Customers looking for a visual solution are turning more and more to illustration and seeking photography less and less. This does not mean that the use of photography is disappearing, but for photographers it is worrying trend. Photographers should recognize that the overall the demand for photographs, particularly for use in advertising and marketing is declining relative to the use of illustration.
In 2011 Shutterstock had 16 million vector downloads representing 32% of total downloads. This was up from about 6% of downloads in 2005. In all likelihood the percentage of illustration relative to photography is even higher than 32% now.
In July, I reported on the
sales results of 431 of iStock’s top selling creators. Half of the group were photographers, one quarter do nothing but illustration and the final quarter produce some illustration and some photography. In all probability most of this last group were trained as illustrators and do some photography on the side.
Some of the reasons customers often prefer illustrations include:
- There are no model and property release issues.
- Illustrations are often less expensive to produce.
- Often an illustration provides a more simplified and to-the-point explanation of the concept.
- Illustrations often “read” better that photographs when they are reproduced small, particularly on online and electronic devices.
- Cartoon characters can say and do things that might present legal problems coming from a real person.
- Often, a photograph, no matter how highly-produced does not exactly meet the clients need. It is easier to design or adjust an illustration to a specific vision.
- There is an increasing use of infographics.
To better understand their competition, photographers may find it useful to read an article by John O’Reilly entitled “
Five Ways In Which Illustration Is Used In Effective Communication” that was published on ImageSource.