How the Coronavirus Will Change the Photography Industry FOREVER
We’re a couple of months into the massive timeout as a result of the Coronavirus. As a photographer and a business owner, this change has been incredibly frustrating financially, emotionally, spiritually, and practically.
After the Coronavirus epidemic, the life of a working photographer will change permanently, and not all for the better. Here are 5 ways that it’ll change.
In-Person-Sales Will Go Digital
If there's anything the crisis has taught us, it's those small businesses that have historically relied on foot traffic for their primary source of income will need to adapt.
For example, restaurants have adapted to the crisis by delivering, even if historically, that has not been an option they offered. Expect that your clients for now and in the foreseeable future will request Skype and Zoom meetings as a solution. If you're a photographer who relies on your in-person sales to sell prints, be prepared to be ready online.
The Way Corporate / Commercial Clients Will Find and Create Images & Video
They say it takes 21 days to change a habit, and it’s been around four months since large companies have had to rely more on stock photography and video, 3D mockups, and their archives to continue to market their businesses.
With a shift in their digital readiness, it shouldn’t be a surprise that their marketing and advertising divisions will continue to use those resources to fulfill their content needs once the pandemic is over.
Education and Conferences will Go Virtual
It should not be a surprise that the photography industry is losing more and more attendees at most conferences every year with a few growing anomalies.
This year, dozens of conferences have been canceled, postponed, or have gone digital to adapt to the Coronavirus pandemic. This could lead to more conventions being reimagined as strictly virtual events. Think live-streamed presentations, interactive sessions, and locally hosted events that showcase photographer's expertise within selected areas of photography.
Cutting Back on Destination Photography
The pandemic has shown us the importance of resourcefulness. Both large companies and private individuals have resorted to using videoconferencing for everything from large meetings to birthday parties. Hiring outside people and/or consultants is no longer top of mind and will likely be a thing of the past.
Why hire someone from another country or state when you can hire someone who is just as talented locally?
Adapt or Die
If we’ve seen anything in the mainstream media industry, it’s that media is focused on adapting to the current times by leaning down production value. It should be no surprise, but if you’ve been watching The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the Late Night with Seth Meyers, or any of the other myriad of talk shows, you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about. They’re all producing and streaming their content from their own homes.
I’ll reference a great article on Vanity Fair regarding the media business for context:
“I’m so sick of the way magazines have always done things,” said one, “and if we make a virtue out of this situation, I think we can actually build something new and possibly better.” The disruption is especially pronounced for celebrity-driven, long-lead monthly magazines with high production value—like Vanity Fair—where the usual way of doing things has been upended by social distancing. With widespread restrictions on travel and human interaction, how do publications like these make it work when they can’t do photo shoots, or intimate profiles, or really any stories that would require being around people IRL?
I don’t see that going away anytime soon, at least not anywhere within the next 12–18 months at a minimum.
The world of digital media, as we know it is changing. This new world has posed many obstacles, but also many opportunities for those who can find solutions for the points I’ve outlined above.
