In an era of artificial intelligence, real emotion and stories are poised to shape the year’s photography trends – but that data is surprisingly coming from an AI-heavy photography software. Aftershoot recently shared a survey of wedding and portrait photographers highlighting the biggest photo trends of 2026. The common thread running through all five trends? Photography will trend more towards less perfection, more human in 2026, Aftershoot says.
The survey hints that photographs that favor emotion and story – and even analog photography – will be key in 2026.
