*GUEST POST from Designrfix* How Social Media Has Changed the Photography Industry
Photography is something that many people are passionate about. Some of the biggest changes in the photograph industry occurred when social media became a big thing. Since the world of social media has grown and evolved, the photography industry has experienced a few major shifts. Most of the effects that social media had on the industry were good and had positive effects towards photographers and their works. In the end, social media has opened the world of photography up to a lot of people. In fact, that is going to be our first of a few points that we are going to discuss regarding the ways that social media has changed the photography industry.
Brought photography to light
The first and one of the most important things to say about social media and its effect on photography is that it brought it into many peoples lives. Before social media, you had to physically search the internet or library for certain photographs or genres in order to see certain work. Now, if a piece is good, social media will work its wonders and soon everyone will have seen it. Social media is such a good thing for photography in the sense that it has increased exposure to record amounts. For that reason, the lasting impact that social media had on photography was a good one. The good thing about social media is that users do not care who, what, when, or where to photograph was taken. All that they care about is whether or not it looks good. If it does, people will like it and it will become popular. Because it is easier to have your works seen by many people, it allowed more and more people to have a career in photography. The next point that we are going to cover is how social media has influenced camera quality.
Crystal Clear cameras
Social media is where everyone wants to post the photographs that they take. In order to get as many likes or retweets on social media, the picture should be the highest camera quality possible. For that reason, one can assume that the public began to demand better cameras in order to take better pictures. Just as their demands were heard, they were met. Producers have since come out with better cameras and today, social media is one of the biggest hubs of high definition photography. Even cell phone have cameras on them with quite some intense capabilities.
Everyone wants to be a photographer
While some people have always liked taking pictures for their pleasure, a new wave of people has taken interest in photography for the sole purpose of posting on social media. When we say that everyone wants to be a photographer, it does not imply that everyone wants to consider a career in photography.
It is simply referring to the fact that tons of people are putting time and effort into their pictures so that they look better on social media. As more and more people are putting more time into their pictures, those with a natural talent are coming to light more often. Granted this issue has some points of contention. The barriers for entry have been lowered. If everyone is a photographer and can “take great photos” this can threaten professional photographers livelihoods. Why hire a professional photographer, when your iPhone takes great pictures. Luckily as those who rise to the top, they luckily want to “graduate” towards working with an actual camera and not their phone.
New filters
In social media, the extra colors or tints that are placed on top of pictures in order to make them look better are called filters. Since social media has become a thing, filters have become more and more advanced. Many people use the custom filters offered on the social media platform to edit their pictures. As this began happening, other app developers started to design new apps specifically used to edit photographs. All of that to say, social media drove the advancements of filtering and editing photographs before sharing them with the world.
Photography-driven social media platforms
A lot of social media platforms are actually photograph based. This means that when you post out to the world, you do so in the form of a picture. To put this into perspective, here is an example. Facebook and Twitter are social media platforms which users more commonly post out paragraphs or words rather than photographs. Other platforms like Instagram, VSCO, and Snapchat are entirely photograph-based. This goes hand in hand with the paragraph talking about everyone wanting to become a photographer. As soon as people begin posting fashionable looking pictures, everyone wants to replicate it and take their own pictures.
Selfies!
This article would not be complete had we not talked about the fact that social media made selfies a thing. Before social media, no one really ever thought to take a picture of themselves. Why would they? What would you do with a picture of yourself? While today, we see the answer to be obvious (post it on social media...duh), it was not as easy to grasp back in the day. So you see, once social media came into light, people began taking pictures of themselves so that they could show everyone what they look like up close and personal.
Social media has had a significant impact on photography and photographers. Thankfully, it is safe to see that it has changed the industry in a good way rather than bad. All in all, photography is more advanced than ever before.
About Designrfix:In addition to being the editor at designrfix and writing about tech, web and graphic design among other subjects, Craig loves to “unplug” and be outdoors hiking and enjoying nature. If you can’t reach him, it’s probably because where he isdoesn’t have cell phone reception.
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