photography

The word “photography” means the art, technique, or business of taking photographs. In plain terms, the skill or activity of taking pictures with a camera.

“Photography” is pronounced fuh-TOG-ruh-fee (/fəˈtɑ.ɡɹə.fi/ in IPA).

Here is “photography” used in a sentence: “She studied photography in college.”

“Photography” is a noun.

The word “photography” comes from French. Borrowed from French photographie, from Greek photo- ("light") and -graphia ("writing" or "recording") — literally "drawing with light.".

“Photography” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the A2 level.

Photography covers many genres, including portrait, landscape, wildlife, street, documentary, sports, macro (extreme close-up), architectural, and fashion photography. Each has its own techniques and equipment. Commercially, fields like product, wedding, and event photography are also common ways photographers specialise and make a living.

Yes. While a good eye helps, photography is very much a learnable skill. The technical side — exposure, focus, composition, and lighting — can be taught through courses, books, and practice, and modern cameras and phones make experimenting easy. Most photographers improve steadily by shooting often and reviewing their results.

It is both, which is part of its appeal. Photography demands technical control over light, focus, and exposure, but also artistic judgement about composition, timing, and mood. The definition itself spans the art, the technique, and the business — and the strongest photographers blend creative vision with solid craft.

Photography captures still images — single frozen moments. Videography records moving images with sound over time. They share equipment and skills like framing and lighting, but differ in storytelling: a photograph distils one instant, while video unfolds a sequence. Many professionals today offer both.