The business of photography has come a long way. Photographers have had to stay agile as trends come and go, technology continues to improve, and new fears emerge.
But what about the future for photographers in 2023? What changes in the photography industry can we expect? And how will those changes impact your business?
We surveyed over 30,000 photographers to create a 2023 industry forecast for photographers running their businesses. Learn how this upcoming year may affect you and your photography business.
Who is Sprout Studio?
You may be reading this thinking: “who are these people trying to tell me about my photography business? Why should I trust them?” – which is fair!
So let us introduce ourselves and explain why we care about you, your industry, and your success as a photographer.
Sprout Studio was founded in 2015 with one goal in mind. To help photographers make a living doing what they love.
Our CEO and Founder, Bryan Caporicci, had spent over ten years as a full-time photographer at this point.
He found that running his business was substantially more difficult with a mess of disconnected systems.
As a photographer and business owner, he was fed up with hitting the same major roadblocks. He was wasting his time trying to stay organized managing multiple software.
After all, he got into the photography industry to take photographs – not send invoices, create questionnaires, and write emails.
Bryan wanted it to scratch his own itch, but he also knew he wasn’t the only photographer struggling to keep things organized. Thus, Sprout Studio was born to help photographers win at business, win with their clients, and win in their lives.
Now almost 8 years, a team of people, and countless late nights later, we have helped thousands of photographers succeed in their businesses every year.
The “Why”
Our mission continues to hold true.
We are constantly improving our software based on the needs of photographers who want to make a living doing what they love.
Hence, this report!
It started as a way to learn how we can better our software and resources to fit photographers’ anxieties and goals in 2023. But it turned into much more.
Through the industry report, you’ll learn how photographers perceive this upcoming year, what they hope to accomplish, and what they need to reach those goals.
You’ll read how their businesses have been impacted in years before and how we predict the photography industry will be shaped moving into 2023.
Industry Report
Based on the data collected, we found consistency throughout the replies regarding their outlook on the photography industry in 2023.
By a clear majority, photographers were found to have anxiety surrounding generating leads, booking clients, and having clients spend consistently.
Almost 1/3 of photographers think that exploring new marketing and advertising strategies will be the solution to their “bookings” problem.
Photographers clearly have their “eyes on the prize” with specific goals to meet in 2023, but they feel like they don’t have the time or skill to accomplish those goals. So they need to either hire or free up their time.
While 1/4 of photographers blame external forces (i.e. the economy) for their challenges, just as many think hiring a business coach will solve their problems.
A large majority of photographers hold a self-deprecating mindset and feel like they are fumbling and trying to grow their businesses.
Many photographers are making changes in their business (i.e. new studio) and life (i.e. expanding their family), adding to the stress of trying to “do it all” themselves.
We will explore these concepts throughout the report, dive deeper into the results that brought us to these conclusions, and showcase how 2023 could impact the photography industry (and your business).
