burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

The high end of the market for advertising photographers, wedding photographers, photojournalists, and videographers is still there, although smaller than it was 20 years ago.

It's the middle market — event photographers, school portrait photographers, big-box store/department store photographers, church directory photographers, etc. — that has suffered a LOT. Their suffering has killed off most of the middle market for cameras and supplies, and closed thousands of local camera stores.

But it's not just cell phones and point-and-shoot cameras that have drastically reduced the demand for the middle market services:

Around 1990, good desktop flatbed scanners made us think about the value of an image vs the value of the paper we were selling.

In 1993, the World Wide Web was born. AOL, Compuserve, and other services started sharing sites, chat rooms, etc., signaling the beginning of the end.

Through the rest of the 1990s, social media sites developed rapidly.

Also through the 1990s, digital cameras developed rapidly.

Around the turn of the century, digital cameras started getting really decent. Both dSLRs and point-and-shoot digital cameras sold rapidly, and film camera sales dropped off rapidly. Early iMacs became "digital hubs" for family media production. Windows PCs soon followed that trend.

Cell phone cameras really weren't a big deal until the iPhone introduction in 2007. But by 2009, they were starting to become all the rage.

About that time, parents and teens had discovered My Space, Facebook, Twitface, Mybook, Snapfish, Snapshut, Shutterfly, Shuttertwit, YouTube, MyBoob, and other social media sharing sites. (Okay, I took a few sarcastic/comedic liberties there.) The new family photo album rapidly became a set of online galleries.

Throughout the 2000-2010 decade, the demand for photographic prints fell like a ROCK. The 4x6 print was all the rage in the 1980s. By 2010, it was all but gone! Kodak saw such a rapid decline in their volume, they declared bankruptcy. They closed and razed most of their coating alleys in Rochester and the surrounding area. Polaroid was long gone.

In fact, by 2015, the entire photo industry was in serious decline. The once vibrant Photo Marketing Association International, which had conventions in Las Vegas, Anaheim, New Orleans, and other big convention cities, died off. It's attendees wanted one Winter show — the CES show in Las Vegas. We used to have well over 40,000 attendees at PMAI conventions and trade shows. As local camera stores closed all over the world, there was little need for PMAI, its trade show exhibitors, and its educational seminars.

What we saw was the confluent convergence of all imaging and communication technologies into the smartphone. We now carry instant access to the free world in our pockets, including all the stuff we used to put in photo albums and scrap books, or in shoeboxes in the closet! The same device can be a couple of million different tools... Just download the right apps, and away you go.

My former industry is a mere shadow of itself. School portraits are in declining demand, as was evident by rapid consolidation in that industry from 1998 to 2018. Why spend $20 on a pre-paid package of prints you won't use, and take your chances on the pose and expression, when you can take all the photos you want with your own camera or phone, until you get what you want and share it online?

What we have seen is nothing less than the democratization of photography. No longer is there a "significant barrier to entry" into the realm of quality imaging. No longer do we rely on labs or wait for our film to be developed and printed. Our images can be used in seconds. Anyone can see them if they have permission.

This paradigm shift is radical. We'll be sorting the consequences of it for decades.

wdross Loc: Castle Rock, Colorado

Your statement of, "There will always be a market for quality" is totally accurate. Whether it is the desire for a better in-phone camera, stand alone camera, or someone that can actually use those cameras, there will always be a market for better quality. One only needs to match the quality needed to the quality available. Those that do not need a lot of quality will not need to spend the money for the top quality. But I can promise you, most of us photographers that cannot carry a stand alone camera with us all the time do tend to carry the best smartphone camera we can afford. We do not want to be without the best camera on hand. Yes, the critic you mentioned is somewhat true. The smartphone cameras meets many of the low quality needs as well as the top quality needs. When a National Geographic photo editor puts her Canon away to shoot people at the museum relatively unnoticed, that pro's smartphone camera had to be of sufficient quality for her use even compared to the Canon.

JSimpson

You are absolutely correct in your assessment.

