Subminiature photography is photography with unusually small cameras using unusually small film formats. It is distinct from photomicrography, photographing microscopic subjects with a camera which is not particularly small.

The term "miniature" was originally used to describe the 35 mm format, so cameras that used a format smaller than 35 mm were referred to as "sub-miniature". The smallest of these are often referred to as "ultra-miniature". In the interest of specificity, cameras that produce an image on the film smaller than the standard 135 film format (24×36 mm) are usually included in the genre. Lipstick cameras and other small digital cameras are not included, because they don't use film. The smaller subminiature or ultraminiature cameras, particularly Minox, are associated with spying.