Genres, techniques and processes: the main photographic genres (portrait, landscape, still life, documentary and more), specialist techniques (long exposure, macro, shallow focus, panning), and the workflow of capture, post-production editing and presentation.

What this dot point is asking

Higher Photography expects you to "learn and apply a range of image-making techniques". This dot point covers that range: the main photographic genres you work within, the specialist techniques that produce particular effects, and the processes of the workflow from capture through post-production editing to presentation. Knowing the conventions of different genres, and being able to apply techniques deliberately, is what lets you make imaginative, controlled images.

This breadth is examined in the question paper, where you may be asked to identify genres or describe how a technique is achieved, and it underpins the project, where you choose genres and techniques to suit your topic and develop a creative response.

The answer

Photographers work within recognisable genres, each with its own conventions: portrait (a person, focused on character and expression), landscape (natural scenery, often with deep focus and attention to light), still life (arranged inanimate objects, with controlled lighting and composition), documentary (real events and people, telling a truthful story), and others such as street, architectural, macro and abstract photography. Understanding a genre's conventions lets you work within them or subvert them deliberately.

Within and across genres, photographers apply techniques for specific effects: long exposure (a slow shutter speed to blur motion - flowing water, light trails, moving crowds); shallow focus (a wide aperture to isolate a subject); macro (extreme close-up of small subjects); panning (following a moving subject with a slow shutter so it stays sharp while the background streaks); silhouette and high-key or low-key lighting. Finally, photographers follow a process, a workflow: capturing the image, then post-production editing (cropping, correcting exposure and colour, adjusting contrast, converting to black and white, removing distractions), and finally presenting the work. A Higher candidate should be able to choose genres and techniques deliberately and carry an image through the whole workflow.

Genres and their conventions

Each genre carries expectations the viewer brings to it. A portrait is judged on how it conveys character, often through lighting, expression and a shallow depth of field that isolates the face. A landscape is judged on its treatment of place and light, usually with deep focus and a strong composition leading through the scene. A still life is built deliberately, with arranged objects, controlled lighting and considered composition. Documentary photography values authenticity and storytelling, capturing real moments without staging. Knowing these conventions lets you signal a genre clearly, combine genres, or break the conventions for effect.

Specialist techniques

Techniques are tools for particular effects. Long exposure uses a slow shutter speed (and usually a tripod, small aperture and sometimes a neutral density filter) to render motion as a smooth blur or to capture light trails. Panning follows a moving subject with a slow shutter so the subject stays relatively sharp while the background streaks, conveying speed. Macro photography captures tiny subjects at life size or larger, revealing detail the eye cannot see. Shallow focus, silhouette, multiple exposure and intentional camera movement are further techniques. Applying a technique deliberately, and knowing the settings it demands, is a clear mark of skill.

The workflow: capture, post-production and presentation

Digital photography follows a workflow. Capture is making the image well in the camera - correct exposure, deliberate composition and focus. Post-production editing then refines it on a computer: cropping and straightening, correcting exposure and white balance, adjusting contrast and colour, dodging and burning, removing distractions, and converting to black and white where it suits the image. Presentation is how the finished images are shown - as prints, a sequence, a book or a screen display - and the project requires presenting a series of images that work together. Crucially, editing should enhance a well-captured image, not rescue a badly captured one.

Examples in context

A photographer planning a project on movement in the city chooses techniques to match. For the rush of traffic at night they use long exposure on a tripod, turning headlights into flowing light trails. For a cyclist they use panning, a slower shutter following the rider, so the cyclist is sharp against a streaked background that conveys speed. In post-production they correct the colour of the mixed street lighting, boost contrast to strengthen the light trails, and crop for a stronger composition, then present the images as a coherent sequence on the theme of movement.

A still-life photographer arranges objects on a table, lights them with a single softbox for soft, directional light, and uses a narrow aperture for deep focus so every object is sharp. In editing they clean up dust, adjust the white balance to render the objects' colours accurately, and refine the contrast. The deliberate genre conventions, technique and workflow combine into a controlled, imaginative image.

Try this

Q1. Name two photographic genres and one convention of each. [2 marks]

• What the marker wants. Any two, with a convention, for example: portrait (focuses on character and expression, often shallow depth of field) and landscape (natural scenery, usually deep focus and strong attention to light).

Q2. What is panning, and what effect does it create? [2 marks]

• What the marker wants. Following a moving subject with the camera at a slow shutter speed so the subject stays relatively sharp while the background streaks, creating a sense of speed and movement.

Q3. Why should post-production editing enhance rather than replace good capture? [2 marks]

• What the marker wants. Editing refines an image but cannot create what was not captured well; an underexposed file gains noise when brightened and a soft image cannot be sharpened, so strong work starts with a well-captured image and uses editing to enhance it.

A note on sources

This guide is AI-written and not individually human-reviewed. The genre, technique and workflow content reflects standard photographic practice as assessed in SQA's Higher Photography course; verify current detail against the Higher Photography course specification (C855 76) and specimen question paper at sqa.org.uk.