Shifting Focus

Shifting the Focus

The photography industry is once again at a pivotal point. Developments and advances in AI are, on one hand, assisting photographers, and on the other, challenging the future of the industry.

But the photography world has faced major turning points many times before. As technology advances the industry must adapt, evolve, and innovate to stay relevant.

Let’s go back to the beginning and look at some key moments of change, the innovators who led the way, and how these shifts affected the rise and fall of major players in photography.

The Start
I won’t go into the full birth of photography or detail every incremental step- from camera obscura, the work of Niépce, daguerreotypes, calotypes, and the wet collodion process. What’s important to note is that a major part of early photographic development was driven by Kodak. By inventing the first film camera, Kodak was able to bring photography out of the darkroom and into everyday life.

In the early 1900s, brands like Kodak, Fuji and Polaroid dominated the industry, constantly developing new and improved cameras and film formats to outdo each other.

Photography was still expensive, especially in terms of development, so professional photography remained a niche and home photography was a luxury reserved for special occasions.

The Rise of Digital

In 1975, Kodak engineer Steven Sasson developed the first digital camera, with a resolution of 0.01 megapixels that took 23 seconds to take a photograph. Digital photography quickly gained popularity as it eliminated the cost of film and time of development.

Not all brands survived the digital shift. The giant, Kodak, that used to control 70% of the film market, filed for bankruptcy in 2012. The company didn’t believe digital would replace film and failed to innovate accordingly.

Polaroid, which controlled about 66% of the instant camera market in the 1970s, filed for bankruptcy in the 2000s and shut down production in 2008. They also underestimated the popularity of digital cameras made by Canon and Nikon.

Smartphone Arrival

As digital cameras continues to improve, the arrival of the cellphone camera in the early 2000s dealt another blow the industry. The average consumer no longer needed the entry-level camera, they could take decent photos with their phone.

In the 2010s, global camera exports declined sharply. CIPA, a Japan-based industry group with members like Olympus, Canon and Nikon reported a 80% decline between 2010 and 2017. The steepest drop was in point-and-shoot cameras, as everyday users could now document their lives with a smartphone, eliminating the need for dedicated equipment.

AI Development

Since the beginning of the digital era, innovators have quickly taken advantage of new possibilities - editing and sharing images faster than ever and even manipulating them. With the rise of AI, these processes have become even more sophisticated. Companies like Adobe continue to push boundaries to stay relevant.

Now the industry is facing another shift: AI-generated images. While still in the early stages, what’s being created is impressive. For now, we can usually spot an AI image, but how long until we can’t? And what will that mean for the future of photography?

Looking Ahead

Throughout its history, photography has continuously reshaped to new technology – sometimes reluctantly, sometimes boldly. Each shift has challenged creatives and companies to reimaging their role in a fast-changing world. Today, with AI at the frontier, the industry is once again being asked to innovate or risk being left behind.

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