Photographer

Career Overview

Photographers use their technical expertise, creativity, and composition skills to produce and preserve images.

Education

Although portrait photographers are not required to have postsecondary education, many take classes because employers usually seek applicants with creativity and a "good eye," as well as a good technical understanding of photography. Photojournalists and industrial and scientific photographers often need a bachelor’s degree.

Future Outlook

Employment of photographers is projected to decline 4 percent from 2019 to 2029. The decreasing cost of digital cameras and the increasing number of amateur photographers and hobbyists will reduce the need for professional photographers.

Work Environment

Working conditions for photographers vary by specialty. Some photographers travel for photo shoots, working either indoors or outdoors. Others work in studios; still others work in laboratories and use microscopes to photograph subjects.

Recommended High School Courses

Art
Business
Communication
Graphic Design
Marketing
Photography
Videography

Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.
Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.

Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

Arm-Hand Steadiness - The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Category Flexibility - The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Far Vision - The ability to see details at a distance.
Finger Dexterity - The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Information Ordering - The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Manual Dexterity - The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Selective Attention - The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Visual Color Discrimination - The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
Visualization - The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.

Operate still or video cameras or related equipment.
Determine technical requirements of productions or projects.
Set up still or video cameras or related equipment.
Create computer-generated graphics or animation.
Convert data among multiple digital or analog formats.
Confer with clients to determine needs.
Review art or design materials.
Maintain inventories of materials, equipment, or products.
Maintain records, documents, or other files.
Select materials or props.
Coordinate activities of production personnel.
Maintain recording or broadcasting equipment.
Apply finishes to artwork, crafts, or displays.
Research new technologies.
Write informational material.
Construct distinctive physical objects for artistic, functional, or commercial purposes.
Arrange artwork, products, or props.
Obtain copyrights or other legal permissions.

Schools

Academy Of Art University

Albright College

American International Co...

American River College

American University

Anna Maria College

Appalachian State Univers...

Arcadia University

Artcenter College Of Desi...

Asbury University

Atlanta Technical College

Austin Community College...

Bakersfield College- Pano...

Bard College

Barry University

Bennington College

Bluefield College

Bowling Green State Unive...

Bradley University

California Institute Of T...

California State Universi...

Cerritos College

College Of Dupage

College Of Saint Scholast...

Colorado Mesa University

Columbus State Community...

Cooper Union

Dakota County Technical C...

Dominican University

East Stroudsburg Universi...

El Centro College- Dallas...

Elon University

Emerson College

Evangel University

Fashion Institute Of Tech...

Hamilton College

Hampden-sydney College

Hampshire College

Hanover College

Haverford College

Henderson State Universit...

Iowa Central Community Co...

Ithaca College

Lesley University

Manchester Community Coll...

Marlboro College

Maryland Institute Colleg...

Marymount Manhattan Colle...

Mcpherson College

Minneapolis College Of Ar...

Morehouse College

New York University

Northeast Wisconsin Techn...

Northern Virginia Communi...

Notre Dame University Of...

Oakland Community College

Oglethorpe University

Ohio University

Olivet Nazarene Universit...

Parsons School Of Design

Pitzer College

Pratt Institute

Prescott College

Rhode Island School Of De...

Rhodes College

Ringling College Of Art A...

Rochester Institute Of Te...

Rogers State University

San Antonio College

Savannah College Of Art A...

Southern Adventist Univer...

Spelman College

St. Lawrence University

Sterling College

Suny At New Paltz

Suny At Purchase

Suny Dutchess Community C...

Suny Mohawk Valley Commun...

Suny Nassau Community Col...

Suny Onondaga Community C...

Suny Rockland Community C...

Suny Tompkins Cortland Co...

The New School- Nyc Campu...

The University Of The Sou...

Thomas Nelson Community C...

Union University

University Of Alabama- Hu...

University Of California-...

University Of Hartford

University Of Louisiana-...

University Of Maryland- E...

University Of Mount Olive

University Of New Haven

University Of Sioux Falls

University Of South Dakot...

University Of The Arts

University Of Valley Forg...

Valley City State Univers...

Virginia Wesleyan Univers...

Waubonsee Community Colle...

Webster University

Wellesley College

Whitman College

William Woods University

Academy Canada- St. Jo...

Alberta College Of Art...

Centre For Arts And Te...

Durham College- Oshawa...

Fanshawe College- Lond...

Fleming College- Halib...

Lasalle College- Laval...

Lasalle College- Montr...

Lasalle College- Vanco...

New Brunswick College...

North Island College-...

Nscad University- Acad...

Ocad University

Red River College- Exc...

Redeemer University Co...

Seneca College- Seneca...

Trinity Western Univer...

University Of Windsor-...

Potential Scholarships

5 Strong Scholarship

Agnes M. Lindsay Scholars...

Curt Pozan Trades Scholar...

Approx Salary Expectation

Currency:

Low End:

$19,840.00 /yr

Avg/Med:

$34,880.00 /yr

High End:

$76,380.00 /yr

Related Careers

Automotive Body Technician

Public Relations Manager

CNC Machinist

Mill Worker

References

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, https://www.bls.gov/ooh/.
Trend Analysis - Explorer the Market, Labour Market Information, Government of Canada https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/trend-analysis.
O*NET OnLine, National Center for O*NET Development, https://www.onetonline.org/.