Something's wrong in the photography world, and everyone can feel it. Browse any photography forum, scroll through Facebook groups, or check Reddit threads, and you'll see the same conversations repeating: established photographers selling their gear, newcomers questioning whether it's worth starting, and veterans openly wondering if the industry they once loved still has room for them.
This isn't just the usual creative frustration that comes with any artistic pursuit. The photography industry is experiencing a perfect storm of technological disruption, economic pressure, and cultural shifts that's leaving many photographers feeling trapped between an industry that no longer values their skills and a creative passion that's increasingly difficult to monetize.
The AI Elephant in the Room
Artificial intelligence isn't just coming for photography—it's already here, and it's changing everything. Stock photography agencies are flooded with AI-generated images that cost pennies to produce. Clients who once hired photographers for commercial work are now asking, "Can't we just use Midjourney for this?"
The psychological impact is devastating. Photographers who spent years mastering lighting, composition, and technical skills are watching algorithms produce images in seconds that clients find "good enough." It's not that AI images are better—they're often obviously artificial—but they're fast, cheap, and improving rapidly.
Wedding photographers thought they were safe from AI disruption, but even that's changing. Clients are asking for AI enhancement of their photos, expecting impossible edits that blur the line between photography and digital art. The pressure to compete with AI-perfect imagery is pushing photographers toward techniques that feel less like photography and more like graphic design.
The existential question haunting many photographers is simple: If a computer can create images that clients accept, what value do human photographers bring? The answer exists, but it's harder to communicate than it used to be, and many photographers are struggling to articulate their worth in an AI-saturated market.
The Social Media Hamster Wheel
Instagram promised to democratize photography and connect creators with audiences. Instead, it created a content treadmill that's burning out photographers faster. The platform's algorithm demands constant posting, trending hashtags, and engagement strategies that have nothing to do with creating good photography.
Photographers find themselves shooting not for their artistic vision or client needs, but for Instagram's algorithm. The platform rewards certain types of content—bright, punchy images with high contrast work better than subtle, nuanced photography. The result is a homogenization of photographic style that's making everything look the same.
Worse yet, social media success doesn't necessarily translate to business success. Photographers with tens of thousands of followers struggle to book clients, while others with modest followings run successful studios. The disconnect between social media metrics and actual business value has created a generation of photographers who are famous online but struggling financially.
The constant content creation demands are leaving photographers with less time for the actual photography work that pays the bills. They're shooting for free to feed the algorithm, hoping it will eventually lead to paid work that increasingly doesn't materialize.
The Economics of Impossible Expectations
Photography pricing has been in a race to the bottom for years, but 2025 feels like the moment when the economics finally broke. Clients expect 2015 prices with 2025 deliverables, turnaround times, and production values. The math simply doesn't work.
A typical wedding photography package now includes engagement sessions, full wedding day coverage, same-day highlights, full galleries within 48 hours, and extensive editing that would have been considered high-end retouching a decade ago. Clients expect all of this for the same price their friends paid five years ago, despite inflation affecting every other service industry.
Corporate clients have similar expectations. They want commercial-quality images delivered within hours, with extensive usage rights, for budgets that haven't increased since social media became a primary marketing channel. Many are comparing photography quotes to stock photo prices, not understanding the difference between licensing existing images and creating custom content.
Photographers are working more hours for less profit than ever before. Many report feeling like they're running a charity rather than a business, providing professional services at prices that barely cover their costs, let alone provide a living wage.
When Everyone's an Expert
The democratization of photography education has created an unintended consequence: clients who think they understand photography well enough to direct it. YouTube tutorials and TikTok photography tips have given everyone just enough knowledge to be dangerous.
Clients now come to shoots with specific lighting requests based on tutorials they've watched, pose ideas from Pinterest, and editing expectations set by Instagram filters. They want to direct their own sessions while expecting photographers to execute their vision perfectly, essentially treating professionals like expensive equipment operators.
