When exploring the career landscape of photography, one has a significant number of options available to them. There is a flavor for every taste with it comes to pursuing a job in photography. This is a field like no other, it can attract many people from the different walks of life. Photography jobs range from the ultra artistic world to the utilitarian profit oriented spectrum. Depending on the goal you are pursuing, whether you are seeking an outlet to express your artistic skills or you strictly want to look for an opportunity to make money or the in-between, it is filled with endless opportunities.
Wedding Photography
An easy barrier of entry when it comes to making money with a camera, is the wedding industry. In any given medium to large sized city, weddings are taking place by the thousands, giving anyone with a decent understanding of the exposure triangle, the ability to quickly generate an income. The beauty of wedding photography is that you can purse it as side hustle or a full-time gig. You can also choose between taking on value-oriented clients to the ultra luxury/celebrity weddings, and the money you generate will be reflected by the type of clients you pursue. Another perk of going into this type of photography, is the challenging and ever-changing environments wedding photography offers. One minute you are shooting outdoors, the next you are indoors in a dimly lit church and then again in the evening with candle lighting the only available source of light. This provides an opportunity to really practice your shooting skills. The other benefit of doing wedding photography is you get to choose your clientele. This leaves you with control as to which project to take on and which to pass. A lot wedding photographers are entrepreneur and this is a major attraction for those who want to be their own bosses. It is truly and wonderful career if you chose to pursue this type of photography job. Before jumping into this type of endeavor I would recommend taking on photography assistant jobs to build valuable experience. