160 Photography Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

🏆 Best Photography Topic Ideas & Essay Examples

  1. Photograph Description: Nature
    The photograph reflects a marvelous landscape combining the elements of human interference in the form of buildings; it is necessary to underline the fact that the picture is to be referred to as representational […]
  2. Sports Photography and Its Evolution
    The death of Niepce was announced in 1833, but the experiment was still been performed by Daguerre and he succeeded in the development of the daguerreotype finally in 1837.
  3. Eastman Kodak and Photographic Film Industry Major Changes
    This kind of study enables the marketer to evaluate the performance of the company in the market. Therefore, the application of the model is inevitable in case the market is to understand the performance of […]
  4. Is Photography an Art and Why?
    In brief, photography is an art since it uses a variety of human actions to create aural, visual, or performative artifacts that show the author’s creativity or technical proficiency and are intended to be admired […]
  5. Pathos, Ethos, and Logos in Photography
    The audience’s personal experiences affects its interpretation of what the picture depicts, it might be close to the communication the photographer had wished to convey or a totally different perspective.
  6. Andy Goldsworthy: Sculptor and Photographer
    Besides, the vast majority of artworks of this sculptor are installed in nature in the woods, fields, plains, at the ponds, or rivers.
  7. The Connection of History and Photography
    Overall, photography falls under the visual sources of chronological data that historians can use to understand and write about recorded events.
  8. Personal Interest in Photography
    Most of Cotton’s photographs were devoted to the exploration of the serenity and beauty in the natural world, as can be seen in the photographs below.
  9. Gordon Parks, an American Photographer
    After the death of his mother in 1926, Parks was forced to move to Minneapolis, where he made a living by affiliating himself with a number of odd jobs, such as the job of a […]
  10. An Analysis of a Photograph By Mike Wells
    This spread of technology-enabled many people to document the environment around them and allowed millions of people to relate to stories of others told through photographs.”A Starving Boy and a Missionary” is one of the […]
  11. Dream Deferred: Timeless Relevance. Poem and Photograph Review
    The relevance of showcasing social inequality through voices and faces of the Afro-Americans in the United States draws the parallel between the historical and contemporary context.
  12. Steve McCurry’s Photographs
    This approach has revealed the impacts of war on the lives of many people across the globe. McCurry had the opportunity to capture the portrait of a monk in Tibet.
  13. The Development of Lithography and Photography in the Nineteenth Century
    For this reason, when the reproduction techniques of lithography and photography came up, most of the artists at the time viewed this as a gold mine. As to whether lithography and photography resulted in a […]
  14. Photography: Art Creation & Reflection
    The thematic connection between the two pieces is based on the illusionary vision of the simple scenes and experimental approach to the art of photography.
  15. Philosophy of Photography as an Art
    In conclusion, it is necessary to stress that photography is a specific form of art that involves the use of technology.
  16. Reflection of Photographic Arts
    The knowledge influences the choice of image and the position of the subject in the photograph. The knowledge of the fundamentals of photographic arts creates a world of possibilities.
  17. Jeff Wall, a Contemporary Photographer and His Works
    Most of the photographer’s works are staged, depicting everyday scenes related to the problems of representation and the history of art.
  18. Photography Exhibition: Examples of the Works
    This is an outstanding piece of art which made me, for instance, think of our world and humanity: first of all I thought about the perfection of the both, and then I passed to contemplations […]
  19. Melancholy Objects in Photography
    The purpose of this paper is to develop a critical evaluation of Sontag’s claim of melancholy and Photography, with reference to a photograph taken for a tombstone in a cemetery. In fact, the grave looks […]
  20. Photography as a Career
    It is of essence to note that a number of variations exist in the field of photography, for example, self-employment and commercial photographing are just some of the ways one can successfully earn a living […]
  21. Photography: An Artist Statement
    In the first image, I arranged the details in the composition to guide the observer through the place I captured by the camera. With the help of the play of the light and shadow, I […]
  22. Photography: Critical Analysis
    The vertical, restive position of the pencil in each of the slides is indicative of a resort to have finished a particular task, presumably that of writing on the foolscap, with the pencil resting in […]
  23. Note-Taking and Crime Scene Photography
    Concerning the effectiveness of notes, generally, they should contain a high level of detail, and straightforwardness and cover all areas of the crime scene.
  24. Robinson, Emerson, and Photography as an Art
    Both of them viewed the newly created form of image capture as a medium for the expression of art, but their views on the nature of the movement were radically different.
  25. Photography in the E-Business: Marketing Strategy
    Business owners or those in the photography business are now thinking of possible and probably the best way to reach a wider market in the most fashionable and quickest way.
  26. History in Abbass Studios Ltd. Fonds’ Photographs
    The approximate creation date of the collection is mentioned as 1940 the year when the eldest of the Abbass brothers became interested in photography. George was in charge of the office and the studio.

