Professional photography was a niche area for people who could afford the equipment and understood the technical aspects of photo taking and image reproduction. These days the industry is crowded due to the influx of platforms that display live portfolios such as Instagram and Facebook. The affordances of these platforms have allowed the digital age to transform the industry of photography in regards to marketing and self-promotion, along with hindering the status of the knowledge once achieved from professional photographers.
Photography is a practice in which a expert on the camera equipment takes and processes images and to convey a feeling through the lens. There are many different areas in which one can specialise in taking photographs such as Fashion, Nature, food or families to name a few (Bailey, G. 2013). From the first Pinhole camera created in 1827 to the first digital camera to be manufactured in 1975 by Kodak, the imagery industry has accelerated in advancements thanks to the world wide web (Miller-Wilson, K. 2019). The social shaping of the role of a photographer is currently evolving and the acknowledgement of good photography skills is being recognised after the market of Camera phones.
Mike Berry from Smart Insights states how Photography is one of the 7 main industries that have been affected by new media and the emergence of networked publics (Berry. M, 2012). The digital world has allowed the photography industry to extend its media by innovating ways of marketing and distributing through across several platforms. The modes of transmission have transformed from how companies in the industry were previously publicised through basic websites, newspapers articles, or word of mouth, to be on demand and highly personalised.
“In these industries, agile companies have and are re-engineering their business processes and transforming their operations in order to survive and prosper in today’s digital-enabled world.”
Berry, M. 2012.
Social Media has facilitated change to the nature of the relationship between industry professionals and client/audiences as the ‘networked publics’ allow for showcasing collaboration and cross media distribution. Instagram is a platform which allows professionals to showcase a live portfolio online and interact with audiences to create almost a ‘fan-base’. This can however lead to presence bleed if the industry professional is showcasing their personal life through their online business. Some photographers actively practice ‘boundary work’ in which they use separate professional and personal profiles, making no connections to their professional pages, however some cross over to gain more of a following and a higher rate of interaction with the audience.
Audiences are able to connect to photographers through influencers. For example Kerri Mcauley, also known by her Instagram handle @kam_erra, has seen the benefits of collaboration and the transmission of cross media.
Through the collaboration of influencers such as Skye Wheatley and Lily Brown who have a fan base of just under 1 MILLION combined, she has seen the audience engagement increasing dramatically from an average of 200 ‘likes’ on her images to 2,000 ‘likes’.
The nature of the platform allows the audience to analyse the artifacts and archives of the professionals previous work. It also highlights the scalability and searchability through social media have helped many photographers get recognition in the public spheres.
Roger Cicala from Imaging Resource states that it is all about how you perceive the digital disruption. For the point-and-shoot professionals the photography market has been severely cut in that sector, however if you own Facebook and Instagram, and use them accordingly, the market is growing ‘phenomenally’. However his perception of the digital world may be biased as he refers to the newer generations as “picture-takers” and are not seen as real photographers in his eyes.
On the other hand, Scott Koelger from the Medium believes the current era has “brought us some of the most talented and prolific photographers” as the access to modern photographic tools has allowed more of the generation to grow an interest in the art, developing their skills and capabilities (Koelger. S, 2016).
“It will impact advertising, social media, presentations, and anything that includes digital images. But equally importantly it will give new opportunities to artists looking for ways to differentiate themselves.”
Koelger. S, 2016
Jenae Fedorczyk | n9623931| Social Media, Self & Society KCB206
References
Bailey, G. 2013. 30 Types of Photographers Exposed – Which One Are You? https://photodoto.com/types-of-photographers/
Berry, M. 2012. Dealing with Digital Disruption. https://www.smartinsights.com/digital-marketing-strategy/online-business-revenue-models/dealing-with-digital-disruption/
Cicala, R. 2014. Disruption, innovation, and the future of photography. https://www.imaging-resource.com/news/2014/02/19/disruption-innovation-future-of-photography-roger-cicala-reads-tea-leaves
Koegler, S. 2016. Digitization Disruption in the World of Photography. https://medium.com/@scottkoegler/digitization-disruption-in-the-world-of-photography-e74ab8f55114
Miller-Wilson, K. 2019. First Camera Invented. https://photography.lovetoknow.com/First_Camera_Invented
Phacing Photography 