The "anyone can be a photographer" mentality has devalued professional expertise. Clients struggle to understand why they should pay professional rates when their cousin has a nice camera and "takes great photos." The technical barriers that once separated amateur from professional photography have largely disappeared, leaving only experience and artistic vision as differentiators—qualities that are much harder to quantify and sell.
Photography communities that once shared knowledge freely now feel competitive and oversaturated. Every technique, location, and style gets copied and diluted within weeks of going viral. Photographers who develop signature looks find them replicated by hundreds of others within months, making differentiation increasingly difficult.
The Creativity Crisis
Perhaps the most damaging aspect of the current photography landscape is how it's affecting creativity itself. The pressure to produce content that performs well on social media, meets client expectations, and competes with AI-generated imagery is pushing photographers toward safe, proven formulas rather than creative risk-taking.
Many photographers report feeling creatively trapped. They know what kinds of images will get engagement, book clients, and pay bills, but those images don't align with their artistic vision. The choice between creative fulfillment and financial survival is becoming starker every year.
Finding a Way Forward
The photography industry is undoubtedly changing, and many of the pressures photographers face in 2025 are real and significant. But recognizing these challenges is the first step toward adapting to them. The photographers who will thrive are those who can differentiate themselves through personal vision, exceptional service, and clear value propositions that go beyond what AI or amateur photographers can provide.
The answer isn't to compete with AI on AI's terms, or to play the social media game by its current rules. Instead, successful photographers are focusing on the uniquely human aspects of their craft: emotional intelligence, creative problem-solving, and the ability to capture moments and emotions that can't be generated by algorithms.
The industry has always been cyclical, with new technologies and market pressures regularly reshaping how photographers work and get paid. The current moment feels particularly challenging because multiple disruptions are happening simultaneously, but that also means opportunities exist for photographers willing to adapt and evolve.
The photographers who survive this transition will be those who remember why they picked up a camera in the first place and find ways to honor that vision while building sustainable businesses in a changed landscape.
Great article Alex. You hit the nail on the head. It's a tough time to be a photographer and frankly, I don't know why anyone would want to anymore. I am hoping that on the other side of this trend there will be a resurgence of human-centric, creative storytelling that connects with people in ways we will realize AI just cannot.
There is basically nothing more to add. Those who survive can already look forward to the retro wave of authentic photography in 15 years' time. Until then, keep sawing away at the branch you're still sitting on.
My thoughts exactly. Authentic photography will rise back, but we have no idea when and for how long. I think there will still be people that value actual photography more than AI art, but the cost difference will certainly draw some clients to AI options. What a dystopian time to live in.
Since the world has switched from analog to everything in 1's and 0's the "burnout" as you describe is an inevitability and will only proceed further. The good news is AI will never be more creative than the human mind as we can always think of different and new things a bank of processors and servers cannot. It might take an individual more effort and a bit longer to reach a conclusion, but AI will never outpace the creativity of the human mind. Another fallacy that I believe most will agree, the dependance of gear specifications defining how good a photographer can be is just plain wrong. We used to believe that great photographers had "the eye" to produce an amazing image. This characteristic still and always will hold true.
Are you sure? Isn't creativity just not much more than a x number of variations? And guess what is good in coming up with x number of variations (we never thought we wanted)? Or 1000 more the next second, whatever the user ehm selecter asks.
The REAL good news (imo) is that no-one can kill the essence of photography as an activity for yourself.
Does creativity stem from choices solely centered in the analytical mind, or is there an emotional or heartfelt component as well? Machines are good at the former, arguably not so good at the latter. At the present time machines do not have feelings, so how does that affect creativity?
I agree, the AI generated stuff is soulless. One of my biggest complaints. Just like today's hit music. But do clients care?
I call interior designers and commercial art buyers as prospects for my photography. Every once in awhile, I get a hold of someone on the phone about 35 years old who cares a lot about the human connection in art. They'll be quick to tell me how much they despise AI generated art. Probably because their job might be replaced too. However, their boss who's submitting competitive proposals may not care so much about how the art was created. I think there's more resistance to machine made art than one might suspect, given the hype around machines ruling the planet.