👍 Good Essay Topics on Photography

  1. “Film und Foto” Exhibition and Surrealism in Photography
    Surrealism is considered to be a cultural movement of the early twentieth century and is commonly reflected in the works of art and writings.
  2. Social Documentary Photography Then and Now
    In the first place, he tried to inform people about the diversity of life in the city, which was a common trend for the beginning of the twentieth century.
  3. Photography as a Mass Medium
    To demonstrate this fact, the study explores the works of Sontag in her article titled, On Photography, and shows how digital photography changes her analysis about the “photographic way of seeing” life.
  4. Photography’s Impact on Society
    The pictures taken from scenes of dying soldiers in the American civil war are some of the reasons that evoked strong emotions, which led to the end of the war.
  5. Photographs Depicting Sufferings of Real People
    Recording reality may run counter to the goals and ideals of the person making the recording. The dilemma of reaction to shocking photographs is often limited by the viewer’s psychological predisposition and internal values.
  6. Photography Comparison and Contrast
    The focus on the naked parts of the body, like dirty and scratched hands, necks, and faces, allows for learning about the terror and horror of that period. In my photo, the style differs due […]
  7. Visual Art and Photography
    Ice Sculpting is truly an art of its own, and even though this style of art is not permanent, unless a person were to place the item into the freezer, this would still be categorized […]
  8. Contribution of Modernity to Photography and Film Movements
    Modernity in visual arts and cinema is part of the ever-changing world, wherein the establishment of ideas, different people in the world of art participates in experimenting with the forms and styles of art, thus […]
  9. The History of War Photography
    The purpose of this report is to identify basic trends in the development of war photography and determine the conceptual, stylistic, and technical changes observed in the course of its formation.
  10. The Photograph Description and Criticism
    In this picture, the foreground is where the woman is seated and the background depicts transparent window of the apartment The photograph was likely taken in a broad daylight since outside the apartment to be […]
  11. “Escaping to Reality: Fashion Photography in the 1990s” by Elliot Smedley
    Written by Elliot Smedley, “Escaping to Reality: Fashion Photography in the 1990s” explores how contemporary fashion photography is adopting realistic styles by using realistic activities contrary to ideal styles that had dominated art and photography […]
  12. Concept of Documentary Photography
    The purpose of composition in this case is to bring out a distinction between the different elements of a work that is being portrayed in such a manner that the elements of the work that […]
  13. The Search for Truth: Early Photography, Realism, and Impressionism
    European colonialism led to the popularity of ethnography and the emergence of Orientalism the Western representation of the Middle East visually or literary.
  14. Nikki S. Lee and Photography
    Considered to be one of a kind, the unique nature of this exhibition placed her in the limelight. In ‘The Seniors Project’, Lee managed to transform herself to fit the image of an old woman […]
  15. Invention of Photography and Its Social Impact
    Although photography was invented in its full form only in 1835, an understanding of the social impact that was a result of the invention of photography is rightly portrayed by Azoulay in his article “The […]
  16. Photography and Beauty Perception
    His resistance stemmed from the fact that in the early decades of photography, photographs were meant to idealize images and for a picture to be considered beautiful, its subject had to be something beautiful.
  17. Critical Analysis of Barthes’s Camera Lucida-Reflections on Photography
    He maintained that a picture has a potential to create deceitfulness in the fantasy of ‘what is’, where the description of ‘What was’ is so specific.
  18. My Shadow Is Associated with The Emptiness of This Horse-Ride: Exploring Pablo Soria’s Photograph
    Additionally, the focus and the direction of the light position the horse ride at the center of the picture. There is a significant space between the foreground and background, with the former dominated by the […]
  19. The Photographic Process: Stages and Tools
    In general, this guide may be regarded as a source of highly useful information that helps a person who is already familiar with the art of photography develop his skills and receive the most appropriate […]
  20. The American West Photography: The Great Surveys
    Nothing in this frame is the result of the photographer’s manipulations; however, O’Sullivan constructed it in such a way that it attracts attention.
  21. The Role of Photography in Art History
    During the creation of an artwork, the artist applies several principles of design to create an amazing and attractive piece of art for the people.
  22. Lighting in Painting, Film, and Photography
    Due to the lack of detail and the unobstructed silhouette lighting, the viewer can witness the anguish of the photography’s subject. Finally, “The Entombment of Christ” is a famous example of chiaroscuro lighting in art.
  23. The “Close Enough” Exhibition of Photographs
    Each of the authors presents their vision of connections and relations in global moments, communities, and individual subjects.”Close Enough” deserves a lot of attention in the context of its importance and significance to the world […]
  24. Dharker’s Postcards From God Book and Carter’s Family Photograph
    Human poverty might have many colors, and the worth of the chosen non-literary work is in the possibility of conveying the struggle in the face of inevitability.
  25. Canadian Regional Geography in Photographs
    Because of the combination of two types of climate and the terrain, there is a wide difference of ecosystems. The second image is likely Atlantic Canada, as there are fishermen on it, while the most […]
  26. The Visual Argument in the Photograph
    The photograph and the remark appeal to pathos, striving to first show the emotions of the child in the picture and then accentuating how the words shown through the hand around the boy’s neck can […]

