chemistry. Couple sessions, especially engagement shoots, are a staple for portrait photographers working in weddings or lifestyle photography.

Blending candid moments with intentional portraiture, these sessions are often set outdoors or in meaningful locations that help the couple feel comfortable and authentic.

A key to great couple portraits is figuring out how the pair naturally connects, whether it's through laughter, quiet moments, or playful interaction, and encouraging that dynamic during the shoot.

By building trust and offering gentle guidance, you can create relaxed, personality-driven images that feel true to the couple, whether for personal keepsakes or wedding announcements.

• Technique: Observe how couples naturally interact (touch, laughter, quiet moments) and gently guide them into poses that mirror that connection
• Posing: Use movement: walking hand-in-hand, dancing, or leaning in
• Gear: 50mm or 85mm lenses with wide apertures for dreamy bokeh

13. Newborn and Baby Portraits

Newborn photography is a specialized niche that demands patience, care, and attention to detail. Unlike other types of portrait photography, you're often working around a sleeping baby’s schedule, using soft lighting and gentle setups that focus on safety and simplicity.

Many photographers opt for neutral tones and a simple background to let the baby be the focal point.

Parents want to remember the tiniest details, the expressions, the curled fists, the quiet moments, and these portraits become treasured keepsakes.

It’s a high-pressure genre for some, but with the right gear and calming presence, it can be one of the most rewarding.

• Gear: Use beanbags, swaddles, and white noise for calm settings
• Lighting: Soft diffused window light or large softbox
• Safety: Always have a spotter; keep baby warm and supported

14. Fashion Portraits

Fashion portraits and editorial portraits often overlap, but the goal is always style-driven storytelling. Whether you're working with a brand or building a portfolio, these types of portrait photography focus on wardrobe, movement, and mood.

They require more planning than lifestyle portraits but often allow more creative freedom than traditional portraits.

Many photographers work with stylists, makeup artists, and art directors to bring the vision together, especially in editorial photography.

These images aren’t just about the subject; they’re about the overall aesthetic and how the photo fits into a campaign or visual story.

• Collaboration: Coordinate with stylists, makeup artists, and designers
• Lighting: High-contrast setups or backlighting for edge definition
• Tip: Direct models with movement prompts (e.g., walk, toss hair, spin)

15. Surreal and Composite Portraits

One of the most interesting portrait photography types is surreal portraits. These often push the boundaries of what's possible with a camera alone. By combining images, textures, or digital effects, photographers can create a portrait that exists somewhere between reality and a dream.

This is where portrait photography meets conceptual photography, and post-production becomes part of the creative process. Strong photography composition techniques, like those explored in this guide, play a key role in bringing these creative visions to life.

You’ll see this style used in personal projects, fine art showcases, or advertising campaigns where imagination takes center stage. These types of portraits require a strong foundation in both in-camera technique and editing skills, ideal for photographers looking to flex their creative muscles and build a distinctive visual identity.

• Gear: Shoot with tripod for consistent alignment during composites
• Software: Photoshop layer masking, double exposure, and blending modes
• Technique: Plan compositions with sketches or mood boards in advance

Finding Your Style and Saving Time While You Do It

Portrait photography is as diverse as the people you capture. Whether you gravitate toward traditional types of portrait photography or lean into lifestyle, conceptual, or editorial portraits, each style brings its own creative rhythm and workflow demands.

And if you're like most portrait photographers, chances are you’re juggling a mix of shoots, clients, and image galleries that seem to grow by the hour.

That’s where the right tools make all the difference, because the real magic happens not just in how you take photos, but in how you handle post-production and manage your images afterward.

Aftershoot helps professional photographers speed through the most time-consuming parts of their process. With powerful AI culling and editing features, you can organize, select, and polish your best shots faster, without compromising on quality or creativity.

Want to see the difference for yourself? Start your free trial of Aftershoot today and get back to doing what you love: capturing people, telling stories, and growing your photography business.