Hudson, NH—More than 42% of people in the UK that own a digital camera don’t take photos but want to, according to new research released by creative software developer Serif. The consumer poll of 2,000 individuals, conducted by OnePoll, revealed that 52% of these inactive camera owners want to spend more time taking photos every week.
The study, which was commissioned to examine the nation’s photography habits, also showed that nearly half (48%) currently spend 1-2 hours taking photos each week, and 46% of those want to dedicate more hours to their hobby. Furthermore, 60% of those surveyed wish they knew more about photo-editing software so they could edit and enhance their image collection.
“The majority of households in the UK own at least one digital camera,” said Gary Bates, managing director at Serif. “Sadly, a large number of people, for whatever reason, are not using their camera to its full potential—despite photographs being the most popular method for sharing experiences with friends and family. Of those that do use their camera though, nearly one in three use more than 50% of the camera controls and options, and 59% use photo-editing software to improve their photos.”
When asked what they do with their photos, the majority of photographers (76%) said they store them digitally, 38% print them at home, online or in-store, 37% share them on social networking sites such as Facebook, Flickr and Photobucket, and 19% use their photos to make a photo book or scrapbook. Just 5% make money from their photos, with some selling them on stock photography websites.
The research also revealed the types of pictures that people most like to take, with the majority choosing people (62%), followed by landscapes (42%), nature and wildlife (35%), pets (25%), buildings (24%) and events (23%).
“There’s a huge range of photography websites and social networks for people to share their photos, so it’s easier than ever before to find inspiration to get them taking more photos. The next step is helping people get their snaps off the hard drive and into the real world. This is why we launched Photo Projects, included with PhotoPlus X5, for creating photo books, cards, montages and more,” added Bates. serif.com
