diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index ce91e7b2..b66ca066 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -388,6 +388,18 @@ option to re-export the entire library thus rebuilding the
 
 ** Templating System **
 
+Several options, such as --directory, allow you to specify a template which
+will be rendered to substitute template fields with values from the photo. For
+example, '{created.month}' would be replaced with the month name of the photo
+creation date. e.g. 'November'. The general format for a template is
+'{TEMPLATE_FIELD[,[DEFAULT]]}'. The ',' and DEFAULT value are optional. If
+TEMPLATE_FIELD results in a null (empty) value, the default is '_'.  You may
+specify an alternate default value by appending ',DEFAULT' after
+template_field. e.g. '{title,no_title}' would result in 'no_title' if the
+photo had no title. You may include other text in the template string outside
+the {} and use more than one template field, e.g. '{created.year} -
+{created.month}' (e.g. '2020 - November').
+
 With the --directory and --filename options you may specify a template for the
 export directory or filename, respectively. The directory will be appended to
 the export path specified in the export DEST argument to export.  For example,
@@ -426,12 +438,26 @@ value, '_' (underscore) will be used as the default value. For example, in the
 above example, this would result in '2020/_/photoname.jpg' if address was
 null.
 
+You may specify a null default (e.g. "" or empty string) by omitting the value
+after the comma, e.g. {title,} which would render to "" if title had no value.
+
 Substitution                    Description
 {name}                          Current filename of the photo
 {original_name}                 Photo's original filename when imported to
                                 Photos
 {title}                         Title of the photo
 {descr}                         Description of the photo
+{media_type}                    Special media type resolved in this
+                                precedence: selfie, time_lapse, panorama,
+                                slow_mo, screenshot, portrait, live_photo,
+                                burst, photo, video. Defaults to 'photo' or
+                                'video' if no special type. Customize one or
+                                more media types using format: '{media_type,
+                                video=vidéo;time_lapse=vidéo_accélérée}'
+{photo_or_video}                'photo' or 'video' depending on what type
+                                the image is. To customize, use default
+                                value as in
+                                '{photo_or_video,photo=fotos;video=videos}'
 {created.date}                  Photo's creation date in ISO format, e.g.
                                 '2020-03-22'
 {created.year}                  4-digit year of photo creation time
@@ -1835,38 +1861,40 @@ To get the path of every raw photo, whether it's a single raw photo or a raw+JPE
 
