Photography is Dying?

According to one of the most followed photo/video YouTubers, photography is dying. His reasoning? It’s not so popular on social media anymore with platforms such as Instagram prioritizing video.

And that means photography is dying apparently. Because the social algorithms know that keeping you looking for longer means they can sell more ad revenue, and video is a better way to keep you looking for longer.

Which I think is actually a massive strength of photography. Because most of us know that our time is precious and will learn how protect it. We learn how to recognize click-bait and not to trust those channels to provide useful content. To seek out video when it’s most beneficial and suitable, and ignore it when it’s a YouTuber or Instagrammer just trying to get attention.

I love video too, but good photography that compliments text and shows the essence of a story, has the ability to save us a lot of time. That’s not to say we shouldn’t take time to dwell on a good photograph and enjoy the best photography, but then a photobooks, magazines or galleries are probably much better resources for that than social media.

And anyway, happy World Photography Day!