Photo Market Size, Share and Growth Analysis Report - Forecast Trends and Outlook (2025-2034)

The photo market size reached around USD 5.38 Billion in 2024. The market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 6.80% between 2025 and 2034 to reach nearly USD 10.39 Billion by 2034.

Global Photo Market Growth

Nearly 90% of mobile phones in use around the globe are classified as smartphones. By the end of 2024, it is expected that smartphones will represent 94% of all photographs taken. The total number of smartphones in circulation has surpassed 7.2 billion, with projections indicating ongoing growth in the coming years. Over the last five years, the number of smartphone users worldwide has risen by at least 5% annually, consequently driving up the photo market share. Recent advancements in smartphone photography have been significant, leading to the development of powerful devices now available on the market. The widespread adoption of smartphones has heightened the significance of photography, enabling users to easily capture high-quality images. Professional photographers are increasingly utilising smartphones to achieve remarkable shots, leveraging their capabilities in various lighting conditions.

As per the photo market analysis, the expanding e-commerce sector significantly contributes to market growth by increasing the demand for visually attractive product displays. Online sellers will thus use stock images as some of the tools in conducting their marketing and promotional advertising, which consequently increases visual appeal for their products. With online shopping becoming increasingly popular, the demand for high-quality and professionally curated images is increasing, and photographs have become essential assets for e-commerce platforms that aim to deliver engaging and memorable visual experiences to their consumers.

Key Trends and Developments

The global photo market growth can be attributed to the rising popularity of smartphones, the expansion of social media platforms, and the incorporation of artificial intelligence and editing software.

October 2023

Candy Digital and Getty Images, a top worldwide visual content developer presented a new collection called Ghost in the Machine. Through this platform, collectors can purchase historical physical-digital artworks, explore modern photography, and receive a free digital artwork based on paranormal themes.

October 2023

Freepik Company, a platform for stock images and an image bank acquired EyeEm, a stock photography firm based in Berlin, which provides stock photos aimed at facilitating international expansion.

March 2023

Shutterstock, Inc., a well-known international creative platform that serves media companies and disruptive brands, partnered with NVIDIA to create customised 3D models that produce 3D assets in response to simple text commands, leading to the photo market development.

April 2022

Shutterstock, Inc., a leading worldwide creative platform for media companies and transformative brands, partnered with Advertising Week for all of its 2022 international events. Advertising Week's events were acknowledged as the world's largest yearly gatherings of marketing, media, and technology executives.

Rising Penetration of Smart Phones

The increasing use of smartphones, especially those with high-quality cameras, improves both casual and professional photography, making images more accessible and shareable worldwide.

Expansion of Social Media

Platforms like Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook significantly drive the demand for photo-sharing, influencing trends in creative photography and visual storytelling, thereby leading to the photo market expansion.

Rising Application of Editing Software and Artificial Intelligence

The emergence of AI-driven editing tools streamlines photo enhancement, encouraging users to improve and share their images for both personal and professional use, thereby driving market growth.

Rise in Content Creation Platforms

One of the notable photo market trends is the rise of content creation platforms has led to influencers and brands generating a substantial amount of visual content. This increase has amplified the demand for high-resolution images, which are essential for successful engagement, marketing tactics, and storytelling.

Global Photo Market Trends

The growing trend of digital content creation, fueled by the increasing online presence of both businesses and individuals, plays a significant role in the expansion of the photo market. Expansion in the establishment of various digital platforms creates continuously growing demand for a diverse range of high-quality visuals for marketing, advertising, social media, and other online content, thus creating stimuli for the development of the photo market. Thus, easy access to stock images is required for filling this high demand; thus, stock images form an important and essential input toward enriching digital communications and participation by diverse stakeholders in any organization. Technical development supports further development by developing processes to improve the creation, modification, and distribution of pictures. Technical development regarding photography, with AI integration and image recognition, provides a quality, accuracy, and productivity improvement in pictures produced.

Global Photo Industry Segmentation

The report titled “Global Photo Market Report and Forecast 2025-2034” offers a detailed analysis of the market based on the following segments:

Market Breakup by Type:

• Sports
• Conferences
• Events and Weddings
• Stock Photography
• Theme Park and Cruise Line
• Schools and Colleges

Market Breakup by Region:

• North America
• Europe
• Asia Pacific
• Latin America
• Middle East and Africa

Global Photo Market Share

Based on type, the market is segmented into sports, conferences, events and weddings, stock photography, theme park and cruise line, and schools and colleges. The segment of stock photography is expected to account for the highest market share with a CAGR of 7.6%, which will contribute to the growth of the photo market. Stock photography is defined as a collection of images that are licensed for commercial use. These photos are usually taken by photo professionals, and copies can be obtained or licensed from stock photo firms.

Leading Companies in the Global Photo Market

Major players are focusing on the adoption of technological advancements to gain a competitive edge in the market and improve photo market outlook.

Alamy Ltd.

Alamy Ltd. was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, United Kingdom. It serves as a digital provider of stock photographs, videos, and various other visual content.

Canva Germany GmbH

Canva Germany GmbH was founded in 2013 and is headquartered in Sydney, Australia. It serves as a digital platform for design and visual communication, enabling users to develop and disseminate their designs, leading to the expansion of photo market size.

Getty Images, Inc.

Getty Images, Inc. was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. The organisation provides videos, editorial images, and music through a single website and a unified set of terms under the Getty Images brand.

Inmagine Group

Inmagine Group was founded in 2000 and is headquarterd in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Inmagine transformed into a holding company comprising two distinct and well-defined business segments including stock content offered through 123RF, and creative software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions provided by Pixlr.

Other major players in the market are Alamy Ltd., Canva Germany GmbH, Getty Images, Inc., Inmagine Group, Eezy LLC, Freepik Company, S.L., Shutterstock, Inc., Envato Pty Ltd., Dreamstime.com, LLC, and iStockphoto LP.