Smart phones and the impact on photography

Historically being able to practise photography was not accessible to everyone, it was expensive and uncommon to own a camera, and to get the film developed. This meant the people that did practise photography were the only photographers around whereas in 2025 almost everybody carries a smartphone with a camera built into it, so does that make everyone a photographer?

In the basic sense that if you take a photograph, you are essentially a photographer, then yes, everyone is a photographer however the difference between someone who has taken a picture using their phone and a practising photographer that has a career in the industry is the knowledge and skill behind them. In using the same logic does this make a photocopier a photographer, because they take pictures? a CCTV camera?

It is estimated that every single day 5.3 billion photographs are captured, and it is only 8% of those which are taken using a traditional camera. The quality, skill and time put into professional work will never be matched by smartphone imagery. One of the most common ‘mistakes’ that is all over Instagram, a wonky horizon line. A very simple fix that instantly makes an image look better is a straight horizon line, but this is an incredibly surface level example.

Although the access to photography is exceptionally common, this is not a bad thing. It always people who could not have afforded a camera, film and to have the film developed to discover a love for a creative outlet. In addition to this the accessibility means that images can be shared in seconds, for example a missing cat can be shared on Facebook without having to waste time printing posters, or a bystander can take a photo of a robbery to help the police. There are so many positives to having much easier access to the photographic world whilst still having a place where professional photographers work holds so much value.