The edition 2024 Photo Show has ended, and the time has come with. Organized from October 10 to 13 at the Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris, the event attracted many passionate et amateurs photo and video. For its third year in this emblematic place, the show records an increase in attendance.
38,823 visitors in 2024, +2.5%
Like every year, the attendance figure allows us to judge the appeal of the Show. This year, the event brought together 36,823 visitors over 4 days. It's a increase of 2.5% compared to last year. A successful bet therefore, even if we imagine that the organizers expected a greater increase.
However, according to the admission of certain professionals at the show, the audience present was very qualified and attentive to the new features presented. On the other hand, the aisles and stands were often difficult to navigate: the event could have reached the limits of the La Villette site. We also observe a increasingly young audience.
Note also that the Parisian event remains the largest exhibition dedicated to photography in Europeahead of The Photography & Video Show which takes place in England, every other year between Birmingham and London. Moreover, it is also one of the last to stand, since Photopia Hamburg threw in the towel.
Even more exhibitors
Last year, the Salon de la Photo marked the great return of the prop makers' stands, alongside historic manufacturers. This year again, the Salon de la Photo took advantage of the space in the Grande Halle to welcome more standswith 104 exhibitors and a total of 171 marquescompared to 125 last year.
And that's not all! After the return of OM System among the exhibitors last year, it was the turn of Ricoh/Pentax to make its big comeback this year, with the significant announcement of its film camera, the Pentax 17.
On the other hand, Panasonic chose not to take a stand this year, despite several new products such as the Lumix S9 or the GH7. This strategic choice is explained by its major commitment as official partner of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
A notable change also took place in Sales Villagewhere visitors could purchase photo equipment. Alongside Camara and Fnac, the Cirque Paris stand was transformed into the Panajou/Cirque stand, the result of the merger between the two brands. Some, however, regretted the absence of IPLN, busy preparing the opening of its boutique in Paris.
Builder interviews
What are the big new features This year ? How are the builders photo ? What are their strategies current, particularly in terms of product development with many hybrid bodies and lenses? This year again, we took advantage of the Photo Salon to take the pulse of the market and published a interview series very complete, to be found here:
On the sidelines of the Salon de la Photo, we also interviewed Panasonic:
In addition, the TIPA Awards 2024 prizes were presented in Paris, a first.
Many photo events
“We are looking to provide an experience”. These were the words of Marianne Chandernagor, Director of the Salon de la Photo, during our interview last year. And it must be said that this year, the Show gave pride of place to masterclass et ateliers photo.
On the manufacturers' stands, a schedule of conferences very busy allowed discover the experiences many photographers speaking on the stands, as well as in the “studios” such as Canon, Sony, Fujifilm and Leica.
The different « Photo Spot » also allowed photographers to experiment in specific conditionswhether it is photo naturethe movement photomacro photography, studio and light painting or even the architectural photography in the Parc de La Villette.
Without forgetting the Scène Livewhere the public was able to meet numerous content creators, photo or video, as well as attend interviews.
The beautiful part of photo exhibitions
If many photographers come to the Salon de la Photo to discover the latest innovations from manufacturers, we also find a increasingly rich artistic programming. This year, the mezzanine hosted the Great Exhibitionwhich highlighted the Fnac photographic collectionin dialogue with the Nicéphore Niépce museum in Chalon-sur-Saône, where it has been kept since 2014. The work Regardspublished alongside the exhibition, allows you to discover all the richness of the collection.
Through prints by great masters such as Henri Cartier-Bresson, Willy Ronis, and Raymond Depardon, the exhibition bore witness to the evolution of modern photography and its place in our daily lives. An immersive space and an interactive device allowed visitors to explore this unique collection, rich in 1,800 works spanning several decades.
We could also discover the Zooms 2024 exhibitionwhich were won this year by Omar Al Jiwari for the Audience Award and Claire Guarry for the Press Prize. The festival Photo Montier-en-Der presented the winning images of the nature photo competition, while several other festivals (Visa pour l'Image, International Festival of Culinary Photography, Gruissan Sport Photo) presented their exhibitions.
What results for this 2024 edition of the Salon de la Photo?
The results of this latest edition of the Salon de la Photo are overall very positive. The show continues to renew oneself and attracts a increasingly young audience. If this observation is based more on a general impression than on precise statistics, the high attendance observed on Thursday is undeniable.
This year, the Show seems to have found a balance between photo equipment and a varied cultural offerenriched by several photographic exhibitions. Of course, it cannot compete with Paris Photo on this point, but that is not its ambition.
Certain stands like that of MPB – a major player in the resale and repurchase of used equipment – or even The Bièvres International Photo Fair facilitated access to expensive equipment.
Likewise, the stands of Digit-Access and Disnet, main distributors of photo accessories and lenseshave completed the offer of historic manufacturers, thus offering visitors a varied range of equipment. We deplore the absence of Panasonic this year, but let's appreciate it return of Ricoh / Pentax. Hopefully next year DJI will be able to be present to present its drones.
THE conferences were numerous and enrichingoffering insights into how photographers and ambassadors use their equipment. Some brands have distinguished themselves by original productionslike Canon, which transformed part of its stand into basketball court to demonstrate the capabilities of AF detection of its latest bodies (EOS R1 and EOS R5 Mark II).
Finally, in terms of layout, the Show has gained in density this year. However, the mezzanine, although fuller, remains underused. Better use of this space, for example by offering stands allowing visitors to testing long focal length telephoto lenses along the entire length of the Grande Halle, could further enrich the experience.
If you were unable to make it to the Salon de la Photo, we have produced a guided video tour in order to introduce you to the main new features of this edition:
See you at the Salon de la Photo 2025!
The appointment has already been made for the 2025 edition of the Photo Salon. It will be from October 9 to 12, 2025at the Grande Halle de La Villette. In the meantime, take photos!
And until then, we will meet again for the CP+ in Yokohama, Japanof February 27 to March 2, 2025, to discover the next new products.
