Photography

Photography Career Overview

Professional photographers make a living by capturing images that sell products, record events, and illustrate stories. Photographers need to know much more than how to simply point and shoot a camera to be successful in their field. To create professional images, a photographer must have technical expertise and creativity, and understand how to select the most appropriate equipment for a particular job.

Photographers can work in a number of fields, including journalism, art, advertising and wedding photography. This will depend on their personal interests and desired work schedule. Those hoping to go into business as self-employed freelance photographers should expect to spend thousands of dollars on professional cameras and equipment. In addition, all photographers should prepare to encounter stressful situations, work with a variety of personality types, and meet strict deadlines.

Photography Training & Education

The expected level of education for professional photographers varies by field. However, most photographers entering the fields of photojournalism and scientific photography are required to have at least a bachelor's degree. Freelance, wedding, and portrait photographers are expected to have a good technical understanding of photography, but generally are not required to hold a degree.

Many universities, community colleges, art schools, and vocational schools offer introductory photography courses where students can learn the basics of camera skills and techniques. Today most photography is done digitally, so aspiring photographers should plan on taking courses in digital design, and have a solid understanding of basic photo editing software such as Adobe Photoshop.

Putting together a professional portfolio is key for those looking for work in the field. The quality of a photographer's past work is by far the most important factor a client evaluates when looking to hire. Other traits photographers should possess include having an artistic ability, good hand-eye coordination, accuracy, and patience.

Photography Career & Salary Outlook

More than 122,000 professional photographers worked in the United States in 2006, one in two as self-employed freelancers.

Although employment for photographers is projected to grow by 10 percent over the next decade, competition for jobs is expected to be intense because the field itself is attractive to so many people. For instance, the number of professionals interested in careers as news and commercial photographers is generally much greater than the number of job openings at any given time.

For those who can manage to secure a job, the median annual earnings for salaried photographers was $26,170 in May 2006, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, with those in the middle 50 percent earning between $18,680 and $38,730 a year and the highest 10 percent earning more than $56,640.

Photography Career Fields & Specializations

Commercial and Industrial Photographer

Commercial photographers photograph buildings, models, merchandise, artifacts, and landscapes that are used in books, reports, advertisements, and catalogs. While closely related, industrial photographers photograph mechanical equipment, machinery, and products used for corporate publicity and record keeping, and in the analysis of engineering projects.

News Photographer

News photographers, also known as photojournalists, document newsworthy events and people for media outlets such as newspapers, TV stations, journals, and magazines. Although they often work in salaried staff positions, photojournalists may also work as freelancers, selling the rights to their photographs to the highest paying news outlet.

Fine Arts Photographer

Fine art photographers work as visual artists and sell their artwork in galleries. Photographers working in this field focus on developing pictures that showcase their artistic talents and creativity.

Portrait Photographer

Portrait photographers usually specialize in weddings, religious ceremonies, or school photographs, and almost always work in their own photography studio. In addition to dealing with the stress of working with a diverse clientele, freelance portrait photographers must also juggle the responsibilities of advertising, scheduling appointments, purchasing equipment, and billing clients. In addition, many also process images, design albums, and mount and frame photographs for clients.

Scientific Photographer

Scientific photographers capture a variety of subjects on film to illustrate or record scientific data. In addition to a background in photography, many of these professionals also have prior experience or education in the scientific field.

Self-employed Photographer

Self employed photographers, also known as freelancers, work directly with clients rather than a photo agency, studio, or news organization. While many work on projects commissioned by clients in one of the above fields, others take photos with the intent to license their work to stock-photo agencies for reproduction rights.

Article Resources:

The Bureau of Labor Statistics
Bureau of Labor Statistics—Photographer
Professional Photographers of America
National Press Photographers Association
American Society of Media Photographers