Old Photography Trends And Where They Stand Today

Over the years, photography trends have come and gone with time. From spirit photography in the Victorian era to the rise of group selfies, we have seen a wide range of adoption of various kinds of imagery. While some are no longer a part of this, there are a few that continue to evolve and be presented in new ways today. Here is a look at six photography trends, how they began, and where they are going now.

Danbo

The 2010s had some truly unique phtoography trends in various countries. In Japan, for instance, there was a rise in the number of cardboard characters called Danbo. Its humble beginnings were a part of Yotsuba&! a manga, after which the character gained immense fame, with the company launching its figurines. What next? Its blank expressions won the hearts of photographers, and one could find Danbo in elaborate shoots across Japan. The trend still continues on Flickr, but you won’t see this as much on Instagram. Instead, other figurines, such as Lego, have taken over the latter.

The 365-Day Photo Project

In the early 2010s, when Instagram was just introduced, and Flickr was quite popular, many photographers decided to take on a challenge: Shoot every day for a year. For instance, photographer Arielle Nadel was working on a 365-day Danbo project on Flickr, while Marina Boichuk made self-portraits for a whole year. What made people choose this was to push themselves to make an image compulsory every day. For some, it was a practice to home their skills; for others, it was to enjoy the idiosyncrasies of everyday life. In the end, they would look back and pick the strongest images. Although this photography trend has faded with time, there are still many who pursue this even today.

Strobism

Strobism or off-camera flash techniques have been around for a while, and they are still used in some pre-wedding shoots. However, in 2006, David Hobby, a photographer with his blog called The Strobist, is often credited for popularising this technique. For one, this gives photographers a lot of creative freedom to focus on their subjects and create images in new ways. One can also experience more and work with different kinds of flashes for portrait and event photography. This technique will still be popular in 2025, and we doubt it is going to fade, thanks to its usefulness.

500px’s Obsession with Nudes

Nude photography has been embraced very openheartedly in recent years, but there was a point when many photographers were dabbling with this genre on the photo-sharing platform 500px. While the trend has been very controversial, it gave a lot of self-portrait photographers the freedom to photograph themselves however they wanted. On the other hand, it also raised questions about ethics in nude photography, especially when often the models were women and the photographers were men. But in more recent years, 500px has tried to change itself, allowing people to explore other genres of photography.

Hipstamatic

In 2009, iPhone photographers got a separate app called Hipstamatic, which allowed them to take vintage-style images. The app offered various filters and went on to become quite popular among millennials. This is because one could replicate nostalgia in images shot in real-time, just as a Digicam does right now. This is why Hipstamatic became a popular photography trend for many. However, the use of the app is not what it once was, especially when there are apps like Snapseed and Lightroom for phones.

Really Bad HDR

HDR (High Dynamic Range) photography has been used to create a more detailed image. However, HDR photography has earned a bad reputation over the years, especially since early images would remove the shadows to the point where the grain is visible. The images appeared unrealistic and often shabby, but that did not stop many people from using the technique. however, after 2015 or so, this trend died down naturally, with now people using HDR to bring out the details in a more subtle way. The image above is from one such HDR test, which we tried on Capture One’s software. The image on the right opens up the shadows of the model’s face so that we can see her grades better.

Photography trends, thus, are not always bad or always good. With time, the artist sees a gradual change in their visual language, and the practices they had once will also change over time. As one says, change is the only constant thing in any art form.