Is Photography a good career?

In this program, students are taught to conceptualize & strategize their shoots. They are expected to create professional portfolios and convince potential clients. 

Required skills for photographers:

Continuous Learning and Practicing is the key to success.

• Creative ability: A good photographer is one who can capture beyond what he sees, understanding light, composition, and the perfect timing to seize a moment. Some are born with this ability, and some develop over the years with the practice.   
• Interpersonal skills: A photographer must be a people person; they cannot shy away from their subjects. You can have your forte in any style of photography (street, fashion, or fine art), but getting the right emotions for a perfect picture is crucial. 
• Trading skills:  At the initial stage of your career, you must be competent enough to handle all your work by yourself. Marketing strategies, getting prospective clients and managing seasonal bookings. 
• Post-production skills: With high-end digital cameras clicking numerous shots is comparatively less hectic than in the pre-digital era. However, now the stress is taken over by editing demands. Most photographers prefer doing their own post-production work and are familiar with the new editing software.  
• Customer service:  A photographer must understand the client’s needs and must be able to deliver the expected results to them.
• Market trends:  Photography is full of new trends in terms of shooting or post-processing images. But to be a part of this competitive field and get business, you need to be the best and an updated photographer. 

Types of Photography: 

• Art:  Fine art photography is defined as the most aesthetic style of photography. This style does not have any specifications in terms of subject, lighting, or equipment. It allows a photographer to express his emotions through his art, and such masterpieces are displayed in galleries. Such pictures are finely printed for a limited audience and are only sold at an auction.  

• Commercial photography: In this type, photography is more of a business than art. Images are created to appeal to the targeted audience, especially for e-commerce & advertising purpose. This type includes food photography, real estate photography, still life photography, and 360 product photography, where the sole purpose is to sell a product or a service. Commercial photography also includes concert or event photography.

• Fashion Photography:  The glamorous world of fashion and designers is incomplete without a photographer to showcase the talent of artists from various genres. Even this form of photography is for commercial purposes, but it emphasizes more on the art than just selling images. This style also includes portrait photography, wedding photography, and paparazzi. Paparazzi mainly focuses on capturing impromptu photos of celebrities, athletes, or any public figure.

• Wildlife Photography: The name itself explains the type; capturing God’s unique and most colorful species is a commendable task. Photography as art requires patience, but one needs courage, timing, and sufficient knowledge of their subjects for wildlife photography. This type also demands the right kind of equipment to capture wildlife (including insects & reptiles) in their natural habitat. Macro photography is also included in wildlife photography.

• Photojournalism: This style mainly focuses on collecting and presenting news material for magazines or publications. Photojournalists are responsible for presenting photo stories or a series of events that took place in our society. Photojournalism is closely associated with street photography, crime scenes, forensics, and documentary photography. Here photographers are responsible for documenting & showcasing reality with the help of their art.

• Travel: Undoubtedly, this is the most crowd-pleasing and favored style of photography. In this type of photography, one can document an array of subjects such as landscapes, people, places, lifestyles, cultures, traditions, and self-portraits (which can showcase the traveler’s emotions). 

• Amateurs:  They take photography as a hobby or an additional interest that is often done for a change from their routine. Innovative technology has increased the number of amateurs in the field of photography, but many of them are gaining recognition.  

• Astrophotography:  Until the late 19th-century, astrophotography had not gained fame; but when developed, it was used as a scientific tool by experimenters, scientists, and amateur astronomers. This style is used in capturing celestial movements. Apart from having a decent camera, one must possess a prime lens, tripod, and a remote to click the shutter. With the long exposure method, one can gain images of constellations, planetary configurations, meteors, and bright comets.   

Career Options:

 After getting the appropriate education and learning all the desired skills for being a photographer, one needs to learn how to present his art in the market. The very first step is to create your portfolio or a website that showcases your best work in your arena.

Steps to create your portfolio: Choose the format & your audience wisely.

