Today’s Photography Trends

Today’s Photography Trends Looking at some of the latest techniques and subject matter

Nostalgia

Today’s style for many things is seen to be inspired by a lot of going back in the past and either being inspired by that aesthetic and combining it with contemporary trends, or embracing past trends altogether and adopting it as something brand-new. As ironic as it seems, nostalgia in both today’s contemporary setting and in photography is blowing up immensely, where used film cameras from your local thrift store or resellers are flying off shelves, or digital editing is employed to get that film look. Regardless, a nostalgic aesthetic from really any past decade’s style is the style now. On Instagram feeds we’d see nonphotographers or amateur photographers do this too.

Self-love

A trend in today’s culture is the promotion of self-love, where oneself should be the target of focus and care, and from that would confidence and a better understanding of themselves flourish. We’re all familiar with filters from smartphone cameras or social media apps which either cover or distort the real appearances of faces. In fact, an outstanding number of smartphones sold in continents like Asia have their default camera apps have built-in functions to automatically smooth and brighten the skin in selfies. Today, photographs often are the opposite, where embracing our natural features shows a genuine person.

Phone pics

Did you know that everybody is a photographer? Well that’s not necessarily true, but what is true is that pretty much everybody now has the potential to be one. A camera, a few lenses, and a nice assortment of camera gear which costs a couple semesters of college tuition isn’t needed to be one of those cool photographers you see make it to magazines or art showcases. Everyone owns a smartphone now, and with smartphones come the amazing capability of having a camera in your pocket at less than an arm’s reach. Good photographers will say that the best camera is the one that’s readily available, because of irreplaceable moments you need fast.

Vibrance

Usually, to make the rules, someone has to break them. Almost like the Dada art movement where artists’ artwork meant to go against cultural norms, photography seems to be shifting in styles non-stop. Speaking of a nostalgic, film-like aesthetic with muted colors and candid imagery, one of the trends rapidly emerging in the photography world is the use of very vibrant colors. This trend likely built up to counteract the more popular trend of desaturated and moodier colors to give our eyes something refreshing and energetic. The business and vibrancy of these kinds of photographs give it a controlled chaos, its unbalance gives balance.

Bokeh blur

Those in the YouTube photography scene in the mid 2010s may recognize the term “Bokehlicious,” which is a term I believe was coined by DigitalRevTV and their photographyoriented channel. Strong background blur and its aesthetic capabilities might no longer be a trend but rather a technique used by photographers. Initially, its purpose was to single out the subject by blurring everything else in its background.