Committing to a specialization — even temporarily — accelerates skill development faster than shooting broadly.
Each genre has its own technical demands and creative conventions. Focused time in one genre builds pattern recognition (anticipating a wedding's key moments, reading wildlife behavior, understanding a location's light through repeated visits) that broad shooting doesn't build as efficiently.
Quick genre-specific notes: landscape rewards planning around light and location scouting as much as technique; portrait requires working with a subject's comfort as much as lighting; street/documentary lives on anticipation and timing; wildlife rewards patience and fieldcraft over gear; sports rewards predicting where action happens next, not just reacting.
Specialization doesn't mean permanent narrowing — many photographers move through genres over years, carrying skills forward (a street photographer's timing transfers directly to candid wedding moments).