Research Note: This article is part of an ongoing research project examining the scale of image posting and visibility on social media platforms. All figures and insights below reflect current publicly available information as of November 2025.
The reality of the modern photographer
If you’ve been pouring your heart into your photography, honing your editing skills, and meticulously curating your feed, only to see your engagement flatline, you’re not alone. The year 2025 is a defining moment for online photographers. We stand in a new kind of digital deluge: one where billions of photos are shared every day, and an increasing number of them aren’t even taken with a camera.
Artificial intelligence has forever changed how the public experiences visual art. It’s no longer a passing fad or a weird experience, it’s mainstream. And while the technology behind it is fascinating, it’s also created a huge challenge for photographers trying to see.
But before we lose heart, let’s take a deep breath and look at the whole picture.
The scale of Instagram in 2025
Instagram is the beating heart of online photography. By the end of 2025, Meta reports Instagram has crossed 3 billion monthly active users (MAU).an amazing figure that nearly doubles its user base by 2021. That means more creators, more content and far more competition for attention.
Meta no longer publishes Instagram-specific daily active user (DAU) counts, but industry analysts still cite 500 million Dow As a historical standard. It is important to note that these numbers are from older reports, not the official 2025 disclosures. In short. , Instagram is bigger than ever, but less transparent about what goes on behind the scenes.
What did we do? do it Know that the visual density of the platform has never been higher. Stats according to Cottet 95 million photos and videos uploaded daily AI predates the art boom. If that number was correct in 2021, it’s safe to assume that the actual figure today is much higher, but it’s impossible to confirm without direct data from Meta.
Meta’s AI detection and labeling tools
With the explosion of AI-infused art, Meta has developed multiple layers of transparency to help users distinguish between artificial and camera-based imagery.
The company now applies “Made with AI” or “AI Information” Labels on content where artificial intelligence is used. These labels appear when AI involvement is self-disclosed by the creator or when the system detects it Metadata from reliable content provisioning standardsin particular iptc And C2PA (Content Integrity and Authenticity) Framework
These metadata systems attach digital “signatures” to files, making it possible to identify whether an image originated from a camera, editing app, or AI model. While the technology isn’t perfect, it represents an important step toward digital accountability.
In 2025, Meta reported that users had seen Over a billion AI information labels And became more engaged with them 60 million times. This means people are increasingly exposed to AI-tagged media, but it’s important to understand what that data means. does not say
It tracks engagement with numbers The labelnot the percentage of total images that are AI-generated. Currently there No reliable public statistics How many of Instagram’s billions of photos are machine-generated?
If you want to dive deeper, try searching for “how C2PA works in photographic metadata” or “how metadata identifies images”. These will take you through the technical side of how AI provisioning is built into modern platforms.
What we don’t know, and why it matters
Transparency is still a work in progress. Instagram no longer discloses:
- How many images are uploaded daily?
- What is the percentage of them?
- How many people are posted by real photographers compared to AI artists?
Meta’s focus has shifted to measurement of engagement rather than content origination. The company’s public statements are around safety, policy and authenticity, but not around creative ownership.
This means that when a photographer’s image struggles to find visibility, it’s often impossible to tell whether it’s competing against 10,000 other human-sourced images, or 10 million AI creations.
History Repeats Itself: Artists and Technology
This is not the first time artists have faced the technological tide. In fact, every generation of creators has faced a moment when innovations changed the rules.
when Camera Invented, artists were outraged. Portrait artists feared extinction. Artist Paul Delaroche reportedly said, “From today, painting is dead.” Spoiler: The painting didn’t die. It evolved. Impressionism, modernism, and abstract art flourished as painters adapted to a new world where precision could be achieved with lenses, not brushes.
Move fast The digital revolution: Film photographers dismissed early digital cameras as “soulless toys.” He swears nothing matches the tonal richness of film or the tactile experience of a darkroom. They were right, sort of. But while some clung to the chemical process, others embraced digital tools and shaped the next century of visual culture.
Now it’s time for photography. AI is the new brush, the new sensor, the new creative frontier, and for some, the new enemy.
But history is clear: art does not die. It changes.
The reality of the photographer in 2025
Let’s be honest, getting your work noticed on Instagram was already difficult before AI took over. The feed was saturated. Algorithms moved unexpectedly. Engagement depended on timing, hashtag and luck.
Now we are competing AI-generated images which can produce flawless, high-resolution compositions in seconds.
