Boston, MA—With the photo-imaging industry maturing, the gap between those who take photos and those who consider themselves photographers is growing, according to new research from Rise Above Research. Today’s “aspiring photographers” are tomorrow’s photo enthusiasts and professionals.
Rise Above Research believes that aspiring photographers as a group deserve much more attention from vendors in the photography market. This includes camera makers and photo print providers merchandise vendors.
Aspiring Photographers 
Moreover, aspiring photographers are people who are no longer satisfied with just taking snapshot photos. They have or are developing a passion for photography. Subsequently, they want to feed it by taking their skills to the next level.
At the end of 2020, about 29% of consumers who owned a digital camera or a smartphone fell into the aspiring photographer category.
“We believe that aspiring photographers will invest in the cameras, lenses, accessories, as well as photo output products that will help them express themselves as photographers. Owning the right equipment is only half the solution; knowing how to use it is the second half. Access to educational opportunities will also help to fulfill this need,” said Ed Lee, founder of Rise Above Research.
In addition, vendors and suppliers of photo products will be happy to learn that aspiring photographers are active buyers. The most popular products purchased in the last year, by rank, were photo cards, photo books, photo wall décor, photo calendars, and photo drinkware. Printing photos is also important to them; even during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, almost 30% reported printing more photos.
To learn more, go to the report store and check out the research firm’s series on Aspiring Photographers.
Rise Above Research, LLC
Rise Above Research is an independent market intelligence and strategic consulting firm. Its mission is to support industry vendors, service providers as well as retailers with actionable intelligence to assist them in making effective decisions in fast-paced digital photography and imaging markets.
Industry veterans Ed Lee and David Haueter established Rise Above Research in 2020. They have extensive experience providing market research and strategic consulting for the digital imaging industry. The company’s analysts have a combined 40+ years of covering a wide variety of imaging markets.
