the professional photographers' market | Italy

1.1 Definition and scope of study

Professional photographers are individuals who take photographs for the purpose of commercializing them. The market of professional photographers is characterized by a wide variety of players on both the supply and demand sides. Indeed, professional photographers differ in their legal status and the nature of their business, but generally operate in different market segments.

Specifically, they can be distinguished as follows:

• Photographers-authors
• Employees/freelancers of the press and PR agencies
• Self-employed entrepreneurs
• Artisans
• State or local authority employees

Similarly, there are many clients, which explains the diversity of activities of professional photographers who are rarely limited to one market segment. The main segments include corporate communications, direct sales to individuals, public clients, publishers, press agencies, galleries and art dealers.

However, the market for professional photographers can be divided into three main categories:

• News photography, for newspapers and magazines.
• Art photography, for exhibitions and art galleries.
• Commissioned photography, for commercial use (advertising, events, weddings, etc.).

The global professional photography market has grown in recent years, and is expected to continue growing at a rate of 7.4% until 2026. Some of the key market drivers are increasing smartphone penetration and growing interest in photography. Asia Pacific is expected to be the fastest growing region, due to the high purchasing potential of the population and increasing demand in emerging countries.

In Italy, the market is stationary, with a constant value but decreasing volumes, indicating a shift towards quality. In addition, the average price of cameras increased by 8% in 2018 compared to the previous year, a factor that did not favor the market. However, market players are favored by the sustained growth of the Web, digital tools, and the growth of e-commerce, which was worth about one-third of the entire market in 2018.

The national market is highly fragmented, with the presence of numerous players operating primarily at the local level. Professional photographers are facing new challenges due to the democratization of photography, but they are also focusing on new growth sectors, such as art photography, and new technologies, such as mirrorless cameras, which have experienced strong double-digit growth in recent years.