5 Must-Know Photography Trends for Marketing in 2025

It's no secret that in 2025 customers are becoming more visually savvy and demanding higher quality, more authentic and personalised content. Traditional photography styles no longer cut through the noise. Audiences expect fresh, immersive, and authentic visuals that feel native to their feeds.

If you're a small business owner or marketer in 2025 who relies heavily on photography in your marketing strategy this article is for you. We will discuss five growing trends that will help you stay ahead of the curve and in turn capture attention, boost engagement and drive conversions.

AI-Generated & Enhanced Photography

Starting off with the two most well known letters in the creative industry; A.I. (Artificial Intelligence). Popular design companies like Adobe and Canva have integrated AI image generating tools into their platforms that allow marketers and small business owners to create unique, hyper realistic images with minimal manual effort. Below is an example of a generic red fizzy juice bottle from Adobe's firefly image generator.

A red soda bottle with bubbles stands on a reflective surface, highlighted against a dark background, illuminated by red light. — Generated using adobe firefly, prompt used: "*a red soda bottle on a dark background with red lights illuminating it"*

The downside of generating images completely from AI is that audiences may recognise that 'inauthentic' vibe and fail to engage with the content.

But AI isn't just about replacing traditional photography but can also augment creative workflows. Brands can generate high quality visuals in a matter of minutes rather than hours. However a generic red bottle is of no use to anybody looking to market a juice product really - so we tested editing a picture of local drink brand BPM using only Photoshop's built in Generative AI features.

Red energy drink bottle labeled "bpm Focus" and "Berry Red" on wooden table, green background — **Before:** Photographed here in the studio on an Iphone 13.

Red energy drink bottle labeled "bpm Focus" with "Berry Red" flavor. . Background is vibrant red. — **After:** Edited using only AI prompts in Photoshop, with minor manual lighting tweaks

While our BPM edit isn't perfect or on the same level as a professional product shoot - it shows how AI generation can be used to enhance human creativity rather than replacing it. After all AI still requires you to tell it what to add in to the scene.

Authentic & Unfiltered Visuals

Audiences crave authenticity - they are drawn to raw, unfiltered visuals that reflect real life situations and experiences over highly polished, staged photography. (Raw in a metaphorical sense - no customer wants to see a RAW image file!)

Brands are shifting away from overly edited, staged imagery in favour of candid, behind the scenes content. Content like this for a small business can be invaluable in building trust and credibility with your audience, and it can also be more cost effective. No need to hire out a studio and bring expensive lighting - just a photographer and some natural light will do rightly.

A candid, unscripted picture can make your audience feel like they're:

A person with a megaphone speaks to a crowd in a bar. People wear bright pink and black. Hanging lights and industrial decor set the mood. — Among the crowd at a running club meeting *(Image taken at Boundary Brewing Running Club)*

Young girl playing violin in dimly lit room with stained glass window. Cozy atmosphere, people in background. Focused and serene mood. — Watching a trad session down their local *(Taken at Charlie's Bar Enniskillen)*

Embracing the raw, candid and unfiltered can humanise your brand and create a relatable and familiar social presence with your audience.

CGI Photography

Another anagram! Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) photography differs from AI in the way it's actually made. While a computer is doing the actual rendering of the image, a 3D artist is responsible for creating the scene, model of the product and arranging the lighting. This trend is revolutionising marketing by allowing brands to create highly realistic images without traditional photoshoots.

Unlike traditional photography, CGI Photography isn't limited by lighting, setting or materials. An entire environment can be created and manipulated with pixel perfect precision. This makes it a game changer for e-commerce based businesses that require unique and eye catching imagery on a consistent basis. The greatest benefit of this trend is the ability to produce images of products that are still in development and can't physically be photographed yet anyway.

Six gray cans, one with condensation, are lined up against a neutral background. No visible text or patterns, creating a minimalistic mood. — ***Viewport screenshot***

Six blue Boost Energy cans with water droplets stand on a light blue background. Cans display "Boost Energy" and "original" text. — Final Render of Boost Energy Cans ***(Note - we made this for the craic - we haven't worked with Boost Energy...yet)***

Bottle of Bellamianta Tan Dreams on clouds, set against a pink sky with stars and moons. Luxurious and dreamy atmosphere. — A Surreal setting for this render of Bellamianta's Tan Dreams product

CGI photography can transform your marketing strategy offering limitless solutions to showcase your product in a way that captivates your audience.

Bold Colours

It's easy to play it safe - the soft pastels, muted tones and minimalist scenes that look sleek and luxurious but, can sometimes blend into the background. If you're like us you've noticed brands using more neon, clashing and eye-popping colours and visuals.

This year it's time to turn up the volume, be unapologetically loud, bold and bright. Why? Because bright colours grab attention, evoke emotions and make your brand stand out from the crowd during the dreaded doom scroll.

Colorful floral illustrated cards on orange background; patterns include daisies, ladybugs, and abstract designs in vibrant hues. — A Vibrant background can compliment some vibrant packaging

Colorful cards with origami animals on a blue background. Bright pencils and paper cutouts surround a pink box labeled créatúr. — Or you can keep it subtle, adding in some brightly coloured props.

Feeds are getting more crowded day by day, subtlety won't always cut it. Try going bold, bright and proud this year and embrace colour to make a statement.

Mobile First Photography / Vertical Photography

This may be a bit of an obvious one - but vertical (portrait) photography is here to stay! Horizontal (Landscape) shots once ruled online content and there's one main reason why this is changing. Its our phones. We're glued to them! Whether it's scrolling through Instagram or TikTok, vertical content for mobiles is key and this extends to photos too.

Think about how we consume content, fast paced scrolling on the go and all in a vertical format, images taken in a vertical aspect ratio are easier to digest and depending on the platform take up more screen real estate - capturing your audience's attention mid scroll.

Here's a handy list of aspect ratios to keep in mind:

Instagram Reels & TikTok: 9:16 (Full Screen)
Instagram Feed: 4:5 (Tall but not full screen)
YouTube Shorts: 9:16 (Same as TikTok and Reels)

Woman in black gloves holds blue SkinPen, focus on the pen. Soft lighting, white circular light in the background, clinic setting. — Keep your subject in the centre of the image

Hands arrange flowers in a brown vase on a kitchen counter. A lit candle and "Herb Garden" jar are nearby, adding a cozy feel. — Try experimenting with setting and lighting too

To make an impact this year think vertical, think mobile and think fast. Whatever your content whether it's a brand campaign, product launch or engaging content, optimising and shooting for the small screen is a big deal.

Takeaway from Photography Trends

As we look ahead to the rest of the year it's clear visual content is evolving faster than ever. To stay ahead marketers and small business owners need to keep on top of the latest photography trends that can transform how businesses connect with their audience. The best way to see what works for your brand? Experiment! Test out these trends in your content and see what resonates with your audience.

Here's the TL;DR -

AI Photography: Use AI tools to create hyper realistic photography or enhance already existing photos
Authentic Visuals: Move away from the overly polished look and embrace real and raw content.
CGI Photography: Utilise CGI to create imagery that is flawless and imaginative.
Bold Colours: Stand out with vibrant and eye-catching images that demand attention.
Vertical Photography: Optimise your images for mobile consumption, ensuring they fit perfectly on phone screens.