Is the business of photography dying?

No one can argue that the world of photography has changed immensely over the past 10-15 years. Many people have given the profession it's death sentence while many others continue to go on about how it's alive and well but the photographers just need to adapt to the times. It's no secret that competition is fierce.
Stock doesn't pay nearly what it used to, news stations are using poor quality, user submitted photos in place of a hired body, $200 wedding photographers are a dime a dozen, your best friend can shoot your high school senior photos, etc....
I know, this has been discussed before and in the end, no one really knows where the future will take us. But what are your ideas? Will high quality photography still be a viable job through the next decade? If your son or daughter wanted to pursue photography as a profession, would you support that choice or try to steer them in another direction?
In my own personal view, I'm really on the fence here. On one hand, I can see the whole profession crumbling as technology advances and allows virtually anyone to take over creative control long after an image has been captured. On the other hand, I would like to think that there will always be a demand for the artistic vision and high quality images that a proficient photographer can deliver.
I really have no doubt that the art of photography will exist through the ages.....but I do have doubt about whether the profession will exist along with it.

I'd say thats it's definately taken a nose dive (though of course there will be people making money from it from a long time to come) I don't think anyone could argue against that as a whole, that this has happened and is a fact.

From personal experience, I can tell you it is NOT dying.

What is dying is the old way of thinking about and doing things.
We've taken over a large chunk of our local market by using modern processes technology and custom designed systems.
Our competitor has not changed what they do since 1924 when they started.

But that happens in ANY industry, profession or business you have to constantly look for new and better ways do things and new opportunities for what you do or someone one else will come along and do it cheaper better and faster.

Businesses can't be killed...

They can only commit suicide.

Technology marches forward, information is becoming freer, and times change.

Many traditional photographers are faced with people like me in the market. Interested in photography, willing to spend time and money to collect gear and learn more about the craft. I have no real interest in charging for services with friends and family, because I take pleasure from what I've made a hobby, and not from earning money for it. It isn't my day job. At best I'll take some cash from sports teams and such to offset the cost of prints or something.

Professionals need to adapt to this and take a good long look at the markets they are trying to work in. This is no different than the blacksmiths of post-industrial revolution England when small smiths were largely replaced by larger machine aided shops, or craftsmen after the great evolution in the early twentieth century when skilled tradesmen were replaced by line workers. Adapt or die.

If you need to charge my friend $5000 to come out to shoot an event, then you are going to have to convince them that your services are worth that compared to the coffee, lunch, and direct cost of prints it is going to take to get me out there.


The way I see it, there are two places for professional photographers to go in the not too distant future: Getting another job and accepting that they worked in a market that was merely a hobby level field, or placing themselves head and shoulders above the lowly hobby photographers with vastly superior skill and ability, and/or working in domains that others can't.

The number of people actually getting paid to do photography is going to drop, hard.

Harsh, but that is reality. And I feel bad for any mid-level photographer who put all their eggs in one basket career wise.

However, one good thing about the lowly masses all embracing the ever decreasing cost of photography equipment: They're likely going to want someone to teach them how to use it.

Billboards and press release imaging aren't going away anytime soon. While many of them are CG, there is still a huge commercial photography industry.

Also, while SOME people don't see the value in a high-end wedding photographer, all it takes is 1 bride to have a horrible experience with a sub $1k wedding photographer and suddenly all of her bridesmaids are prepared to spend $3k to $5k for a 'good' wedding photographer when it's their turn.

I don't think so. Like all businesses, one has to evolve to the ever changing consumer demands. Photography business is like a giant revolving door thanks to digital cameras that promise "outstanding quality images". Many people go in but just as many spun out after a year or two. One can only survive on Facebook Likes for only so long unless they are monetized.

What does Photography Business mean to you? Some are happy with just making enough to fuel their gear lust. Others it would be a main source of income.

Luckless wrote in post #14258605
Technology marches forward, information is becoming freer, and times change.

Many traditional photographers are faced with people like me in the market. Interested in photography, willing to spend time and money to collect gear and learn more about the craft. I have no real interest in charging for services with friends and family, because I take pleasure from what I've made a hobby, and not from earning money for it. It isn't my day job. At best I'll take some cash from sports teams and such to offset the cost of prints or something.

Professionals need to adapt to this and take a good long look at the markets they are trying to work in. This is no different than the blacksmiths of post-industrial revolution England when small smiths were largely replaced by larger machine aided shops, or craftsmen after the great evolution in the early twentieth century when skilled tradesmen were replaced by line workers. Adapt or die.