🎓 Simple & Easy Photography Essay Titles

  1. Photography of Global Disasters: Violence or Not?
    There is a moral dilemma in people’s urge to respond to suffering photographs of others by either just looking at the pictures or doing something to stop the disaster.
  2. Special Features of the Photography by Luc Delahaye and Ansel Adams
    The above photograph is one of the works by Ansel Adams, who is recognized as a pioneer in the evolutionary field of expertise.
  3. Significance of the Photographs Created by T. Simon and J. Riis
    In turn, Riis presents a unique perspective on the immorality of the Victorian neighborhoods serving as evidence of erroneous people’s attitudes towards appropriateness.
  4. Photographer Lene and The Heart Project
    Lene has had an opportunity to work in a large variety of creative mediums, utilizing the skills acquired in a number of projects. The use of paint, charcoal, and mosaic in her art creates a […]
  5. “Tom Torlino Student File” Photograph Analysis
    The before and after photo of a native American student is vivid evidence of American influence on the disappearing cultural heritage. What was the impact of such boarding schools on the identity and values of […]
  6. Composing With Light or Color in Photography
    Light, shadow and color are the components of an image. The balance between each element affects the quality of the image.
  7. Macro Photography: Features, Techniques, and Common Mistakes
    It is customary to call macro photography the shooting of objects comparable in size to the size of a film frame or much smaller than it.
  8. Photographer Diane Arbus’ Creativity Analysis
    Therefore, Arbus showed consistency with the portrayed ugliness of the subjects in the photographs. This enabled Arbus to capture moments that genuinely depicted the feelings of the people in their environment.
  9. The Beauty of Photography: An Opinion
    However, ultimately, I leaned toward the DSLR cameras and still photography rather than the motion of the film. As a result, good photos make one look at the situation from a different angle, capturing a […]
  10. Chris Hondros: War Photographer
    This leads the author of the current paper to discovering the key three topics that have to be covered in order to evaluate Hondros’ contribution to war photography during the first decade of the 21st […]
  11. Jack Dykinga’s Photography
    In addition, this use of light adds to the beauty of color harmony and color saturation in the picture. Because of the duly chosen perspective and the angle of shooting along with the time of […]
  12. Margaret Bourke-White: A Historically Significant Photographer
    Among Bourke-White’s exclusive works are the photos of the First Five-Year Plan in the Soviet Union, the daily struggle of the Allied infantrymen in the Italian campaign, the siege of Moscow, and the conflict between […]
  13. Julia Margaret Cameron: A British Photographer
    As the photographer later wrote in her unfinished memoir “Annals of my glass house”, from the moment of the first shot, the camera had become a link to the world of artists, scientists, and writers.
  14. Photography: Robin Fox’s Proof of Concept
    The subject and concept of the exhibition is as unique as it can be and the gallery is the best place where the photos can be exhibited.
  15. Horst Wackerbath and His Great Photography
    This mystic twist in Wackerbath’s work keeps people looking out for more of his works in a bid to try to understand not only how he manages to pull such a delicate feat, but also […]
  16. Knowing Andy Warhol’s Life and Photography
    The Post-Modernist Movement of pop art and culture in the latter half of the twentieth century was a revolutionary movement and it was started by the American artist Andy Warhol’s very amundane’ looking paintings of […]
  17. Without Sanctuary: Lynching Photography
    The photographs in Without Sanctuary provide a record of the intolerance and racism that was standard in the United States at the turn of the twentieth century.
  18. Ansel Adams and John Sexton: World Photography
    The first assumption that we can make about these works is that both of them achieve an effect of optical illusion and this is one of the most difficult tasks for a photographer to carry […]
  19. Has Digital Technology Improved the Quality of Photographs?
    In the case of our apple, most of the wavelengths are absorbed with the exception of those that lie on the red end of the spectrum.
  20. Photograph Works by Laura McPhee
    This particular feature in the works of Laura McPhee impresses the viewer owing to the mastership of the photographer in playing with the background and foreground.
  21. Pia Johnson’s Photography Exhibition
    The main aim of the photographer is to stop the time and to make people to be delighted by the beauty of the picture, as the time is the substance which flows fast and the […]
  22. Photo Art: Photographic Exhibition
    This is the photo produced by Samantha Everton in 2009 as a part of her Vintage Dolls series: The photo is installed in a frame during the exhibition to ensure the considerable attention the viewers […]
  23. The Exhibition “The Arlen Ness Photographic Exhibition”
    Watching the landscape in reality and the same view on the photo, the viewer may not notice the difference as the professional photographer, the artist tries to make his/her photos so realistic and inconceivable that […]
  24. Yosemite National Park and Connecting With the History of Photography
    By the time the Yosemite series was started, Carleton Watkins was a famous master of the so called wet-collodion technique that made use of the “mammoth” plates made of glass to allow for the better […]
  25. Photography: Brief History of Invention
    At that time all images produced were in black and white and eventually all masters of the art came to believe that the only artistic way to record photographic images was in black and white. […]
  26. Edward Steichen in History of Photography
    Edward Steichen is one of the central figures in the history of photos. The astonishing sale charge of the print is, in part, featured to its one-of-a-kind personality and to its curiosity.