I completely agree that we’re entering a time of transition.
Every client wants things faster, cheaper, and in larger volume. Photography clients are no different. At the same time, technology has made things like retouching—which used to take weeks—almost fully automated. Wedding photography has become cheaper, and the expectations are higher. That’s progress.
It was already clear five years ago that AI would replace commercial, fashion, product, and even portrait photography. That’s also progress.
And the same can be said for each of your points. Photography has always been a relatively simple job, and over the past five years, it has become even simpler. So it no longer makes sense to focus on technical skills. What’s left is the creative side. Thinking.
How you think staying with a camera in front of your subject. But now the subject is no longer needed. It could be in your imagination. You just need a computer and the ability to work with AI—just like you no longer need to develop film or scan negatives to get an image on your screen.
Image-making hasn’t disappeared—it’s just the tool that has changed. It’s easier now and more accessible. That’s why photographers with cameras either move into more creative work or leave the field.
If you want to stay in the image-making industry, learn how to use Midjourney or other text-to-image or image-to-image editors. If you have a good sense of light, color, and composition, you can still be a valuable professional—even without a camera.
You may still have an opportunity for work as a creative professional, but I would argue whether the work has the value we've been accustomed to in the past. For the same reason that digital cameras impacted the price of stock photography, AI and other modern camera and editing features continue to make creative work easier, faster and better; and therefore logically force the price of creative work lower. I've witnessed it several times... Microsoft Publisher turned office managers into graphic designers, making it harder to charge higher prices as a freelance designer. If you could master Dreamweaver software, you'd have had plenty of good paying work, but SquareSpace templates virtually eliminated the need for high-priced HTML coding for small and medium size businesses. All of history has led to a progression of easier solutions to complex problems. Photography is no different and creativity might not be exclusive to the human mind. There's not much way around that, other than to convince someone that your work is far more valuable than the other person's. Which gets into theory that applies to something other than the art itself.
I know how to work with Dreamweaver and Squarespace, but the latter didn’t work for me because I wanted to create something that didn’t fit the template.
The problem is that photographers look too similar. And when everything looks the same, it’s easy for something new and more convenient to stand out.
Only what’s unique has real value.
I can't imagine much art or photography being very unique. A little different or unusual, perhaps, like your impressionist images, but not so unique that there aren't a thousand other photographers selling something similar. Dreamweaver drove me nuts. I eventually built my website on Wix since I could start from a blank page with intuitive layout tools.
I’m just trying to find my way, realizing that photography has changed — and will continue to change. I come from (or returned from) strategy and advertising, and I understand trends and how the value of photography migrates.
I wish it would migrate back into my hands. :-)
AI is finishing the job cell phones started a few years ago. People don't care how they get the photos as long as they are free and AI produces images photographers can't.
The trend is more: fast, superficial and go on. At one point authenticity will be revaluated (I hope).
We've received a starting photographer during a one year project and in the beginning he feared of having not enough work. But the quality he delivers cannot be matched with AI. In person interaction and being able to capture the character of the subject and the environment isn't something that can be achieved yet. The bigger AI models start to spit out junk, halicinating is a more 'accepted' term. We've seen it happen when it got used by a white big building in a country over the ocean with an orange colored man... We've seen it in reports generated by AI. AI will destroy AI. AI can be usefull when people stay in control. AI will get sooner than later off the rails when those checks fall away.
Ai will kill AI, it's made by man and the thrive to selfdestruction is included due to this.
I totally agree — we’ve hit a turning point.
Clients want things faster, cheaper, and at a bigger scale. Photo clients are no different. At the same time, tech has turned what used to be days or weeks of retouching into a nearly automatic process. Wedding photography got cheaper, and the expectations got higher. That’s just how progress works.
It was already obvious five years ago that AI would take over commercial, fashion, product, and even portrait photography. Another step forward.
