The results offer insights from over 5,700 photographers worldwide on their top business goals and challenges for 2014, plus how they plan to market their work and spend money this year.
New York, NY (PRWEB) January 30, 2014
PhotoShelter (http://www.photoshelter.com), the worldwide leader in photography portfolio websites, sales and marketing tools for photographers, today released results from a second annual survey, The Photographer’s Outlook on 2014. The results offer insights from over 5,700 photographers worldwide on their top business goals and challenges for 2014, plus how they plan to market their work and spend money this year. Key learnings can be accessed directly here: http://bit.ly/outlook2014.
Results from The Photographer’s Outlook on 2014 reveal that there is continued optimism among photographers to grow their skill-set and make more money from their work than ever before. The survey also largely investigates the differences and similarities across professionals making a majority of their income from photography versus those - including photo enthusiasts - who rely on multiple sources of income.
“Today, every creative taking professional quality images is not necessarily doing so as a full-time photographer,” says Andrew Fingerman, CEO of PhotoShelter. “For this reason, we asked specific questions geared towards these enthusiasts to get a better sense of their photography goals for coming year, as compared to professional photographers. The results provide a deeper understanding of the degree to which people pursue photography, plus their business and marketing priorities in 2014.”
Among the similarities across both professionals and enthusiasts, the survey reveals that at a nearly identical rate (96% for professionals and 95% for enthusiasts), both groups indicated that they pursue more than one specialty. Additionally, the survey indicates that the most popular primary specialty is portrait photography (13% for pros; 11% for enthusiasts). When it comes to getting hired, both groups also said that finding new clients is their biggest challenge and will focus most on word-of-mouth referrals and social media to help improve their chances of securing job opportunities.
However, when it comes to the ins and outs of pursuing photography as a business, here’s what they had to say:
- 92% of professionals have a website dedicated to showcasing their photography, whereas only 65% of enthusiasts do.
- 48% of professionals use Facebook as the primary social network to market their photography business, whereas 64% of enthusiasts do.
- 93% of professionals plan to make investments to improve their photography skills in 2014, compared to 79% of enthusiasts.
The Photographer’s Outlook on 2014 was sent via email in November 2013 to the PhotoShelter community, which includes users of our products, as well as members of the photography community at large who receive our monthly newsletters. 5,787 photographers worldwide responded.
This is the latest in PhotoShelter’s ongoing series of free business guides for photographers and marketing professionals. PhotoShelter’s library includes 30+ educational guides including topics such as creating a successful photography portfolio, email marketing, and starting a photography business. All can be downloaded here: http://bit.ly/psresearch.
About PhotoShelter
PhotoShelter helps people and organizations who are passionate about their photos do more with them. From creating beautiful websites and securely backing up their best images to building an audience and selling photos online, PhotoShelter is trusted by over 80,000 enthusiasts, freelancers, and established pros worldwide. What sets us apart are over 100 professional-grade features and cutting-edge technology that we’ve evolved with photographers in mind since 2005. With PhotoShelter, any photographer can take their online presence to the next level -- and get back to doing the shooting they love to do. Give us a try free for 14 days when you visit http://www.photoshelter.com.