Executive Summary
We analyzed 28 photography communities listed on Hive Index to understand where people gather, what these groups offer, and which communities attract the most interest.
The big picture: photography communities are broad and fragmented, with many small groups and a few very large outliers.
Source: Hive Index community database · Updated 2026-06-08
- Communities
- 28
- Platforms
- 8
- Avg members
- 5.2M
- Median members
- 49K
Where Photography Communities Are Hosted
- Independent Platforms: 9 communities (32%)
- Discord: 5 communities (18%)
- Reddit: 5 communities (18%)
- LinkedIn: 4 communities (14%)
- Facebook: 2 communities (7%)
- Mighty Networks: 1 communities (4%)
- X / Twitter: 1 communities (4%)
- Discourse: 1 communities (4%)
- 9(32%)
![Independent Platforms]()
Independent Platforms - 5(18%)
Discord - 5(18%)
Reddit - 4(14%)
LinkedIn - 2(7%)
Facebook - 1(4%)
Mighty Networks - 1(4%)
X / Twitter - 1(4%)
Discourse
Format mix
- 17(61%)Forum / feed-based
- 5(18%)Chat communities
- 5(18%)Other platforms
- 1(4%)Private membership
Most listings are forum / feed-based (61%).
Independent Platforms leads, but Discord and Reddit also represent meaningful shares.
Audience Size & Access
Community size
- Tiny: 0 communities (0%)
- Small: 0 communities (0%)
- Medium: 0 communities (0%)
- Large: 5 communities (18%)
- Huge: 11 communities (39%)
- Massive: 6 communities (21%)
- Gigantic: 5 communities (18%)
- 0(0%)Tiny<20 members
- 0(0%)Small20-100 members
- 0(0%)Medium100-1,000 members
- 5(18%)Large1,000-10,000 members
- 11(39%)Huge10,000-100,000 members
- 6(21%)Massive100,000-1M members
- 5(18%)Gigantic1M+ members
1 community has unknown member counts.
Free vs paid
- Free to join: 21 communities (75%)
- Paid or apply-to-join: 7 communities (25%)
The average is much higher than the median (5.2M vs 49K), which usually means a few large groups are pulling the average up.
How Photography Differs From Other Categories
Photography is less free-to-join, larger, more platform-diverse, and more paid or gated, compared with typical Hive Index topics.
| Metric | Photography | Hive Index average |
|---|---|---|
| Free to join | 75% | 85% |
| Median members | 49K | 25K |
| Average members | 5.2M | 669K |
| Paid or apply-to-join | 25% | 15% |
| Live chat | 25% | 38% |
| Discord share | 18% | 16% |
Feature Mix
Common features appear in at least 15% of listings.
Common Features
- Forum: 24 communities (86%)
- Live Chat: 7 communities (25%)
- Newsletter: 7 communities (25%)
- Online/Offline Events: 7 communities (25%)
- Paid Community: 6 communities (21%)
- 86%Forum
- 25%Live Chat
- 25%Newsletter
- 25%Online/Offline Events
- 21%Paid Community
Niche Features
- Courses: 3 communities (11%)
- Job Board: 2 communities (7%)
- Member Perks: 2 communities (7%)
- Requires Application: 1 communities (4%)
- 11%Courses
- 7%Job Board
- 7%Member Perks
- 4%Requires Application
Forum appears on 86% of listings.
What Visitors Click
- Outbound clicks / mo
- 59
Platform supply vs. clicks
| Platform | Communities | Share of communities | Outbound clicks | Share of clicks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent Platforms | 9 | 32% | 7 | 12% |
| Discord | 5 | 18% | 45 | 76% |
| 5 | 18% | 1 | 2% | |
| 2 | 7% | 4 | 7% | |
| Mighty Networks | 1 | 4% | 2 | 3% |
Share is calculated within this topic.
Discord gets 76% of clicks but only 18% of listings, so visitors click it more than you'd expect from supply alone.
Most-clicked formats
- 45(76%)Chat communities
- 12(20%)Forum / feed-based
- 2(3%)Private membership
Most-clicked features
- 49(83%)Live Chat
- 32(54%)Online/Offline Events
- 24(41%)Forum
- 9(15%)Newsletter
- 6(10%)Paid Community
- 5(8%)Courses
Most-clicked size ranges
- 31(53%)Huge
- 19(32%)Large
- 5(8%)Massive
- 4(7%)Gigantic
Top-clicked listings
- 18(31%)Photography & Filmmaking
- 11(19%)Pure Imagination
- 10(17%)Photography Lounge
Most clicks go to chat communities and forum / feed-based communities.
Trends
Founded year
- 2010: 1 communities (33%)
- 2020: 1 communities (33%)
- 2021: 1 communities (33%)
25 communities have no founding year on file.
Most listed groups were founded around 2010.
Community Quality & Ratings
Only 2 communities have ratings so far, so read this as a small sample.
4.5 average rating across 2 communities.
Methodology & FAQ
Methodology
This report uses communities in the Hive Index database tagged as Photography. We exclude removed or suppressed listings. Member counts, traffic, features, reviews, and ratings may vary by source and are updated periodically.
- •This is a smaller slice of Hive Index's database, so read trends as directional.
- •Last updated 2026-06-08
FAQ
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