 ### Template Substitutions
 
-The following substitutions are availabe for use with `PhotoInfo.render_template()` 
+The following template field substitutions are availabe for use with `PhotoInfo.render_template()`
 | Substitution | Description |
 |--------------|-------------|
 |{name}|Current filename of the photo|
 |{original_name}|Photo's original filename when imported to Photos|
 |{title}|Title of the photo|
 |{descr}|Description of the photo|
+|{media_type}|Special media type resolved in this precedence: selfie, time_lapse, panorama, slow_mo, screenshot, portrait, live_photo, burst, photo, video. Defaults to 'photo' or 'video' if no special type. Customize one or more media types using format: '{media_type,video=vidéo;time_lapse=vidéo_accélérée}'|
+|{photo_or_video}|'photo' or 'video' depending on what type the image is. To customize, use default value as in '{photo_or_video,photo=fotos;video=videos}'|
 |{created.date}|Photo's creation date in ISO format, e.g. '2020-03-22'|
-|{created.year}|4-digit year of file creation time|
-|{created.yy}|2-digit year of file creation time|
-|{created.mm}|2-digit month of the file creation time (zero padded)|
-|{created.month}|Month name in user's locale of the file creation time|
-|{created.mon}|Month abbreviation in the user's locale of the file creation time|
-|{created.dd}|2-digit day of the month (zero padded) of file creation time|
-|{created.dow}|Day of week in user's locale of the file creation time|
-|{created.doy}|3-digit day of year (e.g Julian day) of file creation time, starting from 1 (zero padded)|
-|{created.hour}|2-digit hour of the file creation time|
-|{created.min}|2-digit minute of the file creation time|
-|{created.sec}|2-digit second of the file creation time|
+|{created.year}|4-digit year of photo creation time|
+|{created.yy}|2-digit year of photo creation time|
+|{created.mm}|2-digit month of the photo creation time (zero padded)|
+|{created.month}|Month name in user's locale of the photo creation time|
+|{created.mon}|Month abbreviation in the user's locale of the photo creation time|
+|{created.dd}|2-digit day of the month (zero padded) of photo creation time|
+|{created.dow}|Day of week in user's locale of the photo creation time|
+|{created.doy}|3-digit day of year (e.g Julian day) of photo creation time, starting from 1 (zero padded)|
+|{created.hour}|2-digit hour of the photo creation time|
+|{created.min}|2-digit minute of the photo creation time|
+|{created.sec}|2-digit second of the photo creation time|
 |{created.strftime}|Apply strftime template to file creation date/time. Should be used in form {created.strftime,TEMPLATE} where TEMPLATE is a valid strftime template, e.g. {created.strftime,%Y-%U} would result in year-week number of year: '2020-23'. If used with no template will return null value. See https://strftime.org/ for help on strftime templates.|
 |{modified.date}|Photo's modification date in ISO format, e.g. '2020-03-22'|
-|{modified.year}|4-digit year of file modification time|
-|{modified.yy}|2-digit year of file modification time|
-|{modified.mm}|2-digit month of the file modification time (zero padded)|
-|{modified.month}|Month name in user's locale of the file modification time|
-|{modified.mon}|Month abbreviation in the user's locale of the file modification time|
-|{modified.dd}|2-digit day of the month (zero padded) of the file modification time|
+|{modified.year}|4-digit year of photo modification time|
+|{modified.yy}|2-digit year of photo modification time|
+|{modified.mm}|2-digit month of the photo modification time (zero padded)|
+|{modified.month}|Month name in user's locale of the photo modification time|
+|{modified.mon}|Month abbreviation in the user's locale of the photo modification time|
+|{modified.dd}|2-digit day of the month (zero padded) of the photo modification time|
 |{modified.dow}|Day of week in user's locale of the photo modification time|
-|{modified.doy}|3-digit day of year (e.g Julian day) of file modification time, starting from 1 (zero padded)|
-|{modified.hour}|2-digit hour of the file modification time|
-|{modified.min}|2-digit minute of the file modification time|
-|{modified.sec}|2-digit second of the file modification time|
+|{modified.doy}|3-digit day of year (e.g Julian day) of photo modification time, starting from 1 (zero padded)|
+|{modified.hour}|2-digit hour of the photo modification time|
+|{modified.min}|2-digit minute of the photo modification time|
+|{modified.sec}|2-digit second of the photo modification time|
 |{today.date}|Current date in iso format, e.g. '2020-03-22'|
 |{today.year}|4-digit year of current date|
 |{today.yy}|2-digit year of current date|
diff --git a/osxphotos/__main__.py b/osxphotos/__main__.py
index bc324fca..d3975421 100644
--- a/osxphotos/__main__.py
+++ b/osxphotos/__main__.py
@@ -158,6 +158,19 @@ class ExportCommand(click.Command):
         formatter.write("\n\n")
         formatter.write_text("** Templating System **")
         formatter.write("\n")
+        formatter.write_text("Several options, such as --directory, allow you to specify a template "
+        + "which will be rendered to substitute template fields with values from the photo. "
+        + "For example, '{created.month}' would be replaced with the month name of the photo creation date. "
+        + "e.g. 'November'. "
+        + "The general format for a template is '{TEMPLATE_FIELD[,[DEFAULT]]}'. "
+        + "The ',' and DEFAULT value are optional. "
+        + "If TEMPLATE_FIELD results in a null (empty) value, the default is '_'.  "
+        + "You may specify an alternate default value by appending ',DEFAULT' after template_field. "
+        + "e.g. '{title,no_title}' would result in 'no_title' if the photo had no title. "
+        + "You may include other text in the template string outside the {} and use more than "
+        + "one template field, e.g. '{created.year} - {created.month}' (e.g. '2020 - November')."
+        )
+        formatter.write("\n")
         formatter.write_text(
             "With the --directory and --filename options you may specify a template for the "
             + "export directory or filename, respectively. "
diff --git a/osxphotos/_version.py b/osxphotos/_version.py
index f0caced8..aefaa7fc 100644
--- a/osxphotos/_version.py
+++ b/osxphotos/_version.py
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
 """ version info """
 
-__version__ = "0.36.9"
+__version__ = "0.36.10"
 
diff --git a/osxphotos/phototemplate.py b/osxphotos/phototemplate.py
index 104d0d0d..b1391a38 100644
--- a/osxphotos/phototemplate.py
+++ b/osxphotos/phototemplate.py
@@ -23,12 +23,33 @@ from .path_utils import sanitize_dirname, sanitize_filename, sanitize_pathpart
 # ensure locale set to user's locale
 locale.setlocale(locale.LC_ALL, "")
 
+PHOTO_VIDEO_TYPE_DEFAULTS = {"photo": "photo", "video": "video"}
+
+MEDIA_TYPE_DEFAULTS = {
+    "selfie": "selfie",
+    "time_lapse": "time_lapse",
+    "panorama": "panorama",
+    "slow_mo": "slow_mo",
+    "screenshot": "screenshot",
+    "portrait": "portrait",
+    "live_photo": "live_photo",
+    "burst": "burst",
+    "photo": "photo",
+    "video": "video",
+}
+
 # Permitted substitutions (each of these returns a single value or None)
 TEMPLATE_SUBSTITUTIONS = {
     "{name}": "Current filename of the photo",
     "{original_name}": "Photo's original filename when imported to Photos",
     "{title}": "Title of the photo",
     "{descr}": "Description of the photo",
+    "{media_type}": (
+        f"Special media type resolved in this precedence: {', '.join(t for t in MEDIA_TYPE_DEFAULTS)}. "
+        "Defaults to 'photo' or 'video' if no special type. "
+        "Customize one or more media types using format: '{media_type,video=vidéo;time_lapse=vidéo_accélérée}'"
+    ),
+    "{photo_or_video}": "'photo' or 'video' depending on what type the image is. To customize, use default value as in '{photo_or_video,photo=fotos;video=videos}'",
     "{created.date}": "Photo's creation date in ISO format, e.g. '2020-03-22'",
     "{created.year}": "4-digit year of photo creation time",
     "{created.yy}": "2-digit year of photo creation time",
@@ -174,9 +195,9 @@ class PhotoTemplate:
         #          there would be 6 possible renderings (2 albums x 3 persons)
 
         # regex to find {template_field,optional_default} in strings
-        # for explanation of regex see https://regex101.com/r/MbOlJV/4
+        # for explanation of regex see https://regex101.com/r/YFpWsn/1
         # pylint: disable=anomalous-backslash-in-string
-        regex = r"(?<!\{)\{([^}]*\+)?([^\\,}+]+)(,{0,1}([\w\-\%. ]+)?)(?=\}(?!\}))\}"
+        regex = r"(?<!\{)\{([^}]*\+)?([^\\,}+\?]+)(\?[^\\,}]*)?(,{0,1}([\w\=\;\-\%. ]+)?)(?=\}(?!\}))\}"
         if type(template) is not str:
             raise TypeError(f"template must be type str, not {type(template)}")
 
@@ -197,11 +218,12 @@ class PhotoTemplate:
             # closure to capture photo, none_str, filename, dirname in subst
             def subst(matchobj):
                 groups = len(matchobj.groups())
-                if groups == 4:
+                if groups == 5:
                     delim = matchobj.group(1)
                     field = matchobj.group(2)
-                    default = matchobj.group(3)
-                    default_val = matchobj.group(4)
+                    boolval = matchobj.group(3)
+                    default = matchobj.group(4)
+                    default_val = matchobj.group(5)
                     try:
                         val = get_func(field, default_val)
                     except ValueError:
@@ -212,11 +234,7 @@ class PhotoTemplate:
                         if default == ",":
                             val = ""
                         else:
-                            val = (
-                                default_val
-                                if default_val is not None
-                                else none_str
-                            )
+                            val = default_val if default_val is not None else none_str
 
                     return val
                 else:
@@ -257,7 +275,11 @@ class PhotoTemplate:
         rendered_strings = [rendered]
         for field in MULTI_VALUE_SUBSTITUTIONS:
             # Build a regex that matches only the field being processed
-            re_str = r"(?<!\{)\{([^}]*\+)?(" + field + r")(,{0,1}([\w\-\%. ]+)?)(?=\}(?!\}))\}"
+            re_str = (
+                r"(?<!\{)\{([^}]*\+)?("
+                + field
+                + r")(\?[^\\,}]*)?(,{0,1}([\w\=\;\-\%. ]+)?)(?=\}(?!\}))\}"
+            )
             regex_multi = re.compile(re_str)
 
             # holds each of the new rendered_strings, dict to avoid repeats (dict.keys())
@@ -380,6 +402,10 @@ class PhotoTemplate:
             value = self.photo.title
         elif field == "descr":
             value = self.photo.description
+        elif field == "media_type":
+            value = self.get_media_type(default)
+        elif field == "photo_or_video":
+            value = self.get_photo_video_type(default)
         elif field == "created.date":
             value = DateTimeFormatter(self.photo.date).date
         elif field == "created.year":
@@ -675,3 +701,60 @@ class PhotoTemplate:
         values = values or [None]
         return values
 