💡 Most Interesting Photography Topics to Write About

  1. History of Photography: Brief Overview of the Most Exciting and Impressive Ways of Cultural Representation
    Photography is one of the most interesting and impressive ways and techniques of culture representation. For instance, photography documented the culture of the 1920s and world wars, the Great Depression-era, and the liberation movement.
  2. History of Photography: Road and Poplar Trees Analysis
    The picture artistically depicts the distance between the poplar trees making the trees on the right side to be smaller than the left side.
  3. Snapshot vs. Fine-Art Photography in Digital Age
    The scale of distribution of everyday photography is associated with the improvement of photographic technology and the spread of electronic and digital technologies, making exploring snapshot photography particularly relevant. To analyse the functions of snapshot […]
  4. Publishing Controversial Photographs: To Be or Not To Be?
    Harte took some pictures of the rescue operation, including an image capturing the moment when the rescuers found the body of a drowned boy and showed it to the family.
  5. Imogen Cunningham, an American Female Photographer
    The high contrast and neutral tones of the image bring to the viewer’s attention a variety of details, including the woman’s hair, her wrinkles, and the unevenness of her skin.
  6. Edward Weston’s Modernist Photographs
    More attention should be paid to the analysis of Weston’s photographs and the comparison of their style to my photographs. The object in my black-and-white photograph looks like a kind of tubes, which texture is […]
  7. Photography Changes Who We Think We Might Be
    This essay is interesting and was chosen because Bergen is famous for her acting and not for photography, yet she clearly has a passion for this trade.
  8. Andreas Gursky’s “The Rhine II” Photography
    In The Rhine II, the photographer attempts to deliver “an accurate image of a modern river” and invites viewers to see the river enclosed in the deep-colored stripes of grass, concrete, and the clouded sky.
  9. Photography: Is It Possible to Recapture the Past?
    The problem of photography is twofold: the problem of representation, and the presumption of reality that the photographic images elicits in the viewer the pervasive belief that a photograph depicts a referent, a real “how […]
  10. Photography: A Cultural History
    In the middle of the 1850s, there were many photographers, whose projects caused people’s admiration, and the works of Edouard Baldus, Imperial Library of the Louvre, and Roger Fenton, Rievaulx Abbey, may be considered as […]
  11. A Critique of a Photographer’s Works: Matthew Abbott
    Matthew Abbott underlines one simple fact that Istanbul is the only place where East has all chances to meet West, this is why it is hard to predict the traditions and interests of Turkish people, […]
  12. Richard Drew’s Photography: Visualizing September 11
    This would have ensured that I had accommodated the rights of media, clients, society, and other stakeholders while still adhering to media ethics.
  13. Hector Mediavilla Photographic Series “The Congolese Sape”
