In part one of this story, I explained the good news — that the photo business isn’t dying — and then proceeded to list all the reasons why it seems like it’s dying. But the devil’s in the details, and if you look closely you’ll discern that I was explaining how the old way was dying and hinting that it’s been replaced by something new. That new system still needs our work. But many of us have yet to figure it out. I certainly hadn’t put it all together until very recently, when I had an epiphany.
The devolution of the photo business was rapid. Between 2019 and 2023, magazine readership fell by more than 50%. Fewer readers, fewer advertisers, lower ad rates, lower editorial rates, less work for less money to the photographers who powered both the advertising and the editorial that the publications required. If you learned how to sell photography as recently as 2018, you’re likely looking around and wondering what the hell happened because it’s all so unbelievably different now.
Why is our beloved industry not dying? Because of content. A lousy word that to my ear sounds like quantity over quality. If you don’t see opportunity in quantity, in literal demand for the thing we provide at scale, then I don’t know what to tell you.
My epiphany was this: