Careers in Photography

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Looking for an entry level job or internship in photography? This is an overview of how to approach the search and a list of companies that might have relevant entry level and internship opportunities.

I bet you can remember cracking a pretty big smile when you visited Walt Disney World for the first time as a kid. If I recall correctly, there’s not much that compares to the magic of Mickey Mouse. Perhaps now you still occasionally flip through old photo albums and stumble upon quality relics like big ol’ Goofy with you on his lap. If it weren’t for the photographers in the park, these memories might not have been captured and could have easily slipped away. Photographers are able to capture fleeting moments and emotions through the pictures they shoot.

Photography Careers

Photo Credit: Flickr user wickenden

Photography Career Guide Overview

  1. What a Photographer Does
  2. A Typical Day for a Photographer
  3. Salary and Career Progression for a Photographer
  4. Best Locations for Photographers
  5. Pros and Cons of Being a Photographer
  6. What You Need to Know for a Career in Photography
  7. Photography Resources
  8. Careers Related to Photography
  9. Companies with Jobs and Internships in Photography

What a Photographer Does

A photographer is a person who takes photographs. Some photographers explore subjects like landscapes and portraits. Other photographers specialize in subjects unique to photography, including street photography, documentary photography, wedding photography, and commercial photography.

A Typical Day for a Photographer

A typical day for a photographer can range a lot but generally involves taking pictures in a studio or at an event and editing the pictures. Here are some things you might encounter:

  • shooting photos at a studio, sometimes for hours at a time
  • picking up and carrying around gear like cameras and multiple lenses
  • traveling between photo shoot locations
  • setting up lights
  • editing image files and burning CDs
  • meeting with a director to discuss an upcoming shoot
  • talking with clients and your rep on the phone
  • purchasing additional memory cards, filters, and other equipment

Salary and Career Progression for a Photographer

The average yearly salary for a photographer is $17,000-$86,000, which is a pretty large range. Where your salary falls in that range depends on how long you’ve been in the industry or what type of photography you do (fashion and commercial generally make more than news and sport). Beyond that you can consider becoming a Commercial Photographer ($21,000-$83,000), a Graphic Artist/Designer ($23,000-$57,000), or a Freelance Photographer ($18,000-$201,000).

Best Locations for Photographers

Here are some hot spots for photographers:

  • Chicago, Illinois
  • Orlando, Florida
  • Atlanta, Georgia
  • Miami, Florida
  • New York, New York
  • Los Angeles, California

Pros and Cons of Being a Photographer

Pros
  • You can turn a hobby into a career
  • Some travel if you’d like
  • Flexibility across industries
Cons
  • Demanding clients
  • Exhausting long shoots
  • Until you’re established pay can be low

What You Need to Know for a Career in Photography

Photography is generally self-taught, although there are a few degree programs. To be a photographer you’ll need to have both business technical knowledge and creativity. To get your pictures to look the best you’ll need to know about specific cameras, lighting, and digital imaging. It’s a good idea to try to get some hands-on experience with an established photographer. You could also do a local workshop to get experience. Either way you’ll want to showcase your work in albums online. By doing this you put your name out there, and you can get feedback on your work.

Photography Resources

If photography still sounds like your cup of tea, here are a few things you should do to get started.

Required Reading

Blogs and Websites

Networking Opportunities

Careers Related to Photography

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Companies with Entry Level Jobs and Internships in Photography

Fever - Fever is a New York, NY and Madrid, Spain based startup social network that is “changing the way people make plans.”

See the complete Fever profile


Things Remembered Logo

Things Remembered - Things Remembered, based in Highland Heights, OH, is “the nation’s largest and most prominent retailer of personalized gifts.”

See the complete Things Remembered profile


TVI Logo

TVI - TVI is a New York, NY based “award winning digital agency that designs leading brand experiences."

See the complete TVI profile


REVOLVE Logo

REVOLVE - REVOLVE is based in Cerritos, CA and is the “virtual home for an unrivaled collection of the world’s most coveted brands.”

See the complete REVOLVE profile


GoPro Logo

GoPro - GoPro is a San Mateo, CA based company that has built a huge business by offering “the world’s most versatile camera.”

See the complete GoPro profile


Industrial Color Logo

Industrial Color - Industrial Color is an LA and NYC based company that offers “digital still and video capture, post-production, color and video editing services,"

See the complete Industrial Color profile


Art.com Logo

Art.com - Art.com is based in Emeryville, CA, and it “is a leading authority in wall décor and the world’s largest online retailer of posters, prints, and framed art.”

See the complete Art.com profile


Munchery Logo

Munchery - Munchery is a San Francisco, CA based company that offers wholesome dinners prepared by top chefs delivered to your door for a reasonable price.

See the complete Munchery profile


Museum Hack Logo

Museum Hack - Museum Hack is a New York, NY based upstart that developed a “tour to turn one of New York’s most spectacular cultural institutions into a totally unique experience.”

See the complete Museum Hack profile


MOpro Logo

MOpro - MOpro is a Los Angeles, CA based company that expands “the digital possibilities for small businesses" through video, social media, web design, and more.

See the complete MOpro profile


Wedding Party Logo

Wedding Party - Wedding Party is a Palo Alto, CA based company that offers an app that allows you to “capture all the amazing photos from your wedding.”

