According to,
The State of News Photography 2018, published by the World Press Photo Foundation and authored by Adrian Hadland and Camilla Barnett photographers and photojournalists are finding working patterns in the media world increasingly difficult and many are facing more financial stress.
Among the stand-out results is a significant decline in the number of photographers working full-time in photography from 74% of respondents in the 2015 survey to 59% in 2018. More photographers are working as stringers. Close to 40% of respondents said their financial circumstances are “difficult” or “very difficult”.
The report is based on four years of surveys with photographers who have entered the World Press Photo Foundation’s
annual photo contest. The data has been analyzed by a team at the University of Stirling in Scotland, one of the UK’s highest ranked journalism departments.
More than 5,000 photographers from over 100 countries and territories have participated in the surveys during the last four years. Their responses are the basis for the study.
Almost 40% of the photographers who participated in the research are currently required to take video as part of their work despite the fact that they far prefer still photography . They were also more likely to be part of a multi-media team.
All the photographers in the study are participants in the World Press Photo annual contests. Thus, while they may not be representative of all photographers one would think that they might be among the most active and successful news photographers.
Anyone considering a career as a photographer should carefully examine the results of
this 27 page report.