Honestly, the same goes for every point you made. The non-artistic side of photography has always been a pretty straightforward job—and in the past five years, it’s gotten even more so. So it no longer makes sense to chase technical mastery. What’s left is the creative part. How you think. What you bring to the process. And now, even the physical subject isn’t required. You need a computer, some skill with AI, and you’re set. Just like we no longer need to develop film and scan negatives to get an image.
Image-making is still here—it’s just the tools that changed. They’re cheaper, faster, and open to more people. That’s why photographers either shift toward creative work—or move on.
If you want to stay in the image world, start learning Midjourney or something else. With a solid sense of light, color, and composition, you can still be a valuable creative—even without touching a camera.
You don't have to LEARN Midjourney because the whole essence of AI is to create tools that will lead you. More integration, more automated, all with chat control.
In near future you (/every company) just have a bunch of subcriptions for some specific apps and an AI chat will hop trough all of them to make whatever you want or not even knew you wanted.
At this moment I'm holding on to where photography is still needed; real events, specific people or products, light of a product to set the right mood for the ai surroundings, but more and more specific tools will be added. I can't even think how it works, but probably good relight tools will come soon that even can create all the effects like structure etc on the product. Even the non-seen side (2d to 3d) can be produced to some extent which is crazy.
Development go in an unbelievable speed. In the past I thought many times that there are certain limits but I gave up that thought half a year ago. Nothing surprises me anymore. It's likely that the marked will work around the AI limitations just because of the cost and ease and ofc there will be a small portion of photography when really needed. Right now it's way to expensive to creatie 3d images of every product (to feed the AI beast) but probably some phone app will solve that even with the most crappy light and shaky hand. I already saw perfect house scans done by phone's, used for the retail sector to swipe in some couch are curtains. The big developments follow up in only weeks right now and this AI thing is in its toddler years.
”You don't have to LEARN Midjourney because the whole essence of AI is to create tools that will lead you.”
That’s why you need to learn how to use it. Otherwise you’ll be leaded. It’s a tool, and it’s time to understand how it works for you, not against you.
I do (have to) work with it, combined with several other tools. It changes every week.
Yes agreed, you got to know your toolbox how to approach each project with all different options and apps because each project is a different puzzle (combining photography with ai or aiming for something close to an art director concept, especially control and continuity is a problem). But again: it changes every week and some things are practically not possible to learn because of shortcomings today. But ofc you aren't the only one dealing with that so things develop. I work with pretty smart programmers as well, but all of us are in the same boat; constant between hope (we can do something not everyone can), inspiration and pessimism because things developed again.
Not something I hoped for in my 50s (being on top of new software constantly instead of using my own skills) but it's the new reality.
Until the moment every reasonable sized company does It themselves. These are (new) jobs as well ofc but still a huge danger for employment. I stand by my point that AI's main feature/goal is making things easy without skills. That's the whole idea.
And there's so much more to come: everyone who's giving advise (styling, finance, health), doing some administrative work, analyzing things, the whole knowledge economy won't escape this.
Note, 2 milestones will soon be: AI being way too smart to keep up with and Ai creating AI (I think you can call that a good example of exponential growth).
You sound a lot like me from 20 years ago when I was 50 years old. I had already done quite well, having started a printing business 25 years prior to that. I had accomplished a secure and stable source of income. But the Internet changed all that, and so much of promotional printing like catalogs and brochures was decimated. Instead of planning for a predictable future, those of us in the printing business were scrambling for survival. Ironically that's how I got more into photography. At the turn of the century, I was experienced in Photoshop, scanning and using other photographer's slides and transparencies for print. And when print sales declined, I decided I could learn to use a camera and make money with it. And here we are another 20 years later asking whether photography skills as we've known in the past will be relevant for the future. I would be interested to see how it works out for you when you hit 70, but alas that would make me 90.... and I can't quite imagine that. Like you say about your work, we almost have to just take one day at a time.
90 is not impossible nowadays Ed. :)
Yes, you are right; don't worry about things you don't know to happen and one closing door...
I can image how troubled that time must have been, but in the end cool you got to photography that way!