Consider this: a real photographer who wants to capture celebrities Dream Lake Rocky Mountain National Park should be carefully planned. They drive for hours, park, pay an entry fee, and climb several miles at 10,000 feet. Then, they wait for light, for weather, for a break in the air. If the clouds cooperate, maybe they’ll get that magical shot at sunset. If not, they return another day.
Compare this to someone typing:
“Photograph Dream Lake at sunset with dramatic clouds and golden reflections.”
In thirty seconds, an AI can create a hyper-realistic masterpiece, like the image paired with the subject, perfect in color, texture and tone. It’s not real, but it looks better than it is.
The average viewer scrolling Instagram doesn’t care who needs an add and who needs a keyboard. They only see beauty, and beauty wins.
That truth stings, but it’s also freeing. Because the solution is not to rage against the machine. It is to do what Ai cannot do.
How did AI achieve “perfection” so easily?
AI image generators are trained on vast datasets of existing images and art, learning what “beautiful” means by analyzing millions of examples. They identify and reproduce recurring structural formulas: the rule of thirds, the golden ratio, well-defined lines, balanced color palettes, perfect exposure.
The result is imagery that is perfectly fine with already visually pleasing human minds. This is why AI scenes often feature cinematic skies, pristine water reflections, and shimmering lights. The algorithm doesn’t increment, doesn’t wait, doesn’t fail, it produces perfection every time.
But there’s a catch: Kamal lacks a story. It lacks humanity.
AI can reproduce look For a moment, but no feel In one it doesn’t seem like the exhaustion of reaching a summit, the wind in your face, or the calming breath you take before pressing the shutter. The glitches, the blurs, the sweat, the dirt, the laughter, that make art come alive.
Finding hope in chaos
This is where things get personal. As someone who has created art over the years that is tactile and accessible, I understand the feeling of fighting for visibility. I lost most of my sight after a car accident, and it fundamentally changed how I experienced the world. Instead of giving up on photography, I explained what it could be, changing the images Tactile art That people can feel with their hands.
This process of translating light into texture taught me something important: creativity is not about competition. It’s about connection.
Artists who avoid technological shifts aren’t the most likely to complain. They are the ones who adapt, who explore, who use new tools without losing themselves. You don’t have to love AI, but you do have to understand the world it’s creating.
Here’s how to make your work stand out in the age of AI
- Create what AI can’t replicate
AI defaults to “perfect” angles and textbook textures. Look for shots that defy logic, strange perspectives, unexpected lighting, or emotionally charged environments. Create work that is a little messy, incomplete, or deeply personal. - Embrace the authentic process
Share how the image was created. Behind-the-scenes photos, field notes, or short captions about your experience add context that AI can’t invent. Audiences connect with authenticity. - Tell stories, not just show pictures
AI excels at isolated images, not sequences. Create visual narratives before, during, and after the moments. A triptych of an approaching storm says more than a “perfect” sunset. - Use metadata to your advantage
Many modern cameras and editing tools are supported C2PA And iptc Metadata standards. Include a provision in your export showing where the image came from, including credit. Try searching for “How to embed C2PA credentials in Lightroom” to get started. - Experience AI beyond its comfort zone
AI is trained to mimic the mainstream. Get over it. Work in experimental mediums, infrared, pinhole, cyanotype, tactile printing, or alternative processes. The goal is not to reject technology, but to use it differently. - Focus on emotion, not perfection
The AI ​​art is neat. Human art is realized. Let your imperfections breathe. Try handheld, preferably at night. Sometimes the soul of an image is hidden in its flaws.
A little perspective
Think of the artists who survived the invention of photography. Think of film photographers surviving the rise of digital. They didn’t disappear, they evolved.
The real danger isn’t AI itself, it’s creative stagnation. Artists who cling to the “way of things” often end up dead, not because their work is bad, but because they refuse to grow.
AI art is not the end of photography. This is the next challenge in the long history of imaging. It’s the same story told with new tools.
The key to survival is the same as it always has been: create something only you can create.
The way forward
Yes, the number is huge. Three billion users. Billions of photos. An unknowable percentage of AI infill work. But art has never been about difficulty, it’s about effect.
So if you’re frustrated that your photos aren’t getting attention, remember: visibility isn’t the same as value. The world doesn’t need another perfect picture of a mountain, it needs your version.
Create an image that cannot be created. The one that lifts your breath, your heartbeat, your stamina.
And when you post it, don’t like the price. Measure in its meaning.
Because in the flood of perfection, Authenticity is the rare light of all.
