Pin -up, gothic, artistic nude, erotic ( MM category?...) and any other style that you are comfortable
and identify with?

Do you mean if
- Photographers would call themselves for example a 'pin-up photographer' if they identify with that genre? Or
- Photographers would put the category 'pin-up' in their list on their profile if they identify with it?

Whilst I writing, my guess is that you mean the first option... Because for the second; I think people put there what they would like to shoot. Whether if they've already done something in that particular genre or not. This goes especially for people just starting in the field. Or people who've tried it all, but still keep a broad interest because they like everything (Same goes for models, not just photographers).

Do people call themselves a [category]-photographer? Well... I think that if you shoot (and want to shoot) many different genres, you would be reluctant to give yourself such a label because it minimizes your 'chance' on shooting in all your genres of interest.
I must say I have not yet heard about a 'pin-up photographer' or one of the other genres you mention. However, there ARE ofcourse photographers working in a distinct niche, and also label themselves like that. For example: Fashionphotographer (very broad, but also kind of specific ), cosplay-photographer (big audience, quite specific though), Product-photographer (I think more company-related, although many things will probably be 3D-modeled these days), Food-photographer (speaks for itself!), fine art-photographer (distinct style).
But still, these photographers probably will also shoot outside of their niches.

I hope I got the essence of your question.. If not, please say so

I have enough trouble calling myself a photographer, why would I want to complicate things by getting even more precise?

I just call myself photographer.  I don't fit in any category.  I shoot weddings mostly for money but I have 3 clients I shoot catalog for and wouldn't mind a couple more.  I've also done a bunch of other stuff in and around the business.

Here in mm i find models for my photo club that I host and teach some lighting techniques.

fetish pregnancy

I take pretty pictures.

That's all I'm willing to admit.

I make the button go click.

Dunno wtf happens after.



(Don't bring drinks into the darkroom kids, accidents happen. %-p )

I am Card Carrying Non Verified Photographer.

The Subject was Roses.

I don't want to entirely minimize the importance of words in accompanying or even giving some definition to images, but, single word descriptions seem overly reductive and restrictive in ways that fit rather uncomfortably.

In the 90s, I was a soft-core porn photographer. Now, I'm a portrait photographer.

experimental photographer
because thats what i do ....

Since I am a full time photographer... I had to find some definition to narrow it down for the clients.

Although I am shooting almost in every genre, I use "Editorial Fashion and Runway Photographer" as my main description... but in explanations, I add photojournalism and real estate and that I am also a surrealist painter.

Landscape, and artistic nude, primarily, but I shoot whatever I see that is interesting, and/or beautiful to me.
-Don

Commercial fashion. Thats the way I like it. Uh huh uh huh.

I'm surprised that you got as many short, honest answers as you did.

Nobody wants to define themselves, as most feel that means putting themselves into a box from which they can never escape. Even fewer are objective enough to actually do it well - you'll find a lot of 'erotic photographers' that don't shoot erotic work, and a lot of 'documentary photographers' that shoot ruin porn.

Black Sabbath is one of the most popular heavy metal bands of all time. But they didn't call themselves that when they started - critics did. That term had only even been around a couple years; the first band called 'heavy metal' was Steppenwolf, after a line in one of their songs. And I love Steppenwolf, but they sound nothing Iike Sabbath. But that was the term used at the time. Led Zeppelin was a metal band too. Jethro Tull too, at least according to the Grammys.

The point is that in Sabbath's case, the name of the genre was irrelevant. They became so huge that they dictated what the genre sounded like, rather than the genre dictating what they sounded like. If the name were truly that important, then Sabbath would sound more like Steppenwolf. Of course, it's impossible to tell these things in the moment - some time needs to pass.

If we ever have another single photographer as unique and ubiquitous for as many years as Avedon or Newton, we'll look back twenty years into their career and realize that we no longer think of portraits in the same way. It's possible that Richardson might be that person - it all comes down to how fast we abandon Instagram for something else, and how quickly the clientele of the companies he shoots for decide they don't buy into that look anymore.

Saying that you make 'well lit studio portraits' can mean a variety of different things, depending on what year and country it is. The only way to have a comprehensive explanation is to use a million adjectives, and hope everyone understands.

Do you know the difference between metal, doom metal, black metal, death metal, thrash metal, hardcore, metalcore, and Scandinavian metal? Or my personal favourites, stoner metal and desert metal? And those are just the big ones.

More importantly, does the person you're explaining it to know the difference? That may have a lot to do with why so many people that shoot unerotic nudes say they shoot erotic nudes. There are boobs ... easier to just call it that.

At a certain point, you have to just say 'screw the genre', and come up with an elevator statement.

Jack of all trades, master of none.

I don't put  myself in a category partly because I am like he says.  I'm a jack of all trades.  I am just a working stiff and just do what must be done.  I think many people are just trying to earn a living and just do what they need to do to put food on the table.  That's probably where I fall in the best.

I can spell "photographer"

I call myself an art photographer.

Fashion and beauty photographer.

Conceptual Portraiture

I photograph just about anything, landscape/nature, portrait, night sky, seascape, people, action sports,

I shoot everything.... But if I had to label myself, I like peanut butter fudge, so my services can be bought for vast amounts of peanut butter fudge, so does that make me a food photographer?

Corporate Photographer, primarily political campaign advretising and public relations.  MM?  I'm here just for fun. Ya gotta have fun.

GWC.

i think it's fun to mix up and try a bit of everything. now, though, it's about what people will pay me for which is generally corporate/university graduations and products/food.

i enjoyed shooting boudoir for pay but it started to get weird with the paying clients and the men in their lives getting upset about them doing it. at one shoot i was asked to hide in the bathroom during the topless implied portion while the wife shot. plus people started wanting those shoots for $50.

weddings are a good challenge but i'm not doing all that work, bringing all that gear and taking all that risk for just $500 (unless it's a friend).

one of the things i enjoyed most with models was shooting them in their nice dresses. but convincing nude models to wear a dress ...

photographer I guess ..I take snapshots in the main .. on the odd occasion some turn out ok .. I'll leave the labels for the tinned goods

Fashion / Beauty / Editorial

i've always secretly seen myself as a total B.S. artist just waiting for someone to point it out in public. So, shhhhhhhh! Let's keep this between the two of us, o.k.?

Glamour / Erotic Photographer

I focus on figurative fine art though it could also be an art/glamour fusion

Somebody on here called my work "dark beauty and bondage art." But that's just on here. I do lots of other things. That's what happens to former photojournalists and art photographers.

I used to work for Glamour Shots and can called myself a glamour photographer, at some point I have about US $23000 worth of Canon gear and various studio light set, but now I sold them all (besides keeping some continuous lights for video) and happy with a Sony 4K cam. Like my neighbors who spent $30K on his Harley bikes, photography can be an expensive job/hobby, but at some point "the laws of diminishing return" will set in, I gave up on fighting With GWC (and millions of smart phones) in my town for $199 wedding shots or $5 per head high school senior shots.