Actually I'm not that worried. The last decade or so, starting to get wiser at 40 haha, I fully focussed on lowering my costs (paying of my house and insulation measures + solar panels to lower energy costs which is a thing in my country). So even with the most shitty job I can still survive and even travel to do what I love most; personal photography without thinking about a customer's wants.
I've done professional photography for 25 years now (first a studio aimed at commercial photography and now for a big advertising bureau; much location work as well) and I feel fortunate I had such a pleasurable and diverse job although it didn't pay too much. Besides that I do 1 day my some own clients which helped. Most of all I'm so glad I'm not in my 30's now! Happy to have done the real thing. And to be honest I've done and seen all, so actually a change is not the worst timing though it does break my photographer's heart (ethically I find this development so wrong). But I'll never leave the hobby and it can't take away the love for it.
We just crawled out of the black hole that was Covid, and now the government is causing unemployment to climb, consumer confidence to drop, budgets to be slashed, and the prices of our equipment to skyrocket. I'm not burned out, I'm simultaneously hopeful, hopeless and wall-punching mad.
Yeah.. For Americans these times must me twice as crazy. I've never seen a movie this over the top. How do people manage to get the biggest idiots in power time after time after time is mind boggling.
It’s not only photography. I asked Google the question: “Percentage of people who are happy with their job.” Google AI answered: 62.3% of US workers were happy in 2022. The least happy demographic was 18-29 year olds who reported 43% being happy. To me it’s staggering that 57% of young people are unhappy with their work. No wonder anxiety and depression are so common.
I’ve been working for nearly 50 years, self-employed in the business of commercial printing, graphic design and photography. I faced numerous impacts from technology during that time, but overcame most of them with a reasonable amount of thought and perseverance. It was a good and satisfying career. I’m not so optimistic any more. It keeps getting harder as technology keeps squeezing good paying job opportunities into smaller and smaller circles. No matter how you approach sales and marketing, it’s challenging. The cold calls and things that worked well for me 30 or 40 years ago don’t work near as well today. I get on the phone and try calling a dozen prospects, and might speak to two… the rest go to voice mail. Of the two I speak with, even though we might seemingly have a productive conversation, chances are that in a month they’ll have forgotten all about me. Or if they remember, they still have millions of other artists’ works from which to choose from. Even younger people who claimed success from social media marketing don’t seem so enthusiastic about it any more.
Facebook itself appears to be struggling for survival. I tried twice to open a Facebook account this week and was rejected both times (immediately before even posting) for violating community standards. I suspect it was the Universe telling me what I already knew… Facebook is not for me. It feels like we’re facing a future where software engineers developing applications like Midjourney make the good money… everyone else is fighting for leftover scraps. So yes, Alex, burned out is an understatement. At my age, it’s not as much of an issue of the income as it is having a purpose. I’m not very good at traditional “retirement” sort of things. I want to keep working but it’s a far greater challenge than ever before.
I removed my Facebook account last week after the news they'd use all personal content for training AI. I found this a good timing to stop with that crap, just to make a tiny statement.
The main reason ofc is that I think we shouldn't allow the big tech boys and that crazy "leader", this new autocracy, to have influence over people with their so called free speech (or actually meaning 0 control on fake news).
The most depressing thing is to find out that companies (customers or possible customers) never understood the depth and expertise of a photographer's job. Light for instance. After all these years people just don't understand the importance and variables of light. Hearing them say AI will probably replace all product photography in a few years and you don't have to hire an expensive person "who pushes a button" (while photographing some discussion event) really hurts and made me want to step forward. It's a like a dystopia movie I'm in the last year.
A certain percentage will come back when they find out it's not that easy, or at least lot of hassle.
just like after we all got digital camera's (when they learned the difference between making a good photo on a vacation of something you are drawn to vs making a photo of some insecure person who doesn't really want, in a short time with crappy light at a place you'd never have stopped but were send at instead of drawn to with colleagues watching etc.)
