With mobile cameras getting better and better everything turned out to become “mobile photography”. It’s not official though, but it became a huge cultural thing.
Today we can take high-quality pictures with smartphones that we carry in our pockets every day. And it takes only seconds to share these photos around the web.
- How many photos does the average person have on their phone?
- How many photos are taken on smartphones?
- How many people use photo-editing apps?
These are just a few questions that we are going to answer.
Here are the 12 most fascinating statistics about mobile photography.
Table of Contents
- 1. Since 2010, smartphones changed digital camera industry by dropping their sales 87%.
- 2. 85% of all photos are taken with smartphones.
- 3. The average person has around 630 photos and 24 videos on their phone.
- 4. The photography market size in the U.S. in 2023 is $12.9 billion.
- 5. There are 6.92 billion smartphone users around the world.
- 6. About 93 million selfies are taken each day worldwide.
- 7. An average European is taking 597 selfies a year.
- 8. A report showed that 90% of people who have ever taken a photo, have only done it with a phone, not a standard camera.
- 9. 86% of Americans say camera quality is somewhat or very important when deciding which smartphone to buy.
- 10. 22% of current consumers are frustrated with their poor camera quality.
- 11. 48% of Americans use photo editing apps for their photos.
- 12. Mobile photos with filters are 21% more likely to be viewed.
1. Since 2010, smartphones changed digital camera industry by dropping their sales 87%.
Smartphones brought in a new generation of photography for daily picture taking for most of the people. Everyday life was made easier – to have everything, even a professional camera, in one place.
As we can see these sales continue to drop. We can say that companies that sell digital camera gear should come up with something innovative to keep the numbers.
2. 85% of all photos are taken with smartphones.
According to Statista, smartphones are causing a photography explosion with 1.2 trillion photos taken in 2017. 85% of them were taken with mobile phones.
The reason causing this is people carrying devices with high-quality cameras in their pockets. We can say we lost the opportunity to miss something.
3. The average person has around 630 photos and 24 videos on their phone.
Statistically, for every video recorded, people take 26 photos.
Keep in mind that these are global statistics and they tend to be different according to the region, type of device, gender, age etc.
For example, iOS users tend to take more photos than Android users. iOS users take 65% more photos than their Android fellows.
You’ll be also surprised to hear that most photos are taken by Japanese people.
The average Japanese mobile phone contains an average of 1,500 photos which is 2.3 times more than the global average.
4. The photography market size in the U.S. in 2023 is $12.9 billion.
According to IBISWorld, in 2023 the market size of photography in the U.S. is $12.9 billion.
The market size was growing steadily for almost past 10 years. However, the market size of this industry declined in 2020 and had a 2.8% growth in 2021.
While the main reason for the decline is social distancing restrictions, other is considered to be the growth of mobile photography. It is slowly creating a risk for the industry by potentially reducing demand for professional digital photography services.
5. There are 6.92 billion smartphone users around the world.
At the time of writing, there are 6.92 billion smartphone users, meaning that 86.29% of people already own a smartphone today.
Not everyone owns a smartphone to this day, but the numbers are increasing each year. 7.33 billion people are expected to own a smartphone by 2025.
6. About 93 million selfies are taken each day worldwide.
In total, there are almost 34 billion selfies taken a year, which is about 93 million selfies a day.
18-35 is the most popular age group who takes selfies, with 2 out of 3 selfies taken by women.
7. An average European is taking 597 selfies a year.
Research by HONOR revealed that an average person from Europe takes 597 selfies a year. It is approximately 1.6 selfies a day.
The 21st century brought us into the modern selfie culture.
8. A report showed that 90% of people who have ever taken a photo, have only done it with a phone, not a standard camera.
It’s hard to believe that the vast majority of people who have ever taken a photo did it with a phone. It means most of them have never held a compact or digital camera in their hands.
Still, the question that remains is if this percentage is going to increase because of the smartphone growth. Or if it’s going to decrease because professional digital cameras are becoming more affordable.
9. 86% of Americans say camera quality is somewhat or very important when deciding which smartphone to buy.
Customers have basic needs when choosing a new smartphone and one of them is camera quality. 86% of Americans prefer phones with better camera specifications since they intend to get high-quality pictures in the future.
10. 22% of current consumers are frustrated with their poor camera quality.
Poor camera quality is a frustration for 22% of current smartphone owners. And even more, 35% of consumers, say that they desire more camera and video capabilities in their upcoming smartphone device.
11. 48% of Americans use photo editing apps for their photos.
Statistics show that almost half of the people in the United States use photo editing software on their smartphones. And photo editing app creators are more than happy about this fact.
Speaking of it, one of the most popular photo editing apps – VSCO, is generating more than $50 million in revenue, which brings us to the last fact.
12. Mobile photos with filters are 21% more likely to be viewed.
If you thought that adding on a filter on your photo is going to help you get noticed, you are absolutely right.
Yahoo Labs did a study and analyzed 7.6 million photos. It showed that filtered photos are 21% more expected to be seen. By filters, they meant increased contrast, warm colors and higher exposure.
Also, the same study showed that photos with added filters have a 45% higher rate to be commented.
