Due to the massive explosion in the use of social media, in the last couple of years, there has been a steady stream of professional photographers using the platform to showcase their work. Consumers nowadays are using social media more than ever before and smartphones can even rival the entry-level DSLR cameras with their photographic capabilities. With the inception of 5G wireless connectivity, sharing photos or even 4K videos on social media isn’t an issue anymore.
However, not everything is rosy when it comes to the impact of social media. That’s why in the comprehensive blog post, we are going to discuss the consequences of social media – the good side as well as the bad side – so that you can have a deeper understanding of this topic.
The Good Side Of Social Media For The Photography Industry
According to a professional lifestyle photographer, social media acts as a passive tool to help photographers reach thousands or even millions of users at any time. Photographers not only get the chance to showcase their beautiful work but also earn money via various revenue streams, be it sponsorships, running influencer programs, meeting clients/customers and so on.
These days, photographers largely rely on social media for their promotion and advertising, while also influencing their core follower-base. Thanks to social media, photographers can now let their impactful photos reach a wide variety of audiences instead of limiting the same to an exclusive group. There’s much less need for gallery admissions or exhibits, which can easily streamline the process for any professional photographer.
Furthermore, it should be known that social media can draw even a larger crowd than traditional exhibitions or galleries. This is because social media gives opportunity to those who can’t inspect the work of a professional photographer in person, and thereby inspects the same online instead.
The Not So Good Side Of Social Media For The Photography Industry
While sometimes social media can be a boon for photographers, it can also turn out to be the bane as well. The first and foremost aspect of professional photography that is getting eroded by social media is its storytelling mechanism. Since most photos on social media are getting captioned, beautiful photographs lose their value. A photograph can be interpreted in various ways by the viewer, but the inclusion of captions ruins the same because the viewer will not spend much time observing the photo and see the reason behind clicking on that photograph. Such a problem not only occurs in the field of interior photography but also every other major photography sector.
And there’s the added burden of fact-checking and proving ownership of photos because plagiarism runs rampant in the world of social media.
Social media is here to stay, but its impact may not be satisfying for all of us.