+    def get_photo_video_type(self, default):
+        """ return media type, e.g. photo or video """
+        default_dict = parse_default_kv(default, PHOTO_VIDEO_TYPE_DEFAULTS)
+        if self.photo.isphoto:
+            return default_dict["photo"]
+        else:
+            return default_dict["video"]
+
+    def get_media_type(self, default):
+        """ return special media type, e.g. slow_mo, panorama, etc., defaults to photo or video if no special type """
+        default_dict = parse_default_kv(default, MEDIA_TYPE_DEFAULTS)
+        p = self.photo
+        if p.selfie:
+            return default_dict["selfie"]
+        elif p.time_lapse:
+            return default_dict["time_lapse"]
+        elif p.panorama:
+            return default_dict["panorama"]
+        elif p.slow_mo:
+            return default_dict["slow_mo"]
+        elif p.screenshot:
+            return default_dict["screenshot"]
+        elif p.portrait:
+            return default_dict["portrait"]
+        elif p.live_photo:
+            return default_dict["live_photo"]
+        elif p.burst:
+            return default_dict["burst"]
+        elif p.ismovie:
+            return default_dict["video"]
+        else:
+            return default_dict["photo"]
+
+
+def parse_default_kv(default, default_dict):
+    """ parse a string in form key1=value1;key2=value2,... as used for some template fields
+
+    Args:
+        default: str, in form 'photo=foto;video=vidéo'
+        default_dict: dict, in form {"photo": "fotos", "video": "vidéos"} with default values
+
+    Returns:
+        dict in form {"photo": "fotos", "video": "vidéos"}
+    """
+
+    default_dict_ = default_dict.copy()
+    if default:
+        defaults = default.split(";")
+        for kv in defaults:
+            try:
+                k, v = kv.split("=")
+                k = k.strip()
+                v = v.strip()
+                default_dict_[k] = v
+            except ValueError:
+                pass
+    return default_dict_
diff --git a/tests/test_template.py b/tests/test_template.py
index c39e9e1c..d75381a5 100644
--- a/tests/test_template.py
+++ b/tests/test_template.py
@@ -7,8 +7,8 @@ PHOTOS_DB_PLACES = (
 PHOTOS_DB_15_1 = "./tests/Test-10.15.1.photoslibrary/database/photos.db"
 PHOTOS_DB_15_4 = "./tests/Test-10.15.4.photoslibrary/database/photos.db"
 PHOTOS_DB_14_6 = "./tests/Test-10.14.6.photoslibrary/database/photos.db"
-
 PHOTOS_DB_COMMENTS = "tests/Test-Cloud-10.15.6.photoslibrary"
+PHOTOS_DB_CLOUD = "./tests/Test-Cloud-10.15.6.photoslibrary/database/photos.db"
 
 UUID_DICT = {
     "place_dc": "128FB4C6-0B16-4E7D-9108-FB2E90DA1546",
@@ -22,6 +22,19 @@ UUID_DICT = {
     "date_not_modified": "128FB4C6-0B16-4E7D-9108-FB2E90DA1546",
 }
 
+UUID_MEDIA_TYPE = {
+    "photo": "C2BBC7A4-5333-46EE-BAF0-093E72111B39",
+    "video": "45099D34-A414-464F-94A2-60D6823679C8",
+    "selfie": "080525C4-1F05-48E5-A3F4-0C53127BB39C",
+    "time_lapse": "4614086E-C797-4876-B3B9-3057E8D757C9",
+    "panorama": "1C1C8F1F-826B-4A24-B1CB-56628946A834",
+    "slow_mo": None,
+    "screenshot": None,
+    "portrait": "7CDA5F84-AA16-4D28-9AA6-A49E1DF8A332",
+    "live_photo": "51F2BEF7-431A-4D31-8AC1-3284A57826AE",
+    "burst": None,
+}
+
 TEMPLATE_VALUES = {
     "{name}": "128FB4C6-0B16-4E7D-9108-FB2E90DA1546",
     "{original_name}": "IMG_1064",
@@ -559,3 +572,29 @@ def test_comment():
         photo = photosdb.get_photo(uuid)
         comments = photo.render_template("{comment}")
         assert comments[0] == COMMENT_UUID_DICT[uuid]
+
+
+def test_media_type():
+    """ test {media_type} template """
+    import osxphotos
+
+    photosdb = osxphotos.PhotosDB(PHOTOS_DB_CLOUD)
+
+    for field, uuid in UUID_MEDIA_TYPE.items():
+        if uuid is not None:
+            photo = photosdb.get_photo(uuid)
+            rendered, _ = photo.render_template("{media_type}")
+            assert rendered[0] == osxphotos.phototemplate.MEDIA_TYPE_DEFAULTS[field]
+
+
+def test_media_type_default():
+    """ test {media_type,photo=foo} template style """
+    import osxphotos
+
+    photosdb = osxphotos.PhotosDB(PHOTOS_DB_CLOUD)
+
+    for field, uuid in UUID_MEDIA_TYPE.items():
+        if uuid is not None:
+            photo = photosdb.get_photo(uuid)
+            rendered, _ = photo.render_template("{media_type," + f"{field}" + "=foo}")
+            assert rendered[0] == "foo"