The biggest photography trends of 2016

We’re approaching the end of the year and it’s at this point I like to take a look forward to some of the interesting things on the horizon for the world of portrait photography.

Undoubtedly, photography has changed immeasurably in the last few years. The ease of use, and increased accessibility to digital cameras has opened up this art form to many more people than ever before. Then again, the very way we view photos has changed – you need only look at the rise and continued rise of Instagram (more on that later). “Selfie” was only word of the year back in 2013, and put your hand up if you’ve brought yourself a selfie stick?

So yes, the world of photography is a changed one.

But what does the future have is store? I’ve been working as a portrait photographer for over five years now. Here are my thoughts on what might be some of the most interesting photography and portrait trends for 2016.

Weddings
When you start thinking about photography it’s really difficult not to think about weddings. For many this might be the only time in their life that they hire a professional photographer. Let’s also face it, lots of people who get married, get married in very different ways. This means that wedding photography can be really innovative, creative and iconic.

The first big thing in wedding photography for 2016 is going to be drone shots. Stay with me, as this may sound quite Sci-Fi, but the fact is that the cost of a drone is getting much much cheaper. It’s also a given that you’re going to have a big group shot at some point in the day. Would you prefer a standard “tallest at the back” picture? Or something cool with a drone. Thought so.

Sticking with weddings, another photography trend I’m expecting to grow in the UK in 2016 is the trash the dress shoot.

These have been popular in the United Stated for some time and it’s been slowly growing in popularity in the UK. There are two styles of trash the dress photography. On the one hand you have brides who want to show an adventurous or rebellious side of their personality, these shoots tend to be really glamourous in style. On the other hand are women celebrating their divorce with a trash the dress shoot, these send to be much more fun and light hearted.
Either way, the trash the dress photo shoot is here to stay and it’s going to get bigger.

Stock Photography
One of the most overlooked areas of photography right now is stock photography. It gets a bit of a bad reputation as bad stock photography is really obvious. However, with so much of our lives now conducted online and the online world becoming increasingly visual there is a clear and continuing need for stock photography.

One of the biggest changes over the last few years is how we actually view businesses. More and more people are starting businesses that are very different from the corporate images that have come to flood the online stock image sites. With this in mind there is now a much bigger market for lifestyle images, images that really represent what it is to be a business in 2016.

Another area where I’m expecting there to be a growth in stock images is images that just consist of a neutral background. You’ve probably seen these over the last few months and years as popular posts on social media. Neutral background and scenery is great for overlaying quotes onto, as more and more businesses start creating these images themselves then there will most likely be a growth in the need for this photography.

Technology
Whilst on the subject of social media it would be wise to look at the impact that technology will continue to have on photography over 2016.

Instagram has grown and grown in recent years as a social network. Instagram now averages an incredible 400 million monthly users and this is still on the increase. One of the interesting things to note is that some of the filters that have recently been heavily associated with Instagram seem to be going a little out of fashion.

I believe that in 2016 the visual social networks, Instagram and Pinterest in particular, will continue to be very effective for photographers showcasing their work. I suspect that these networks might become more prevalent in clients finding photographers and will certainly become even more influential in buying decisions.

Another area where technology will continue to develop is with smart phone photography. It was only a few years ago that the picture quality you got from camera phones was awful, that has changes a great deal in a short space of time. Every updated phone results in a better quality camera and images available from it. I don’t expect 2016 to be that year, but I believe we’ll move towards a point where the standard digital camera becomes a thing of the past. There will always be a place for SLR’s but smart phones are already taking care of many of our “point and click” needs.

To summarise, it’s clear that the technology and trends around photography continue at a fast pace. In many areas photography is changing and it’s always wise as a professional photographer to keep on top of those changes.
What do you think of the predictions I’ve made in this article; do you agree or disagree with any of them? Do you think I’ve missed anything? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.