Photography Trends - What's In? What's Out?

Most of those still sell here so they will continue to be produced even if they are not so "In" according to the so called experts.

I don't worry too much about what is in or out. I know I tired a little of the HDR craze a few years ago for the same reason I have seen a lot of people mention -- that sometimes they are "overcooked," a term we use on a railroad forum I go to. We also refer to the really over done HDR shots as being taken in "Candyland." One thing i used to shoot a lot were what I call "streak" shots, that is night time shots of moving trains. I got tired of them, but will do them if I happen to have therigt scenario jump out at me, such as a moving train passing some railroad scene such as a depot or a stopped train. Out of my 360+ images here, none are HDRs or streak shots. With that said, sometimes HDRs look really good if they are well done. Not overcooked.

I think the key to dealing with all our modern editing options, and how quickly the industry standard tends to change, is to take elements of all trends past and present and produce the best possible image we can.

A great photo is still a great photo no matter if it's got selective color, HDR, motion blur etc. A selective color, HDR with motion blur just might be a hot seller in your portfolio. Tastefully edited and well composed images will always strike a chord with viewers.

The buyers are the experts of course, here or commercial realms. In the magazine world the art directors choose photographers typically for their proven styles. A few issues ago in Vanity Fair you couldn't turn the page without seeing an ad with a lens flare effect.

TV shows are another place to spot trends. I'm always looking at the walls of apartments, offices and houses on TV shows. Black and white photographs seem to be the artwork of choice on many of today's shows.

I guess it depends whether you want to produce work that is currently trending or try to be ahead of the trend and be a trend setter.

Two very different genres of art to consider....

Currently trending art.... I only create this type if it is commissioned and pre-sold because what is trending this season with be over by next... a lot of decorators buy this kind of art... because I think it's a great way to redecorate the client's house again when the trend is old and out dated.... please don't shoot me I did it for the money...LOL

Ahead of the trend or being a trend setter... is far more inspiring, and I don't mean trend setting for interior designers who want to use your boring colour trending art for making pillows, drapes, wall papers...etc. Being a trend setter is about creating art that does not currently sell commercial but you are speculating that is will influence the art market on a whole... this is what I live for.... but it's doesn't pay the bills.

my two cents....

Cheers, Barbara

I never pay very close attention to trends in anything that I do. Mainly because it's just too much effort and I'd rather just create things that I think are nice and/or service a particular market in a specific way. I think it depends on where you're looking venue-wise, but I feel like I always see a lot of macro nature photography and vintage filtered nature photography. It's all a little softer than I seem to be able to manage, but I create my own version of this kind of work, I guess. I just like bright colors vs. muted stuff for my own expression! Whenever I make muted stuff it gets completely ignored hahaha.

According to my Google intelligence, in terms of images, boudoir and landscape, fine art, still life, and nature photography, plus portraits of newborns are what people tend to hunt for on the web.

Nearly twice as many people are searching for black and white photography than they are for HDR photography.

Interesting topic! I agree with Andrew. I feel that of the "trends" you mentioned (HDR, Lens flare, retro look, textures) only the very best works done with those techniques will stay desirable in terms of the future market. Personally, I tired of trends very quickly. There is a certain filter, kind of pinkish, that a blogger/designer uses on all of her photos. At first, it was cool. But I had to unsubscribe, because I just couldn't look at it any longer.

I'm not sure how you can be an artist true to your own vision if you try to manipulate that vision to suit the latest fad.

Tony Sweet recently wrote a blog on the cyclical nature of photographic trends. Some of what was hot a few years ago is already enjoying a re-visit along with new processing techniques such as "swipes" or intentional camera blur.

In my opinion, the hottest trend especially with regard to nature photography has been with astrophotography. I can honestly say that 2 friends of mine associated together as members of the New England Photography Guild at different times (Mike Taylor Photography and Aaron Priest) are easily the very best astro photographers on our little blue marble in space.