    The photographer’s decision to organize the order of photographs influences the viewer’s interpretation of the image. The photographer captures an image from a focal position; the decision to capture the image is influenced by the […]
  14. “Memorial Day” by Anthony Suau: Photography Analysis
    The background of the image is blurry, indicating that when Suau took the photograph, he had one central area of focus and opted to indiscriminately isolate the other items in the shot.
  15. Photography and Society Through History: Political and Ideological Functions
    Another example of a thoroughly politicized photo, which during the course of the thirties was meant to promote the cause of Communism, is Alexander Rodchenko’s Pioneer with Trumpet:
  16. Michael Lesy’s Wisconsin Death Trip: Photograph Analysis
    As highlighted by the focus of the light and the enlargement of the image, this makes the ribs of the horse to be the photo’s point of focus.
  17. Modern Art: Painting, Sculpture, Architecture, Photography
    Duchamp and his work have a connection through the refusal to accept the views of the majority of artists and art lovers.
  18. Photographs in a Written Society
    Visual literature requires one to have the ability to analyze, interpret, and understand images with the aim of acquiring meaning through the cultural context in which the image exists.
  19. Timothy Hogan’s Photography
    Taking into consideration the infinite backing from the greatest producers, retouchers, and workshops in the professional photography niche, it is quite reasonable that Hogan and his team managed to furnace the lifelong contacts that provide […]
  20. Photography Ethics, Reliability, and Principles
    As a result, it is often possible to guarantee that the photo provided in the news is not a product of Photoshop.
  21. Photography Company’s Public Relations Campaign
    The accomplishment of each aim will be performed following the specificity of the targeted audience that is supposed to be composed of the middle-class population of the Seattle Area. In the meantime, they expect that […]
  22. Child Labor, Great Depression and World War II in Photographs
    The impression is of isolation and yearning for daylight, freedom, and a childhood foregone, in the midst of a machine-dominated world.
  23. The Photography Gallery in Melbourne
    The photos are mounted on glass and owing to the fact that the setting is indoor, a lot of lighting is applied to prevent any darkness.
  24. The Basic Critical Theory for Photography
    According to Berger, images depend on the way of seeing of the person who has taken them. Berger insists that ‘publicity images’ and ‘advertising images’ have the same meanings.
  25. Lewis Hine’s Photography Art
    Being born at the age of great changes and stresses, Lewis since his childhood was interested in the imprinting of some great moments of the history of American society.
  26. Technologies: Amateur Film vs. Cell Phone Photography
    An analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of the two forms of photography concludes the paper. Cellphone and film cameras have apertures that regulate the quantity of light passing to the sensor and film, respectively.