• Building your online portfolio: These days, there are several options to create your digital portfolio; making your photography website, which can showcase your best work in different types of photography (street, food, products, or portraits). With a bit of research and by being tech-savvy, you will get enough themes and plugins that you can use to create your website. Paying for a domain is optional; you can create a free website first and later add a domain.

• Social Media:   In today’s time, having an Instagram page or Facebook page for your business is mandatory for any e-commerce business. It is the easiest and a free way of reaching a larger audience. You can also add links to your Instagram & Facebook page to your website, and vice-versa. 

• Printed Portfolio: Although modern technology has changed the world of photography, traditional ways are still recommended. A printed portfolio of 12-15 images can be designed as a magazine or a photo essay. This kind of portfolio stands out from the rest when shown to the clients.

Job prospects as a photographer:  Photography in this digital era have changed drastically; markets are flooded with new technology, post-processing techniques, and the growing number of amateurs. To survive in the trendy photography field, one must select the best & specialize in it.

• Architecture & Aerial photographers:  With the entry of drone cameras in the market, photographers for aerial views of a landscape or a building are in demand. In real estate, photographers are needed to capture the interiors and exteriors of the building or industrial space. 
• Scientific photographers:  They have to record scientific and medical data of tiny objects with the use of microscopes. They are responsible for analyzing and devising a clear image with the least manipulation. They are demanded at medical institutions, research centers, and hospitals.   
• Portrait photographers:  These photographers are in demand and are paid well. They are not just well versed with their equipment but also with their lighting and post-processing techniques. Portrait photographers can record events like weddings, model shoots, pre-maternity, and baby shoots.
• Photojournalists: They have a wide range of employment areas to work at, such as news, magazines, journals, television, print & online media. Photojournalists have to work in the most challenging zones; it can be either a war or a riot in their home ground. Documenting the most traumatizing situations or distressed matters of society is the toughest part of photography.
• Commercial photographer:  Working as a commercial photographer, one can cover many types of photography. You can work as a freelancer and accept projects based on your interest or where the demand is higher. For instance, you can sign up with a magazine and work on a landscape photography project or maybe work for any e-commerce platform as a product photographer, models, artifacts, home decor, or any industrial project.  
• Movie/Television industry: This industry provides an opportunity for film & video editors, camera assistants and also provides a profile as director of photography (DOP). DOP is responsible for every shot in a film or a television series; their job is to make the shot more artistic and glitch-free.

The average salary of a photographer:  The income of a photographer depends on many factors. The kind of photography he is engaged in, his certifications, and experience. The salary also varies if the photographer is working as a Freelancer or is employed with any organization. However, the average wage in the USA is recorded as $67,064 per annum as of July 2021 on Salary.com. This range can fall between $53,603 and $76,222.

In the current scenario where high-end cameras are available at easy EMI options and smartphones with inbuilt rear & front cameras, everyone is turning into a photographer. However, with technology, we can make tools to create and edit images, but we cannot build our imagination power. This creative field needs expertise, qualification, and patience to conquer one’s heart.

Frequently Asked Questions:

1. Do we need expensive gear to start a career in Photography?

One needs to invest more into learning photography skills and then can invest in expensive gear.

2. Which camera is best for beginners?

• Canon EOS M100, mirrorless camera
• Nikon D3500
• Fujifilm X-A5 

3. What are the best photo editing tools?

There are many tools to edit photos like a professional, but the best are Adobe Photoshop, Corel PaintShop Pro, & Adobe Lightroom.

4. What is the highest-paid photography job?

Some highest-paid photographers are Freelancers, Fashion photographers, Fine Art photographers, and Product photographers.

5. Which type of photography is in demand?

Wedding photography, Portraiture family, & children, and Commercial photography is the most demanded type of photography. 

6. Which are the free online portfolio sites?

Behance, Dribble, and Adobe Portfolio are free websites for online portfolios.