Nowadays, in the technology era, smartphones are being commonly used by people for taking photos. However, there is a strong argument that the popularity of smartphones diminishes the value of expert photographers. This essay will examine why I partly agree with this statement.
There are 2 primary reasons why the availability of photography nowadays reduces the value of professional photographers. First and foremost, photographers are now not as needed as in the past. This is because people now prefer convenient and low-cost options due to their fast-paced and busy lifestyle. Therefore, instead of searching and hiring professional photographers, now that most people own a smartphone, they would just take photos by themselves. Secondly, photos taken by users can be as beautiful as photographers. The reason for this is that everyone has access to smartphones, so every user can edit photos just as a professional photographer using user-friendly modern softwares in those smartphones. Thus, the value of photographers surely has reduced when more people have access to photography.
Nevertheless, the value of professional photographers will not be reduced in some scenarios. Firstly, although people nowadays prefer convenience in capturing photos, sometimes the quality of the photos is more important. For example, certain types of photos like wedding photos or yearbook photos need to be of the highest quality. In order to ensure that the photos in these occasions are taken as beautifully as possible, professional photographers are needed because they have the necessary skills, such as destination positioning, body positioning, that normal smartphone users do not possess. Secondly, some photographers will stand out as a result of the wide availability of modern softwares. Since most users can create quality photos just as professional photographers using modern software and even AI, ambitious photographers must upgrade their skills to make themselves relevant to the job market. Thus, the professional photographers’ value will not be diminished in some cases.
To sum up, the wide accessibility to photography would not reduce the value of professional photographers in some specific cases; however, in general, their value would still be diminished compared to the past.