🔍 Interesting Topics to Write about Photography

  1. Photography in Arabic Countries
  2. The Pool’ Pictures Balance in Photography
  3. The Photography of the Arctic Ice Panoramic View
  4. Photograph Discussion: Physical Elements and Content
  5. Photography: Finding Beauty in the Ordinary
  6. The Photographic Approaches Towards American Culture of Robert Frank and Gary Winogrand
  7. Surrealist Photography and Experimental Photography
  8. Privacy and Photography in Public Places
  9. Araki Nobuyoshi and Photography
  10. Photography of High-End Art
  11. The Description of Nature in Jack Dykinga’ Photographs
  12. Jack Dykinga’s Outdoor Photography
  13. The Impact of Nineteenth Century Photography on Visual Representation and the Development of Visual Culture
  14. Weegee and Goldin’s Photography
  15. Mads Nissen, a Danish Documentary Photographer
  16. History of Photography Culture
  17. Surrealism in Photography
  18. Impacts of Photography on Advertising
  19. Exhibitions at the International Center of Photography
  20. Photographer Jeff Wall and His Paintings
  21. Photography Art in 20th Century
  22. Photography: Jimmy Nelson’s Piece of Art
  23. Photographer – Robert Frank
  24. Social Uses of Photography: Post-Mortem Photographs
  25. The Exhibit Twilight Visions at the International Center of Photography
  26. Evolution of Photography: Trying to Seize the Moment

❓ Photography Essay Questions

  1. What Is the Difference Between Film and Digital Photography?
  2. What Is the Most Popular Photography Website?
  3. How Does Photography Affect the Social and Political Arena?
  4. How Photography Has Changed Our View of the World?
  5. Why Was Post-Mortem Photography Popular?
  6. When Was Photography First Invented?
  7. How Romanticism and Photography Shaped Western Modernitymodern?
  8. What Was Photography Originally Called?
  9. How Digital Processes Change Photography?
  10. What Photography Can and Really Should Document?
  11. What Is the Best Photography Course for Beginners?
  12. Why Photography Is an Art?
  13. What Would the World Be Like Without Photography?
  14. How Photography Has Changed Changing Business Environment?
  15. How Did Joseph Nicephore Contribute to the Early Development of Photography?
  16. What Is the Target Market for Portrait Photography?
  17. What Are the 4 Styles of Photography?
  18. How Has Fashion Photography Changed and Developed Over the Years?
  19. How Did Photography Reflect the Values and Stereotypes That Underlay European Colonialism?
  20. Why Is Photography So Important?
  21. How Does Photography Affect Our Lives?
  22. Which Type of Camera Is Best for Photography?
  23. Why Is Digital Photography Better Than Traditional?
  24. How Are Music and Photography Related?
  25. What Are the 7 Principles of Photography?
  26. How Did Female Surrealists Aim to Subvert the Male Gaze Within Surrealist Photography?
  27. How Photography Works and Has Evolved?
  28. How Have Photography and Photojournalism Transformed Media?
  29. What Was the Effect of Photography on Painting in the Nineteenth Century?
  30. What Makes a Good Food Photography?
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IvyPanda. "160 Photography Essay Topic Ideas & Examples." March 18, 2025. https://ivypanda.com/essays/topic/photography-essay-topics/.