The Future Of Photography
I frequently get asked about where I think the world of photography is going. I also spend time thinking about it myself especially as my livelihood depends on this medium. Photography has been through many significant shifts and changes over the decades. Going digital made photography accessible to more people, social media had a profound impact (for better and worse) and smartphones turned everyone into photographers. Now we have AI about to rip up what we know and set a new direction for how this craft is perceived, valued and utilised in the future. In this blog I want to share my current thoughts on where everything is going and how this landscape will look in 10 years or so. Please keep in mind that at best this is an educated guess. Things change very quickly.
Photography as a medium
First of all I want say that photography as a medium will not disappear. You will always need images. Print media is not going away. You will still have scenarios where a photo is simply more appropriate than a video. You will still have events that need to be documented. You will still have photo albums. You will still have people who will take photos of their lives and loved ones. I think that at least in our lifetime, photography will be relevant and present.
Social media
I think the biggest threat to photography within the social media space is going to be AI. Specifically people using generative AI and faking it as real photography. We have already seen this in action and popular IG share pages have shared AI generated images passing it off as a real photo. The issue this creates is a lack of trust between the viewer and the creator / curator. Now when I see an incredible image, that one in a million type photo that stops you in your tracks, I automatically think is this real or not? Unfortunately I don’t see how this situation will improve without the artist showing proof that it’s a photograph, without significant rapport and trust between me and the artist or perhaps without some kind of AI generated checks to verify real vs fake photos. Either way I see this polluting the social media space until someone figures out how to filter the real from the fake… which will take some time I feel.
On a brighter note, I still think that social media will play a huge role in helping people launch their careers and get their work out there. I see and hear so much negativity about social media that I personally don’t buy into. Without social media, I wouldn’t be sitting here writing this and you wouldn’t be reading it.
AI
I have already talked about AI within the scope of social media so here I will discuss it in terms of photography itself. I see the next big changes being around repetitive admin tasks such as sorting images, culling etc. I can see AI analysing a burst of 5 images and picking the one with the best focus or selecting the one with the subject in the middle… all on import. I see AI learning from your photo library which preset you used on which type of photo before automatically applying that style to a similar photo on import. I see AI making strides in fixing slightly out of focus photos, removing camera shake and opening peoples eyes in a group photo. In terms of impact to photographers, AI will do two things. First of all it will kill off average photographers and secondly it will kill off some genres entirely. More on this in the next section.
Photography as a career
I think being a freelance photographer in the future will be a little different. I personally see AI having a huge impact as well as the overall standard rising. Let’s start with the AI aspect. I see certain genres of photography becoming obsolete such as product photography. I can see you being able to load the 3D CAD render into a generative AI model and typing prompts such as “rugged hard drive on a rock in Iceland with some dirt and water on it”. Or even in automotive photography… “car driving on a mountain road in the Alps with slight motion blur and headlights on” then plopping in the CAD model and hitting go. Certainly if I was a business on a tight budget, I would take this approach over the current one of sending free products to creators, paying them, getting the photo, not being quite happy as it wasn’t what you expected, asking for another shoot, changing photographers etc etc.
However on the other hand, there will be a market for premium high end photography done by a real person. Perhaps you’re a premium automaker or sell high end products. This is where you pay a premium price for a real photographer to help you. What this means however is that only the photographers at the very top of their game will survive. Everyone who is simply average will not.
Finally I see a bright future for any photographer who captures live events. Be it a concert, wedding, birthday party and everything in between. You simply need a real person with a camera and a skillset to be present and document. No other way around it. I also see a bright future for anyone who creates content and experiences around photography tailored to hobbyists.
Photography as an art form
Photography as an art form is not going anywhere. If anything it will become more popular and more mainstream. We are now living in a world where everyone is a photographer. A world where the latest iPhone has a better camera than what most of us had growing up. A world where you can learn photography using free tools online and a phone. I have also noticed an increase in people taking up photography as a hobby. I see more people walking round cities with cameras. I see more people taking their cameras on hikes and trips. Even if AI will ruin it all, there will still be a group of people who love a real camera in their hand and a group of people who will appreciate real photography. I really can’t see this changing in any significant way… at least in my lifetime.
Art vs the artist
Finally I feel there will be more of a relationship between the art and the artist. Traditionally the two were somewhat separated, however in today’s world I feel they will be almost the same thing. Many people will initially fall in love with the art but their opinion will either solidify or change depending on how they perceive the artist. Also with every other image being AI, by getting to know the artist, people will build trust with that person. This means that when they see their work, they wouldn’t question it or dismiss it as AI. This also means that the artist can tell story and build a more personal connection with the viewer. A connection where the viewer is just as invested in the artist as the art itself.