Back for what service exactly is the question, but the use of AI is already unavoidable in my field (big advertisement bureau). I'm fighting to squeeze in the proces some photography (model in my exact wanted position instead of trying to prompt that position before face swap, real products foreground instead 3d etc.) as much as a can. Not only photographers are in danger. Designers and developers as well. We are just in the front line. It's good we already know.
"companies (customers or possible customers) never understood the depth and expertise of a photographer's job"
LOL! True, but nothing new. In my field - event photography - there's a lot of turnover among event planners, and some of the new ones haven't a clue. They find out quick, though. I've had a couple of long-term clients experiment with someone cheaper and come back a year or three later.
Educating clients has ALWAYS been part of the job. Another important part is making the experience easy and pleasant for them and everyone around them. When attendees are having fun and loving the photos they're in, THAT's when a planner sees the value. AI can't do that.
Photographer or Snap-shooter?
With the introduction of the Kodak Brownie in 1900, almost every family had one, but though it produced photographs, it was a “Point & Shoot’ device, and the users did not refer to themselves as “Photographers”.
The title, Photographer was reserved for those who used far more sophisticated cameras, and developing gear, requiring a great deal of knowledge and skill, often professionally, but also by dedicated hobbyist’s, and remained so with the 35mm SLR, but automation, starting with Auto-Exposure, AF, IS, etc. began slowly bridging the gap between Photographers & Snap-Shooters, as even my current Canon R5 can be set to “Scene Intelligent Auto”, and used like a point & Shoot.
Even post-processing has become more successfully automated, and with IA will become even more so.
An auto-racing enthusiast friend attempted to impress me with a long list of automation built into current Formula 1 cars. Expecting me to be awed, he sought my response,--- which was, “Sounds like soon, they'll no longer need a human driver”!
The more Automation= The less knowledge/skill required= The less relevant the Practitioner.
I believe there’s an important point to add here: the fewer hard skills are required, the more crucial soft skills become. The easier it is to operate the camera as a tool, the more essential the author’s style, vision, and photographic concept become.
The more automation, the greater the need for creativity.
It always was. Creativity or even simply the amount of attention (in whatever form; time, focus, enthusiasm, blood, sweat and tears) were always the things that made the work. Not the camera.
Still in this real life to AI discussion it's not perse this clear and simple to say anymore.
Now you don't need blood, sweat and tears to achieve the same result. Is it bad?
My point was not the ease of the camera but the attention and effort in creating (with setbacks, learning, growing and developing). And yes it is bad. Of course it is.
Producing without real attention, without love, will make you some zombie who doesn't develop his creative skills and will result in art without soul. I think it also makes our world less interesting.
And yes, there is creativity in this new way of creating images. But in my experience that's more about solving problems of limitations and the use of the right apps with each new challenge than being visually creative.
I think dat the people who work with AI for images are more busy selecting than taking time to get in that special creative flow that leads in authentic own outcome.
And even the concept thinking will be largely outsourced to AI.
If you spend 10 hours hiking to capture a landscape photo, people understand that as real work — the labor cost is obvious. But if you spend 10 hours crafting a prompt that generates a landscape just as good, it’s often dismissed as "just AI work."
In my opinion, that’s a misunderstanding. It is work — just a different kind.
P.S. I’m writing this while actively exploring ways of creating work where AI simply can’t be used as a tool. But to find those ways, I first need to understand how AI works. That’s where my practical interest lies.
P.P.S. AI takes over the process, but the value remains in the finished work of art.
Yes, a fundamental different kind that is.
I'll make a different comparison: If you want to make some attractive commercial product photos it takes (after thinking about the plan and setup first and then) some time of exploring and playing with light and angles and through mistakes you come in a place where you got something. That creative flow does really exist imo and takes some time to get into.
That search is still there with whatever AI app, but fundamentally different. You start with some kind idea, though from experience (big advertisement bureau) i know often AI is used in the idea proces as well. Many prompts are written with chat AI's or images to prompt.
