Our annual survey highlights some of the more significant and enduring trends observed by professional and emerging photographers during 2014.
The market
- It’s becoming easier to build a successful career based on Internet success rather than quality of work.
- Many agencies are failing to manage client expectations leading to a constant increase in expected shots required on the day.
- Fewer commissions as companies buy cameras and shoot photography in-house.
- Greater expectation that photographers can also deliver video.
- A general move away from having a full-time studio space.
- A continuing rise in self-publishing on both online and print platforms.
- Increase in reliance on online education over photography schools.
- Saturated online content continues to reflect a decrease in the overall quality of photography.
- Video is expected at no extra charge as an additional service during editorial shoots.
- Lower standard of editorial photography being published due to closure of news photography departments.
- Rapid growth in the birth photography segment.
Style
- Greater demand for aerial photography with the rise of drones.
- Increased popularity of non-traditional print media including metal and glass.
- Resurgence of traditional photographic darkroom printing for personal work.
- More photographers returning to film or relying heavily on “film look” plug-ins.
- Advertising campaigns opting for a more natural look as opposed to a retouched plastic “Barbie” look.
- A rise in panoramic stitching.
- Selfies.
- The use of VSCO presets in wedding photography is becoming the new norm.
- Considerable use of HDR.
Social media and technology
- A strong social media presence is mandatory.
- Increasing adoption of mirrorless cameras by pros for commissioned and personal work.
- Greater reliance on cloud-based backup and storage solutions.
- More professionals using Instagram to showcase portfolio.
- A rise in the number of mobile phone photography competitions.
- Video is becoming the currency for impact on social media.
- Continued popularity of Wi-Fi enabled cameras.
- Everyone promotes themselves as “award winning”.
- A move away from Facebook as a marketing tool.
Questionable business practices
- Budgets continue to be slashed.
- Increasing blatant plagiarism and copying of images, especially on social media.
- Increased pressure for photographers to give away all the rights to their images for free.
- Amateur photographers marketing their services online with other wedding photographers’ work, claiming it as their own.
- Amateur photographers undercutting professional photographers by offering their services for next to nothing.
- Clients through advertising agencies that agree to a quote and then ask for many more shots on the day.
- Contracts for editorial shoots that insist on the transfer of the entire copyright to the publication.
- Copyright violations are rampant at entry and professional level.
- Companies still expecting photographers to work for free in exchange for “exposure”.
- Ad agencies relying on inexperienced photographers to cut costs.
- Large companies trying to source free content via image submissions to competitions and expecting photographers to give up their image rights as part of the terms and conditions.
- Photographers who think they can make an extra bit of money by calling themselves videographers, but don’t actually know how to shoot video properly.
- Too many photographers teaching workshops to make easy money without providing any good content or education.