I think good photos have a bright future but meh photos are going to fall back. The main difference is that composition and quality of the image are big factors in desirability. A card is the same image, differentiated on condition. A photo has an aesthetic that depends on a variety of factors: subject, quality, composition, story. Here is a favorite of mine, the Cubs on Catalina Island for spring training, Gabby Hartnett at the front, walking along the harbor at Avalon imitating The Seven Dwarves doing Hi Ho It's Off To Work We Go from
Snow White. It has everything I could want: good subject, solid composition, nice quality, and an instantly understood, whimsical story.
Or this one of Satchel Paige warming up:
I like a sharp, iconic portrait too, like this June 21, 1935 Joe Louis:
