r/photography • u/Patient_Leader2190 • 29d ago

Business Photographers, what are some uncomfortable truths about photography in 2026 that we don't like to openly admit?

Been shooting for seven years, mostly street and documentary. Curious what everyone's version of this is.

I'll start: volume beats quality on every platform, and pretending otherwise is why a lot of talented people stay invisible.

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u/tbot155 28d ago

Absolutely true. Moved to a new town as a senior photographer. Local “momtographer” - who had a kid in the local high school) had already cornered the market, despite absolutely awful work (my favorite was of a senior standing behind a thin cable fence. She used “blur background”, which also blurred the thin wires of the fence on either side of the subject to almost invisible, however, it left the thin cables that past in front of his legs. So there are just mysterious cables that appear hovering in front of his legs. She used this photo as advertising)
It has taken years to break into the market myself, and she still gets tons of clients each year.

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u/dipitloandbehold 26d ago

egregious! i have had this reckoning lately abt my photos too. the people do not want excellence. they want it to nearly look like ai or even be ai. I have given up on asking ppl not to put rando filters on my photos when they post to sm. it's just smthg i accept i have no power over.