Boston, MA – April 13, 2021 – With the photo industry maturing, the gap between those who take photos and those who consider themselves to be photographers is growing. Today’s “aspiring photographers” will be tomorrow’s photo enthusiasts and professionals. Rise Above Research believes that aspiring photographers as a group deserves much more attention from vendors in the photography market, from camera makers to photo print and merchandise vendors.
Aspiring photographers are people who are no longer satisfied with just taking snapshot photos. They have or are developing a passion for photography and 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, and 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 help to fulfill this need,” says Ed Lee, founder of Rise Above Research.
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 and 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 our series on Aspiring Photographers.
About Rise Above Research, LLC
Rise Above Research, LLC is an independent market intelligence and strategic consulting firm that supports industry vendors, service providers, and retailers with actionable intelligence to assist them in making effective decisions in fast-paced digital photography and imaging markets. Established in 2020 by industry veterans Ed Lee and David Haueter, Rise Above Research has extensive experience providing groundbreaking market research and strategic consulting for the digital imaging industry.