Opinion: When video takes over, what becomes of the photograph?

Have you ever stopped to think about just how much video content you consume these days?

In my own experience, the combination of clever algorithms that increasingly promote short form video over other content means my social media feed is bursting at the seams with more video content than ever.

Maybe it started around the time Instagram declared itself as being no longer a stills image platform, but in recent years it feels like video content is everywhere your eyes look.

The social media world of photography has changed monumentally.

Where in the past it felt like the recommended posts in my feed would be a bunch of imagery I might like, today it’s overwhelmingly photographers speaking to the camera about what is is they’re photographing, how they edit an image, why you must shoot RAW, or anything else designed to keep you watching just a little longer.

Everyone seems to do it, and its inescapable.

Clearly, it works. The numbers tell us we’re creating and consuming more video content than ever before, and all indications suggest that trend will only accelerate.

Which leaves me wondering: what does it mean for photography? When we’re exposed to less and less of something, do we value it in the same way? And can a still image ever truly compete with a video of the same moment when it comes to impact or emotional pull?

Of course photography has successfully stood the test of time so far. It has a long history, and it’s more democratic and accessible than ever. New technologies like high frame rate video, 3D, artificial intelligence and other developments, haven’t "killed" it, with these forms arguably just entrenching photography further as an artform.

And of course a still image can wow us just as effectively as a video if done with skill and creativity.

Call me a purist, but just because Zuckerberg and co want us to engage with video doesn’t make the format of stills any less important.

But perhaps what we do need is to reconsider the way we engage with our stills – whether that’s through printing more of our work, viewing it in books and on walls, or just switching off social media entirely for a bit.

What do you think? Is video everywhere you look too? Let me know in the comments.