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Photographers: Career Profile
Photograph people, landscapes, merchandise, or other subjects. May use lighting equipment to enhance a subject's appearance. May use editing software to produce finished images and prints. Includes commercial and industrial photographers, scientific photographers, and photojournalists.
What Tasks Do Photographers Do?
The core tasks performed by photographers span:
- Adjust apertures, shutter speeds, and camera focus according to a combination of factors, such as lighting, field depth, subject motion, film type, and film speed.
- Create artificial light, using flashes and reflectors.
- Determine desired images and picture composition, selecting and adjusting subjects, equipment, and lighting to achieve desired effects.
- Transfer photographs to computers for editing, archiving, and electronic transmission.
- Use traditional or digital cameras, along with a variety of equipment, such as tripods, filters, and flash attachments.
- Manipulate and enhance scanned or digital images to create desired effects, using computers and specialized software.
- Take pictures of individuals, families, and small groups, either in studio or on location.
- Enhance, retouch, and resize photographs and negatives, using airbrushing and other techniques.
Skills and Knowledge
Successful photographers rely on a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Most Important Skills
The abilities most central to this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Core Knowledge
Other Photographers Job Titles
Common job titles for this role include:
- Advertising Photographer
- Aerial Photographer
- Automotive Photographer
- Biological Photographer
- Biomedical Photographer
- Commercial Photographer
- Crime Scene Photographer
- Digital Photographer
How Many Photographers Are There?
There are roughly 84,572 photographers working in the United States today. Employment is projected to decline by -3.6% over the projection horizon.
How Much Do Photographers Make?
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $75,743 |
| Hourly median | $36.42 |
| 10th percentile | $52,108 |
| 25th percentile | $63,926 |
| 75th percentile | $87,561 |
| 90th percentile | $99,379 |
Wages vary widely based on experience, location, and industry.
Pay by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $110,530 |
| Massachusetts | $60,610 |
| New York | $57,700 |
| Oregon | $55,640 |
| Minnesota | $54,650 |
| New Jersey | $50,760 |
| California | $50,610 |
| Delaware | $50,040 |
| Rhode Island | $49,770 |
| Louisiana | $49,740 |
| Connecticut | $48,260 |
| New Hampshire | $48,180 |
| Utah | $47,610 |
| Hawaii | $45,440 |
| Maryland | $44,890 |
| Mississippi | $44,660 |
| Maine | $44,610 |
| Washington | $44,580 |
| Colorado | $43,560 |
| Virginia | $43,180 |
| Kentucky | $42,000 |
| New Mexico | $41,600 |
| Georgia | $40,050 |
| Wyoming | $39,700 |
| Pennsylvania | $39,640 |
| Wisconsin | $39,440 |
| Nebraska | $39,020 |
| North Carolina | $38,400 |
| Florida | $38,230 |
| Arizona | $38,210 |
| Oklahoma | $37,920 |
| Missouri | $37,280 |
| Indiana | $37,270 |
| Idaho | $36,900 |
| Puerto Rico | $36,780 |
| Texas | $36,760 |
| Iowa | $36,380 |
| Alaska | $36,190 |
| Montana | $36,180 |
| Tennessee | $36,000 |
| Kansas | $35,930 |
| Nevada | $35,560 |
| West Virginia | $35,470 |
| South Dakota | $35,150 |
| Alabama | $35,140 |
| North Dakota | $35,090 |
| South Carolina | $34,870 |
| Illinois | $34,600 |
| Ohio | $33,990 |
| Arkansas | $33,850 |
Where Photographers Earn the Most
Compensation for photographers shift depending on where you work. These regions lead on median pay:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| New England | $53,026 | 4.4% | 0.91 |
| Middle Atlantic | $52,416 | 16.2% | 1.06 |
| Far Western US | $48,722 | 20.3% | 1.25 |
| Rocky Mountains | $43,531 | 4.0% | 1.02 |
| Plains States | $40,800 | 4.8% | 0.71 |
| Southeast | $39,035 | 25.0% | 1.09 |
| Southwest | $37,314 | 10.6% | 0.85 |
| Other U.S. Territories | $36,780 | 0.2% | 0.37 |
Top Metro Areas
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rochester, MN | MN | $78,870 | 30 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | CA | $75,070 | 980 |
| Bend, OR | OR | $72,760 | 30 |
| Springfield, MA | MA | $64,880 | 70 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | MA | $63,340 | 870 |
| Santa Maria-Santa Barbara, CA | CA | $60,910 | 50 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | NY | $60,270 | 3,690 |
| Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | MN | $60,270 | 370 |
Which Industries Hire Photographers
Most photographers work in these industries:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 29,270 | $38,200 |
| Information | 6,720 | $62,920 |
| Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation | 3,830 | $37,720 |
| Retail Trade | 3,240 | $38,290 |
| Wholesale Trade | 1,280 | $50,600 |
| Real Estate and Rental and Leasing | 1,120 | $41,600 |
| Educational Services | 1,110 | $58,010 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 1,010 | $44,710 |
Photographers work in the following industries:
Tech Stack
- Document management software: Adobe Acrobat (hot technology)
- Video creation and editing software: Adobe After Effects (hot technology)
- Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Creative Cloud software (hot technology)
- Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Illustrator (hot technology)
- Desktop publishing software: Adobe InDesign (hot technology)
- Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Photoshop (hot technology)
- Operating system software: Apple macOS (hot technology)
- Web page creation and editing software: Facebook (hot technology)
- Accounting software: Intuit QuickBooks (hot technology)
- Data base user interface and query software: Microsoft Access (hot technology)
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
- Word processing software: Microsoft Word (hot technology)
Work Environment
Daily working conditions for photographers reflects the following characteristics:
- Telephone Conversations
- Contact With Others
- Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams
- Deal With External Customers or the Public in General
Education and Training
Entry-level photographers positions require a postsecondary nondegree award as the typical entry-level education. This occupation sits in Medium Preparation Needed (Job Zone 3), signaling the level of preparation typically expected.
Related Careers
Similar Occupations
- Art Directors (Primary-Short)
- Craft Artists (Primary-Long)
- Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators (Primary-Short)
- Special Effects Artists and Animators (Primary-Short)
- Floral Designers (Supplemental)
- Graphic Designers (Primary-Short)
- Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers (Supplemental)
- Producers and Directors (Supplemental)
References
This profile draws on the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 27-4021.00 (Photographers).
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