Photographers tend to be moody temperamental people, especially when it comes to their art. From the outside looking in, some people would classify them as crybabies who constantly wine. But as Erykah Badu once said, artists are usually “sensitive about their shit.” And rightfully so. Art is one of the purest forms of vulnerability and people are not always built to handle the disappointment that comes with being an artist.
But it seems that photographers today are not prepared to face the disappointing reality of the market shift that is occurring in photography. With a rapidly growing technology field, photography has become accessible to everyone. People are now able to take professional grade photos with a simple click of a button and applying a filter. Outside of large events such as weddings or formal parties, many people do not have a need for a professional photographer. And with videography becoming the primary means of documenting and sharing these events, professional photography is quickly becoming a niche art form. Add in the addition of AI to the art scene, and robots are quickly learning to produce professional grade images for marketing and ad campaigns and will take over a big portion of the product photography market if not completely phase it out.
But technology has always evolved. Painters and sculptors shouted from the rooftops, when the camera was invented, that art was dying. Just as photographers today continue to bemoan the changes in their field. However, does all this signal the death knell for photographers? I don’t believe so, at least not for those who are adaptable. Photographers who shoot as a source of income must be willing to adapt and use the trade tools that are available to them. Video is here to stay because it is assessable to everyone, and it is the media of choice dictated by the market (the consumer). People want high quality postable content in the form of videos. The rigid photographer who is unwilling to transform from photographer to “visual media artist” will be left behind and will see their source of income severely hampered.
Yet there remains a small group of photographers who will not be hampered by the change in technology. The photographers who capture the world around them, as a means to create timeless art, are unbothered by the winds of change. They look past the likes on social media and don’t get involved in the chase for the bag. Their true following is very small in numbers, and they are perfectly content with not having their work ever seen by the masses.
It is through these photographers that the art form will truly live on. Their work will find its way into some obscure corner of the world where a young person will see it and be inspired to pick up a camera. From that, a new generation of photographers, with better gear and equipment, will wade deep into jungles to capture an elusive animal or brave battlefields in foreign lands to capture the heartbreak caused by death and destruction. They will blend into crowds of protestors to capture decent in the political process. They will climb mountains and brave the elements just to capture natures beauty.
The market shift is real in the world of photography and the moody photographer who simply complains about the times instead of adapting to them, will be left behind. In their place will rise up true photographers who create for themselves and create simply for the sake of creating.