The worry I have is that as the democratization of photography continues there will be a rising tide of mediocrity floated by technology that does everything for the "photographer."

repleo Loc: Boston

I think the question should be - will we see more and more 'photographers' using 'point and shoot' cell phones. The answer is we already are seeing it. Modern cell phones are capable of providing outstanding results in the right hands. They may not be suitable for every scenario, but are more than adequate for most 'life events' and have that key advantage of being the camera 'you always have with you.' As you point out - skill is the biggest differentiator.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

I worry far less about quality and talent's effects on it than I do about nefarious content driven by evil motives.

NickGee Loc: Pacific Northwest

I see this a bit differently. The proliferation of phone cameras has not had nearly the impact on what it means to be a serious photographer (professional or otherwise) than did the development of digital photography generally. Like many of you, I cut my teeth in the days of film and chemistry, when working in a darkroom was the port of entry, so to speak, to serious photography. Once digital got good enough, and once the computer replaced the darkroom, then the floodgates opened and anyone with the $$$ for the gear became a "photographer." I'm not saying that's a bad thing. With time, things change. What hasn't changed (and won't) are the standards of quality that separate a snapshot from a gem.

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

The cell phone is much more ubiquitous than the Instamatic.

traderjohn Loc: New York City

[quote=DJCard]I believe there will always be a market and appreciation for highly-skilled photography. I thought it was the end of high-fidelity music with the advent of mp3 streaming, but now there are several high-resolution music streaming sites/apps for high-end equipment. I’m no longer as annoyed when someone says, “Your phone takes really good photos,” having no appreciation for the fact that some amount of skill is needed even for a phone camera. "Although more people are taking photos with point-and-shoot cameras and phones, I believe there are an increasing number of people now recognizing the differences between the photos they take and the stunning photos taken by skilled photographers."
I don't think so. Look at that audience. Selfies rule and those pictures that are taken are shared with an audience that takes a look and moves on. Two years ago our daughter was married. There were 150 people. Our age group mid 70's to the late seventies. The people that had an envelope, not a box. The other age group. the early thirties to mid-thirties. The only DSLRs were the photographer and her 2 assistants. The rest had Cell Phones.

Zooman 1

Photographers replaced "artist" for newspaper and magazines illustrators, 35mm replaced large cameras like speed graphic, digital replaced film, phone cameras replaced the family camera, drones may well replace aerial photographers, what might be next? Who knows.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Only because people have their phone with them all the time.
The camera simply piggy-backs the ride and is 'there' (available).

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

When you are competing for attention and eyeballs, do you think the camera model is the most important attribute of your image?

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Some do.......

DJCard Loc: Northern Kentucky

[quote=traderjohn]

Good point … but, in my mind people who are selfie driven are a unique group apart from “photographer.” I don’t mean to insult anyone.

mostsports Loc: Mid Atlantic

There will always be a need for the professional photographer. The cellphone has given many a singular and private keepsake. That actually increases the market for people wanting a special, professionally made image for certain occasions. A colleague of mine, a White House Photographer, now carries a cell phone expressly to capture the unexpected. We have shot a number of events where a professional record is important. there is an increased respect for the professional among cellphone users. The special events are fewer due to the virus threat, but they will return. No cell-phoner can handle that need. Sports? Same solid future. Bottom line - as more people use and appreciate the grab-shut, there is an increased likelihood that they will face a lens between them and a professional.

mostsports Loc: Mid Atlantic

There will always be a need for the professional photographer. The cellphone has given many a singular and private keepsake. That actually increases the market for people wanting a special, professionally made image for certain occasions. A colleague of mine, a White House Photographer, now carries a cell phone expressly to capture the unexpected. We have shot a number of events where a professional record is important. there is an increased respect for the professional among cellphone users. The special events are fewer due to the virus threat, but they will return. No cell-phoner can handle that need. Sports? Same solid future. Bottom line - as more people use and appreciate the grab-shut, there is an increased likelihood that they will face a lens between them and a professional.