Vijay GarG
A photographer views his work on a computer
Make a Living Doing What You Love
Photography careers are critical to a wide range of industries, and they often require knowledge of modern imaging technology as well as traditional photographic equipment.
Today, there are a multitude of diverse careers in the field, from portrait photography to photojournalism. Each choice offers different opportunities and require different skills, and some even offer enough compensation to make them viable full time jobs.
1. Portrait Photographer
From weddings to school photos, portrait photographers are on site with their equipment to capture the moment. They may operate out of their own studios as well as working on location, and if they are self-employed or own their own business, they’ll have a wide variety of other job responsibilities, like billing clients, making appointments, processing images and framing photos.
2. Commercial Photographer
Commercial photography encompasses a range of photography careers that specialize in helping clients market their products or services. Commercial photographers take pictures of everything from buildings to merchandise to company employees, for media such as catalogs, advertisements and websites. In addition, they may document equipment or projects for company records and reports. This is often one of the more lucrative careers in photography.
3. Scientific Photographer
Scientific photographers document a variety of subjects in order to record experiments, illustrate technical information and bring to life images not normally visible to the eye. They often use special imaging techniques and equipment such as micrography, infrared photography, underwater photography and many more. Usually, scientific photographers work for government agencies, research facilities or universities.
4. Photojournalist/News Photographer
Photojournalists document people and events for newspapers, magazines and other publications. Whether they use only images to tell their stories or whether they also accompany them with words, photojournalists must be skilled storytellers. Press or news photographers usually work for newspapers either on staff or as freelancers, and cover local or national events such as sports, politics or court proceedings.
5. Freelance Photographer
As a freelance photographer you can be your own boss rather than working on staff at a studio, publication or other company. There are opportunities for freelance photography careers in just about any industry, from news photography to event photography to fashion photography. Though it can be challenging to establish yourself in the business, the constant variety of assignments means you’ll never be bored. |
