The 2007-2015 time period was brutal for photo-based sites. I lost a good chunk of change running one. Pinterest, Instagram, and Snapchat were the survivors, I know that many didn't. Somehow Flickr lumbered through.

In that time frame it seemed to me that video was producing a lot more value per unit of resources used than photos were. Those expiring photos are a big plus because you don't have to pay to store them.

I don't know where things are going today, but personally I've been burned.