- Author: Ed Lee
- Publication Date: February 2026
- Price: $2,499
- Report Type: Forecast
- Pages: 9
- Figures: 4
- Tables: 4
Report Summary:
During today’s tumultuous times, it is important to appreciate good times and events but also not forget to document the challenging ones. Photography is a key means to capture these moments. Captured images continue to play a significant role in most everyone’s lives. From special occasions, like the birth of a child, graduations, and family reunions, to everyday moments, like sunsets and snapshots of friends and family, people want to record them to appreciate and share at the moment and preserve them for future memories and generations to come.
Rise Above Research expects that the number of photos taken and stored will increase in 2026 and continue to rise at a steady linear rate through 2030, with smartphones accounting for the vast majority of those photos. Despite concerns about inflation and volatile economies, we expect that many people will continue with their normal lives and travel, take vacations, and hold events this year, and of course they will keep taking photos of those everyday happenings. We estimate that there will be around 1.95 trillion photos taken worldwide this year.
This report is based on the Rise Above Research Worldwide Image Capture Forecast. It includes:
- Estimates of photos taken globally for the years 2025 to 2030
- The shares of photos taken by smartphones, cameras, and tablets
- Which regions of the world are most photo-active
- The cumulative number of unique photos saved
Client Access
This report is included with the Rise Above Research Photo Printing Advisory and Photo Merchandise Advisory Services.
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