Is photography still a career?

Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and salary of photographers with similar occupations. Photographers who own and operate their own business have additional responsibilities. They must advertise, schedule appointments, set up and adjust equipment, purchase supplies, keep records, charge customers, pay bills, and if they have employees hire, train and manage their workers. The Pay tab describes typical earnings and how workers in the occupation are compensated by annual salaries, hourly wages, commissions, tips, or bonuses.

Within each occupation, earnings vary depending on experience, responsibility, performance, ownership and geographic area. For most profiles, this tab has a table with the salaries of the main industries that employ the occupation. It does not include the salary of self-employed workers, agricultural workers, or workers in private households because this data is not compiled by the Employment and Occupational Wage Statistics (OEWS) survey, the source of BLS salary data in the OOH.

Photography

is not a dying race, however, it is evolving and viable options have changed over time.

There are profitable careers in photography that range from joining the military to working as a freelancer. To understand which profession is right for you, you must have a good idea of the modern terrain surrounding the photography industry, as well as a little knowledge of its history. These factors have reduced the fees charged by photographers and photographs. So much so, that very few photographers today can live on their photography alone.

Many have turned to teaching, whether online, through e-books, or even in workshops. Some photographers now also write in their respective fields and don't even provide photos for the articles they write. There are even some that combine photography with other works, such as videography, design and public speaking. The employment of photographers is expected to grow by 9 percent over the next ten years, faster than the average for all occupations.

In addition, stock photography services available online allow individuals and businesses to access stock photos in exchange for a fee or subscription, which could reduce demand for photographers.


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John Pfannenstiel
John Pfannenstiel

Born in South Africa, John fell in love on his 14th birthday when his parents presented him with his first camera. After photographing insects, lizards, and snakes in his own backyard, John felt he had found his calling in life, and a career in photography beckoned. John set up his first photography business when he was 23 and has since traveled the world and worked with many famous photographers.