There is a reality that many photographers do not want to acknowledge and that is the changing world. That easy access to devices to make images, and the sheer abundance of taking decent shots without spending years practicing. That streamlined competition has cut down on the need and desire to hire professionals to capture images from year to year.
When I was a child, a lot of my childhood was being drug into a commercial photography studio for updated pictures for the entire family and once every couple years the entire family was forced together for updated family photos. By the time I was a teenager cameras had become much more affordable, freelance photographers were taking pictures in parks, and cell phones were just becoming a thing everyone was slowly carrying around— of course this was before they had great cameras or cameras at all.
And just that change put commercial studios out of business and the era of the photographer running independently was born at least until cell phones started having cameras and point and shoot cameras became so cheap the need for the photographer dwindled again.
Now cell phones can do what professional grade cameras can do. Editing is no longer incredibly complicated because of apps and AI, the everyday person can make an image that revivals the seasoned professional. So where does that leave photographers?
Self Portrait Taken with an iPhone 14 Pro
I saw a photographer posting a family portrait session two images years apart with the tag line “time goes fast don’t forget to capture it with professional family photos” and I huffed a laugh. It was clever, the photographs were good and you could see the change in time in the family but all I could think about was the photographer was failing to understand the changing world and dynamic between clients and photographers again.
I guarantee that the family has photos together but they aren’t professional they are taken by that family together on their devices, edited however they like and they are taken during moments they wanted to remember or even moments of boredom. They may not be the highest quality, best composed, or even have great lighting but that no longer matters because it is the memory, the feelings, and the fact that capturing it themselves cost them nothing.
We can not compete with that.
We shouldn’t even try.
What do I mean?
I have been a photographer for a long time and I have been on both sides of the camera in many settings since I was a small child. What I mean when I say we shouldn’t try to compete is that there are millions of moments a person and family might want captured for forever but that doesn’t mean they want a professional stranger doing it. They need us less and less.
Professional photographers are going to be brought in for the big moments, the weddings, the occasional portraits every couple years, and the events or moments they require and need professional images not just passable ones. Photography especially professional photography has become a luxury good. Something we occasionally want but can always live without.
It is just yet another adaption photographers are going to have to make especially with the ever changing and easy to access technology that drives this art form. That may mean specializing in upscale moments that everyone wants a professional for or just being a photographer for the fun of being a photographer and capturing moments no matter how small on camera.
I myself have been watching the changes and having real conversations about where I see things going. In just the past two years I have seen significant change to my own business and it is leading me to really search inside to figure out the path I want to travel. What I know is that I am incredibly lucky that I have witnessed all these changes in this field so I can stop and make informed choices. Best shooting and no matter what keep shooting for your happiness not just for money.