If you need to charge my friend $5000 to come out to shoot an event, then you are going to have to convince them that your services are worth that compared to the coffee, lunch, and direct cost of prints it is going to take to get me out there.

The way I see it, there are two places for professional photographers to go in the not too distant future: Getting another job and accepting that they worked in a market that was merely a hobby level field, or placing themselves head and shoulders above the lowly hobby photographers with vastly superior skill and ability, and/or working in domains that others can't.

The number of people actually getting paid to do photography is going to drop, hard.

Harsh, but that is reality. And I feel bad for any mid-level photographer who put all their eggs in one basket career wise.

However, one good thing about the lowly masses all embracing the ever decreasing cost of photography equipment: They're likely going to want someone to teach them how to use it.

You aren't competing with pro photographers. Why? Because the people that would actually hire us are looking for more than just snapshots. If they are happy with snapshots paid for with coffee, then they wouldn't come hire me anyway and would never be a client.

The teaching comment is interesting as I have thought about offering workshops.

JacobPhoto wrote in post #14259949
Billboards and press release imaging aren't going away anytime soon. While many of them are CG, there is still a huge commercial photography industry.

Also, while SOME people don't see the value in a high-end wedding photographer, all it takes is 1 bride to have a horrible experience with a sub $1k wedding photographer and suddenly all of her bridesmaids are prepared to spend $3k to $5k for a 'good' wedding photographer when it's their turn.

Opposite is true also. One good experience with a $500 wedding photographer and all those $5K jobs could kiss goodbye.

Numenorean wrote in post #14260189
You aren't competing with pro photographers. Why? Because the people that would actually hire us are looking for more than just snapshots. If they are happy with snapshots paid for with coffee, then they wouldn't come hire me anyway and would never be a client.

The teaching comment is interesting as I have thought about offering workshops.

Boy are you wrong here. I've seen many amatuer photographers capable of delivering much better photos than most Pro's out there. You are going to be dead in the water if you think the weekend warrior cannot deliver quality photos. Many have more time to spend on their craft than someone running a business.

Hogloff wrote in post #14260429
Boy are you wrong here. I've seen many amatuer photographers capable of delivering much better photos than most Pro's out there. You are going to be dead in the water if you think the weekend warrior cannot deliver quality photos. Many have more time to spend on their craft than someone running a business.

This statement was based at looking at his Flickr photos.

An amateur will not be able to deliver better than a pro, otherwise they are either not an amateur or the pro is not a pro.

I'm not saying there are those who are not running a full time business who can offer good quality.

But there is more than just that to consider - insurance, consistency, network of other pros who could back me up if I get ill or something, backup equipment. There are reasons for the costs.

Interesting discussion.....what I find most interesting is the complete uncertainty of the future of the profession. Even in this thread we have people on complete opposite ends of the spectrum....one person says it's alive and booming while another is saying that it's a dead end road. In a sense, I can see both sides of the issue and therefore haven't really come to a personal conclusion. I would love to hear more ideas and opinions based on your personal experiences and thoughts.

I think the supply and demand for cheap photography are increasing together. The $500 wedding photog and the TFCD Model-Mayhem GWC only exist because there is demand for them. On the flip side, there is still demand for top-notch photography - perhaps even more so, in the ever-increasingly-globalized world. Websites, product packaging, e-commerce sites, print catalogs, billboards, POP advertising - these aren't going anywhere, and if anything they're continuing to increase demand for photography.

If not for the $500 Craigslist wedding photographer, some people just wouldn't have wedding photos. Or they'd put disposable cameras on the guest tables and hope for the best. When I got married, our whole wedding (including the dress and catering) came in under $5000. There's exactly a zero chance that we would have hired a $5000 wedding photog - so our cheap "friend with a camera" certainly didn't steal any business from a full-time top-notch wedding photographer. Yes, we got what we paid for - lousy, amateurish wedding photos. But our alternative was no photos at all.

Same thing with the $50 Facebook senior photos, or the GWC from Model Mayhem. They're not stealing Annie Liebovitz's customers, that's for sure.

Problem is some people pay $500 for the craigslist photographer and still have no wedding photos after the fact.

Numenorean wrote in post #14260451
An amateur will not be able to deliver better than a pro, otherwise they are either not an amateur or the pro is not a pro.

The differences between amateur and pro are not in skills but in whether or not income is made off of them.