We think less and less and act more impatient. And i'm sure we loose skills. Would Leonardo DaVinci have developed to his potential in a AI world where everything can be asked for?
After the first prompt the "creating proces" is much more a "let's see what you come up with" selecting or "oh yes let's go further this path" instead the mindful proces i tried to describe before.
"P.S. I’m writing this while actively exploring ways of creating work where AI simply can’t be used as a tool."
Maybe ask Chatgpt :)
"P.P.S. AI takes over the process, but the value remains in the finished work of art."
If "spectacular" looking images or a great folow up of your favorite album by that already dead artist can be created in 2 seconds and another 10000 versions just as good in the next 10 seconds.. Don't you think that there will be some inflation?
And yes, then maybe authentic and imperfect becomes more valuable.
I think there's always more value in the proces btw, but that's my personal view.
Have you ever used AI to get any workable results?
In my opinion, you are idealizing it a lot :-) But... Working with AI requires skills in task setting rather than following instructions. This shifts the focus from process to outcome, and for many, it forces them to acknowledge that they were not visionaries — they were operators of a system. This is painful.
I do work with it a lot, almost daily and created some pretty complicated campaign images (a series) for instance. Well.. complicated at that moment I mean (2 months ago) but a lot easier already with the current versions. We work with several applications. And almost every week there are big changes. Last week the most chocking ones yet: https://bfl.ai/models/flux-kontext Check this.. It's a dozen AI problems solved in 1 app. Like relighting and character consistency.Things we struggled with last year. If this doesn't impress (or terrify) you I don't know what will. Look at those prompts btw. :) No, I'm not idealizing it at all. I looks like my photography job changed in a bad movie and I hate it partly, but it's the reality. Skills in task setting is old thinking. At least for al the new stuff. You realize how fast these things change and followup? The only ones I still use is my good old Photoshop skills for final edit (mistakes etc) or bringing things together. For as long as needed. And sometimes I start with own photography.
About the focus on proces / outcome is just about my love for photography instead a job. You can't change that mindset. Never saw myself as a visionary or thought about something close. For me that sounds like yet another status thing.
Well to be honest I think camera specs or upgrades were never much of a factor. Though I must admit that spot on AF on the eyes is a blessing.
My expertise as a photographer is way more in the ideas, seeing moments, thinking in shape contrast and colors, using and understanding light, and communication. People are always intimidated by camera settings for no reason and even more so by using light (even many photographers or some might say so-called photographers). The talk about cameras and numbers came always from guys watching me work and coming over to me after a while asking what type of camera it is (I have black tape over my Sony logo haha) and how many pixels. :)
"thinking in shape contrast and colors"
Composition and lighting aren't improved by smartphones, no matter how good they get. When I do portraits at events, my subjects often comment on the difference between what they see on their phones and on the back of my camera. And, I move around a lot, finding subjects, compositions and angles nobody else does. Training in how to SEE is a photographer's most valuable asset.
I could do my event work today with a 24-year-old original Canon 1D 4-megapixel DSLR and still get paid.
Amazing article, Alex, thank you!
" If a computer can create images that clients accept, what value do human photographers bring? " oh my, this is what I see online all the time and it's so saddening. I dread AI generated music and AI generated images, because there is nothing behind them. No emotions, no ideas, no personal vision, no person at all. And it's terrifying how realistic it all might look and sound, sometimes we can't even say for sure whether AI has been used or not. I'm relieved to see some people in photo restoration communities not wanting to feed their content to AI in order to get "better" colorizations and doing it themselves in Photoshop or Photoglory or Younameit software, but they are certainly not the majority.
"The photographers who survive this transition will be those who remember why they picked up a camera in the first place and find ways to honor that vision"
Well said.
Super Article Alex, the sentiment is spot on and you have jit on many key points. Social Media has more to play on this than many realise. Digital photos will always trend towards zero, and with the increase in the amount of phone use by photographers, the general public no longer sees the value as it was. The only way to earn anything is to add value, but getting into a position where you can add that value in an increasingly busy market is a larger challenge each day.