Landscape, portrait and still life... What do the words actually represent?

When reading the three words on the brief I automatically thought the obvious...

• A landscape is an image of landscape format; a photograph of nature, architecture, city scapes, etc.
• A portrait is an image of portrait format; a photograph of a headshot creating this profile of the person in the picture
• And a still life was an image of object; perhaps rocks, flowers, etc.

In fact, there is a lot more that comes with those three words. From the lecture Katie presented to us on Tuesday, just landscapes on its own made me realise that the brief was definitely not asking for the obvious. 

As Katie mentioned in the lecture,

• A landscape could be one of three definitions...

1. a picture, sketch, etching, photograph, map or other representation of inland scenery, as of prairie, woodland,  mountains, etc.;
2. the branch of painting, photography, etc, dealing with such pictures;
3. a view, prospect or vista of scenery or tract of land with its distinguishing characteristics either natural and/or man made.

• A portrait could be one of two definitions...

1. a painting, drawing photograph, or engraving of a person, especially one depicting only the face or head and shoulders
2. a representation or impression of someone or something in language or on film or television.

• A still life could be one of two definitions...

1. a painting or drawing of an arrangement of objects, typically including fruit and flowers and objects contrasting with these in texture, such as bowls and glassware
2. the genre of still life painting or drawing.

Now that I have covered each word, I feel confident to start collecting research on not only just photographers but other medium artists to help produce ideas for the brief.