This is actually a pretty difficult blog to write. Partly because I’m not certain what the future is, but I can see things shifting already. However, to say that photography won’t change, that would be ignorant because after all of this is over, everything changes. Our lives change. The way we interact, the way we grocery shop, the way we attend church, even the way we work and how we buy things, everything changes. Some of it is for the better, some of it is going to be far different than what we were used to and there is going to be quite an adjustment period. Consider this, 9/11/2001, it’s a tragic day that many of us remember. There were 24/7 news channels, of course, however, they were not reporting the way the news reports today. Today, we know of something happening immediately, sometimes we know of news as it’s happening. Back in 2001, the news channels were scrambling to get people on location or close by. That day completely changed how and when we receive the news. It also changed the way we travel. Before then, going through security was almost a breeze, felt like the honor system compared to today. You walk in and someone asks if you are dangerous. Nope? Alright, move along. Not really, I know, but security today is a lot different but we hardly think about it because it’s normal for us. Imagine getting on an airplane in 2002, how different would that be compared to the year prior? For photography, things changed quickly too. Digital photography was hardly a thing back in 2001. It was just being introduced, but it was so expensive that very few people actually had a digital camera. With that kind of news, images were needed right away and that ushered in the digital age of photography. It was around that time that President Bush’s chief photographer transitioned the White House from film to digital. It just seems wild to me that this was nearly 20 years ago!
Fast forward to today, our world looks a lot different right now. Fortunately, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We will get out of this, however, we will not go back to what normal was for us. Keeping this blog photography specific, here is what I see. Right now, we are going on about one month or more of quarantine. Social media usage has increased by over 50%. From Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, and Snapchat, that’s over one month that people have had to themselves to create content and realize what they were capable of doing. This has been over one month of parents at home with their kids capturing this time on camera and loving the moments they have photographed. After the quarantine is lifted, the thought of spending money for someone to sit you and your family on a log and take your picture is going to seem a little odd when that’s pretty much what you did for the past month or two, am I right? Why pay someone to come to your home to take pictures of your kids playing, when you’ve spent over a month doing that yourselves? This is where the business of photography really changes. Many photographers are going to struggle with this change. Many may be forced to close up shop because of these changes.
This blog isn’t meant to be all negative sounding, so let’s move on to the positive. I do not believe this is the end of the professional photographer. The fact is, when it comes to family pictures, while a timer can work, it’s not ideal and anyone who has tried this, especially with toddlers, you know it’s nearly impossible to get a decent picture with a timed camera. There will always be a need for a photographer to get the whole family on camera. However, I believe that moving forward, after families have had 1-2 months of spending quality time with each other, the shift will be family pictures becoming more about moments and less about poses. Weddings will shift to be more about memories and experiences rather than tradition. What I’m listing off is nothing new. Lifestyle sessions with families have been happening for a while, but it’s been a pretty slow transition from traditional family pictures, and I believe that something like this quarantine will now fast track this transition. There are also plenty of destination and more experience-based weddings already happening, but tradition has still been the norm, again, I believe that this quarantine will push this transition to change more quickly than we expected.
I could be wrong on a lot of this, but one thing I am certain about is that things will change. To other photographers, be prepared to embrace changes with the business. From client experience to marketing, everything changes after this. If you expect to wait things out to get back to normal, you will be too late. Consider Blockbuster and Netflix. The recession of 2008 hit blockbuster pretty badly and just eight years prior, they had an opportunity to buy Netflix for $50 million, but their execs laughed Netflix out the door (literally). Eight years later, Blockbuster finds themselves scrambling to catch up with what Netflix was doing and to become a player in the mailing DVDs game. Unfortunately, they were too late. Similarly, we are in a situation where our world as photographers evolves and it’s important to be ready to make some changes, or if you are really on top of things, be making changes right now.
Ultimately, this whole situation can be a negative thing or it can be something positive by anticipating and looking forward to whatever changes may take place with photography. For me, specifically, I’m extremely excited. This is a time to be pushing forward, to be training yourself. Do not pack your camera away for a while, that’s the worst thing you can do. This is time to start trying something new. Learn something new. Experiment with your camera. This is also a time to be investing in some education. In my 10 years of photography, I have attended workshops, I’ve bought photography-related educational courses, and not that they haven’t been great, some of them have, but where the majority of my education happens is through reading books and investing in courses that are more business-related. For me, learning the camera happens when I use it. However, running a business? There is some learning on the go, but there is a lot of learning that can happen right now. Here are some great books to be reading during this time:
Rework by Jason Fried – Fantastic book about doing business differently
Start. by Jon Acuff – Pairs well with Rework
Thank You Economy by Gary Vaynerchuk – A book about all the customer
People Over Profit by Dale Partridge – A great book about putting people first. Shifting your mindset to them rather than your profit
Differentiate or Die by Jack Trout – The business world is always changing and to be in front of the crowd, you must differentiate
Purple Cow by Seth Godin – It’s an older book, but it’s a good one, similar to Differentiate or Die, it’s all about standing out by being unique