Never has there been a time where so many people have access to a camera, with the invention of the camera phone everyday people who would not normally own a camera now have one by default.

Camera phones have changed the way world takes photos, I was speaking to a pro wedding photographer the other day about camera phones and how popular they are, he told me that the weddings he has shot in the last 2 years he can’t recall any guests putting out a camera to take photos, they were all shooting on camera phones, it’s been reported that photography is now Australia’s number one hobby, with a camera in everyone’s pocket no wonder.

On a photo sharing social media sites the camera phones normally as a capture device out ranks in numbers all the other camera devices together, the next generation of great photographers are in training using their phones to capture the world around us, and it’s not just teens it’s spreading across all age groups.

Photography is a creative pursuit, and by the fact of the number people who dip their toe in the pond that is photography, many are naturally talented so we are discovering more and more people with a talent for photography.

If only a matter of time we see a camera phone photographer winning the major photographic awards.

So what’s that mean for the DSLR market at the top end it will be business as normal, but the mid and amateur DSLR users, they are already reaching for their camera phones, a good friend and amateur photographer recently took an overseas holiday , they normally shoot with a high end full frame DSLR but chose to leave it at home and shoot the whole holiday on an iPhone 7.

When I asked why to leave the DSLR at home, they said the weight and security concerns of carrying it with them everywhere, I also asked were they happy with the images they captured on their camera phone, they were more them happy with the results.

For some forms of photography like street and travel photography the camera phone is an natural being small compact easy to use and also capture video without impacting on the scene around you, people seem more intimidated when you point a DSLR in their direction.

So what next for camera phones, the technology is moving quickly with more resolution and low light capabilities and manual control features being added to each new model, people are how choosing handsets based on the camera performance.

On the other side of this, camera phones are changing the world of photography and how we store images, the older generations have prints of those important occasions and milestones as memories, the younger generations have also captured those events but whether they still have them in 30 years from now we have to wait and see.

Best Regards

Stephen Finkel