The photographers are already full of creativity, passion, and skills. They don’t always have to keep reading, but they have to read to face the interviews. The photographers also have to be ready with a pool of creative photographs, some related projects, proofs, and a mesmerizing profile. The interview questions can be tricky. Thus, one must be prepared to face them. Let’s know some of the Photographer Interview Questions.
Interview questions to ask a photographer
- What do you think are the duties of a photographer?
Sample Answer:
The photographers have the following duties:
- Assess and organize the composition of the photographs.
- Instructing the subjects for posing.
- Take excellent pictures with minimum retakes.
- Arrange the photography assets.
- Choose and arrange the locations.
- Maintain a portfolio to present the work.
- Adjust the lights and provide artificial lights to beautify the appearance of the subject.
- Use photography software or Photoshop to enhance the clicked photos.
- What Type Of Photographer Do You Wish To Be? Why?
Sample Answer:
I want to work as a travel photographer. This type of photography helps the world explore the history, culture, landscape, and people related to the place. These photographers can fulfill their wish of traveling in the name of the profession. Other people have to pay for traveling while the travel photographers get paid for the same. They also get the opportunities to work for famous TV channels at a handsome salary.
- What Challenges Do You Face As A Photographer?
Sample Answer:
In general, as a photographer, I have faced many rejections throughout my career. The main challenge is to create a bridge between what the photo speaks and what the viewers listen to. Other challenges are:
- As a beginner, I must get inspired by the pictures clicked by others but still maintain the originality in my photographs.
- Having the proper equipment is difficult and expensive. The equipment must be in line with the purpose. Although the apparatus can be brought on rent to reduce the costs, having personal equipment will be useful for the lifetime.
- Same things must be captured but with different angles again and again until there is uniqueness.
- The background and lights must be organized according to the daytime, subject, and purpose.
- Finally, patience is a must.
- What Camera And Technology Do You Use As A Wildlife Photographer?
Sample Answer:
I use the Protax POLO SLR D7200. It has a full-frame format and a focal length of 36mm. It has optical image stabilization, and the zoom level is 7.1x to 16x.
I prefer using the Promaster Professional XC525C tripod that weighs around 3 lbs and has five sections. I chose it because it is lighter as compared to other tripods but strong enough to stand straight in the wild.
The gimbal I use is HIFFIN Professional Heavy Duty Metal. The lens can be adjusted horizontally using it. It helps to find the center of gravity of the lens and position the camera precisely.
- What Are Your Motives As A Photographer?
Sample Answer:
I believe that a photo is worth of thousand words. I want to share my ideas through the photographs because they don’t speak any language. I keep on learning various creative photography ideas through free courses. I want to train my juniors for the same in the future and establish my name as a brand for my photography. It is my passion, and I want to turn it into a full-time profession because I know that my productivity is directly proportional to a rise in my interests.
- Why Should We Hire You?
Sample Answer:
After coming across your job profile, I found a great match between my interest and your requirements. I created independent projects, and I learned to be a team player during the last internship. I did thorough research regarding various assets used by this company, and I have handled some of them too. I am sure that I will quickly learn to handle more types of equipment and take better photographs every day if I get an opportunity to learn from a set of skillful employees from your company.
- What Questions Will You Ask Your Clients?
Sample Answer:
I will first ask them to state their requirements, and budget because the budget and the requirements depend on each other. I will give them a clear idea about the same after a quick calculation. I will also show them my work samples to provide an idea of my photography. I will ask them some other questions such as:
- Where do you want to use these photographs?
- What is the deadline to get the whole work done?
- How long must be the license period for these photographs?
- What are the minimum and maximum number of photos you want?
- Are the poses for clicking the pictures pre-decided?
- What is the location? What extra equipments do you want us to carry?
Finally, I will mention the total estimate including the equipment required, number of photos, working hours, and the number of team members.
- What Was Your Recent Photography Project About?
Sample Answer:
In my recent project, I and my fellow photographers took the challenge of clicking the cityscapes. To maintain uniqueness, we had to do deep research on existing cityscape photos on the internet so that, even if our locations match with theirs, the angles don’t match. For the first few days, we clicked marvelous photos of the sky touching buildings on the streets of New York but later found that they were not unique. So, we had to try the same for about 4 weeks at different locations and different angles.
- What Photo Editing Software Do You Use? Why?
Sample Answer:
I use Skylum Luminar 4 for photo editing. I could see the benefits of both Photoshop and Lightroom in this software application. One can view the images in a gallery view, filmstrip view, or single-image view. It provides the adjustment layers. The sales and technical support are available throughout the day. I save time by using the shortcuts for managing the photographs automatically.
- On what factors do you choose a subject for photography?
Sample Answer:
I want my photos to speak and spread the message effectively. Thus, I choose the untouched or ignored sides of the society such as malnourished children in remote areas, tired workers with more work and low pay, multitasking women, polluted historical sites, and much more. I want my photos to be revolutionary that won’t hurt the emotions of the people. However, I make sure that I respect the privacy of the subjects if they don’t want to get into it.
- What Do You Hate About Being A Photographer?
Sample Answer:
Being a photographer is challenging but I am working to solve them. Some of the things I hate are:
- Unready subject. In most of the events, the subjects cannot pose well and it is not easy to make all of them pose perfectly at the same time.
- Changing requirements of the clients. The event hours may get extended and we might have to wait for a longer time. Many clients start bargaining over the same later. So, now I have started discussing the extended hours with the clients clearly while signing the contract.
- Remote locations. Sometimes, most of the time, money, and energy get wasted in traveling to and from the locations. To solve this, I first find the location on the internet, calculate the time and money for traveling, and then schedule my other jobs accordingly.
- What Are Your Weaknesses?
Sample Answer:
I spend a long time in photo editing. Sometimes I even go beyond the requirements. Diving deep into the details is good but it is time taking too. To solve this, I have started editing the photos only according to the requirements of the clients.
I have lost my patience while making my subjects pose. To overcome that, now I remember that many of them are not professional models. I ask them how they are comfortable with posing schedule my other jobs accordingly.
Conclusion
The photographers often work under professional photographers as assistant photographers. During an interview, the interviewers try to assess the candidate’s creativity, interpersonal, and technical skills, working style, professionalism in handling the apparatus, way of handling the backgrounds, lights, and the subjects.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why Do Photographers Generally Wear Black?
Answer:
Clothes with loud patterns and bold colors may turn to be a distraction for the subjects. Thus, they generally wear black or shades of natural colors. There are fewer chances of them getting mistaken as guests if they wear black. They can easily stand in front of the lights because the black color won’t get reflected. Also, they can easily color correct their black clothes.
- What Qualification Is Needed To Be A Photographer?
Answer:
A candidate might need a bachelor’s degree in photography, a high school diploma or a similar degree, or a post-secondary course in a relevant field. A postsecondary degree is mostly not needed. The aerial photographers must remember that the drones they will be flying for photography will be a part of America’s Aviation System. The salary of a photographer ranges from $20,000 to $70,000 per annum.