See the complete Wedding Party profile


Sartori Logo

Sartori - Sartori is a Plymouth, WI based “fourth-generation family owned and operated” cheese company that is known for its high quality Italian cheeses.

See the complete Sartori profile


ThinkGeek Logo

ThinkGeek - ThinkGeek is a Fairfax, VA company that sells stuff for the "thousands of people out there who were on the front line and in the trenches as the Internet was forged.”

See the complete ThinkGeek profile


DNA Footwear Logo

DNA Footwear - DNA Footwear is a Brooklyn, NY shoe retailer that is now working to be “the top online destination for today’s latest trends in the world of footwear.”

See the complete DNA Footwear profile


Lumi Logo

Lumi - Lumi is a Los Angeles, CA based company that has developed “a revolutionary photographic print process for textiles and natural materials.”

See the complete Lumi profile


Rue La La Logo

Rue La La - Rue La La is a Boston, MA based e-commerce company that offers flash sales on "the best in women’s and men’s fashion, home, travel, kids, and more.”

See the complete Rue La La profile


The Webstaurant Store Logo

The WEBstaurant Store - The WEBstaurant Store is a Lancaster, PA based company that offers an “innovative, easy-to-use website to meet the purchasing needs of food service professionals."

See the complete The WEBstaurant Store profile


Olapic Logo

Olapic - Olapic is a New York, NY based company that provides the technology that allows brands to “collect, curate and display high quality photos" from customers.

See the complete Olapic profile


drchrono Logo

Drchrono - Drchrono is a Mountain View, CA based startup that helps medical practices run better through technology, and they're hiring.

See the complete Drchrono profile


Greatist Logo

Greatist - Greatist inspires "young, savvy, and social" people to "make one healthier choice per week," and they're hiring new grads for a variety of positions.

See the complete Greatist profile


Kembrel Logo

Kembrel - Kembrel is a Philadelphia, PA based company that is blending traditional retail with e-commerce to reach college students, and they're hiring.

See the complete Kembrel profile


Urban Outfitters Logo

Urban Outfitters - When I hear Urban Outfitters, I think hipsters, but maybe I should think jobs. The fashion retailer has a ton of opportunities for new an recent grads.

See the complete Urban Outfitters profile


Time Out Logo

Time Out - Time Out is a publishing company that focuses on local travel guides and magazines. They have quite a few exciting job opportunities.

See the complete Time Out profile


National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Logo

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency - Fascinated by geography and navigation? A career with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency might be just what you're looking for.

See the complete National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency profile


Chicago History Museum Logo

Chicago History Museum - If you find that Chicago history speaks to you, then you’ll want to take a look at the Chicago History Museum’s Jobs page.

See the complete Chicago History Museum profile


deviantART Logo

deviantART - If you love art and want to be part of the world's biggest online art community, then you should definitely consider a job with deviantART.

See the complete deviantART profile


Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Logo

Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia - If you enjoy Martha Stewart and want to work on the media or merchandise side, you definitely need to take a look at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia’s Careers.

See the complete Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia profile


Central Intelligence Agency Logo

Central Intelligence Agency - Today is a good day to be an American and a good day to think about career opportunities with the CIA that will allow you to serve your country.

See the complete Central Intelligence Agency profile


Shecky's Logo

Shecky’s - If Shecky’s resonates with you and you know the importance of having a strong group of girlfriends, then take a look at jobs at Shecky’s.

See the complete Shecky’s profile


Corbis Logo

Corbis - All creative works belong to someone and Corbis is a company based in Seattle, WA that buys and sells the rights for creative intellectual property.

See the complete Corbis profile


New York Daily News Logo

New York Daily News - The New York Daily News doesn't list jobs, but does typically hire in Advertising, Circulation, Marketing, Production, Technology, Finance, and Digital.

See the complete New York Daily News profile


Converse Logo

Converse - If you love Chuck Taylors and consider yourself an All-Star, you'll probably want to check out job opportunities with Converse.

See the complete Converse profile


Joby Logo

Joby - Joby is still a relatively small company, but they’re expanding their products lines by filling new niches with the same idea and technology. And they're hiring

See the complete Joby profile


Engadget Logo

Engadget - If it's hardware (or really cool software), and it's cool, Engadget will be all over it. Yesterday they published a blog post that said that they are hiring.

See the complete Engadget profile


International Center of Photography - If you love photography, but want to do more than just take pictures, then the International Center of Photography is a perfect place for you.

See the complete International Center of Photography profile


20×200 - Despite their artsy fartsiness, 20×200 is most focused on hiring techies right now—they’re looking for a System Admin and a Web Developer.

See the complete 20×200 profile


Sling Media - Sling Media is all about using technology to let you control how you consume media, if that interests you, check out their current job openings.

See the complete Sling Media profile


POLITICO - It’s hard to discern which positions at POLITICO are most appropriate for new college grads, but we've found a few that are worth a look for politics junkies.

See the complete POLITICO profile


Zappos Logo

Zappos.com - Zappos has great entry-level jobs for new grads and will even offer you $1,000 to quit after your first week. How cool is that?

See the complete Zappos.com profile


Pi Media - Pi Media is a Toronto, Canada based content creation company – North America’s largest in fact.

See the complete Pi Media profile


Associated Press - The Associated Press, headquartered in NYC, is the world’s largest and oldest news-gathering organization and would be a respectable place for a career!

See the complete Associated Press profile


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