Photographers - What They Do

Photographers operate still cameras to photograph people, events, scenes, materials, products and other subjects. They are employed by photographic studios, newspapers, magazines, museums and government, or they may be self-employed.

Job duties

This group performs some or all of the following duties:

Study requirements of a particular assignment and decide on type of camera, film, lighting and background accessories to be used
Determine picture composition, make technical adjustments to equipment and photograph subject
May operate scanners to transfer photographic images to computers
May operate computers to manipulate photographic images
May adapt existing photographic images and create new digitized images to be included in multimedia/new media products
May use delicate instruments, such as optical microscopes attached to cameras
May process exposed film
May use airbrush, computer or other techniques to retouch negatives
Medical photographers may work closely with medical illustrators.
Photographers may specialize in areas such as portrait photography, commercial photography, scientific photography, forensic photography, medical photography, digitized photography, multimedia photography or photojournalism.

Job titles

aerial photographer
commercial photographer
forensic photographer
industrial photographer
photographer
photojournalist
portrait photographer
scientific photographer

Employment Requirements

This is what you typically need for the job:

A bachelor's degree in visual arts with specialization in photography or Completion of specialized training in photography in high school, college or specialized training schools or Extensive on-the-job training under the supervision of a photographer is required.
Experience in, or knowledge of computerized photography or digital imaging may be required.
Creative and technical ability, as demonstrated by a portfolio of work, are required.

Essential Skills

Working with Technological Equipment and Machinery