Both Mike and Aaron barely have time to think with their full time workshops. John Vose is another big name in astro photography, he's a close personal friend of mine and he has a gallery set up here on FAA. John and I will be shooting nearly half a month in Glacier National Park which offers some exceptionally bright clear Milky Way skies so looking forward to trying a few of these myself. My home state of Connecticut simply sucks for this genre, light pollution and a real lack of exceptional foreground elements to make dynamic compositions with :(

Dare I mention porn...It's a 10 billion dollar business. It's bigger than the NFL, the NBA and Major League baseball combined.

Who sells it? Companies like General Motors, AOL Time Warner and Marriot earn revenue by sending xxx movies into Americans' homes and hotel rooms,

My number one best seller looks like it is selective color. (It is not but certainly appears to be.)

The rest of the results on my first page of results sorting by best selling are all HDR except 4 including the 1 and 3 spots. Some look HDR. Some don't. Of my last ten sales, 9 are HDR. I have no retro look or textured images in my portfolio as they are not my thing. Lens flare I have but simply by accident and then only if it works like the #9 best seller.

I had no idea astro photography was hot but that is specifically why I am getting a 6D.

there are no ins and outs, and it depends how it's done. its like saying - ribs and burgers are a type of trend.

though i'm hoping instagram is out.


---Mike Savad

I am not a trend follower, I am a trend setter... the problem is I have no followers! :-)

But seriously, I only do what I want to do. I don't really care what the trend is. But then again, I do not have sell to eat or pay my rent, wait a minute, I don't have no rent! lol

I think the more dependent you are on your art to live, maybe the more sensitive you have to be to what is trendy.

i'm still trying to figure out what the porn filter is or does... anyway, hdr, taken straight and pushed through the program like a french fry maker - is usually a fad. something new then they get bored. problem is when people think hdr, that's what they think, overly pushed images is what comes to mind. gray skies that were once blue, whites that are gray, blacks that are blue, and overall flat feelings.

i'd say 90% of my images are hdr, and pretty much all of them sell. you can't do some of the things i do without it. i don't know much about black and white, with trends. i only have some.



---Mike Savad

"though i'm hoping instagram is out."

Ya, I agree... instagram and disco... To quote Paul Revere of Paul Revere and the Raiders: "hate that shit!"

"how you can be an artist true to your own vision if you try to manipulate that vision to suit the latest fad"

Happens all the time in the music business. Look at the evolution of The Beatles or U2 over the years. Are you saying an artist has to stick with one look over their entire career?

If you are still painting images of sad clowns or big eyed children it might be time for style adjustment.

No, but many famous photographers (highly successful in terms of money) do stick to one main topic all their creative lives....
For example:
Ansel Adams...
Robert Capa...
HC Bresson...
Joel-Peter Witkin...
Dorethea Lange...
Diane Arbus...
Helmut Newton...
Richard Avedon...
Jan Saudek...
Elliot Porter...
Sally Mann...

So, generally speaking, yes the above highly successful photographers did stick with one main topic.

Just look at recent sales... seems like just about everything is IN. If sales counts for being either in or out.

Not to bring the subject up again, but Ansel Adams actually did a bit of street photography. Look it up... Mostly Native American candid scenes on Indian Reservations. He got paid to do it by the US Government.

@Robert - many on your list who had long careers show show changes in style and subjects over their career. Take Avedon for example who worked for magazines, in fashion, documentary....

Retrospective...Showing Avedon's work from his earliest, sun-splashed pictures in 1944 to portraits in 2000 that convey his fashion fatigue,

"Are you saying an artist has to stick with one look over their entire career?"

No, I'm not saying that at all Edward. Nothing even close to that. I also wasn't referring to the music business, which is rife with sheep.

"If you are still painting images of sad clowns or big eyed children it might be time for style adjustment."

Why? To cave in to what society tells you you should be doing? If sad clowns and big eyed children are your thing then stick with them. If you're paranoid that that won't sell then change your style and become a sell-out. There are no rules, just what you become.

Trying new or different techniques is not a "sell-out" necessarily. If you are trying your best to sell your work as a source of income, you are not a "sell-out", just someone trying to be a "sell-er". Ansel Adams did quite a bit of color photography for commercial use in order to make money. Much of it was for companies needing ad work.

I have been experimenting lately with HDR and am pleased with the results, although it will probably not be a main approach for me. This does not make me a "sell-out". We should encourage tolerance of all forms of expression, rather than condescension.