It's always a challenge for any photographer to keep up with IT developments. As new camera sophistications are becoming more common, updating tools can be confusing and expensive. In addition, some IT developments may pose a threat to the industry by offering substitute photography services. Consumer technology accessories, such as smartphones, may pose a threat to the photography industry in the future.
Advanced phones with high photo capture capabilities can replace the need for a professional photographer. The camera industry has also been shaken by the rise of smartphones with dual lenses. They fear that photographers will opt for these accessories that offer more flexibility and comfort. The real challenge that photographers face is to have a proven system for obtaining new reliable clients who value their work and pay well for it.
There will always be new people in any industry and there will always be exceptional people who rise to the top. This is an unalterable fact in all companies. Unfortunately, photographers who believe they can't make a dent in the industry and build a profitable business are the ones who don't have a real strategy or system for getting new clients. They confuse correlation with causality when it comes to their lack of growth.
It is true that there are many more people taking photographs today than in the 1970s or even in the early 2000s, but this is not the reason for their difficulty. Once again, the real obstacle is the lack of a systematic approach to acquiring new customers, as well as an overall growth strategy. One of the realities of landscape photography is that you have no control over the weather. You might want to photograph the sunset, but it's rainy and cloudy and there's no visible sun.
Or maybe you want to photograph a beautiful isolated waterfall in a forest, but the intense sunlight makes the scene less than ideal. Or maybe a thunderstorm or snow storm makes it difficult, or even dangerous, to be outside.
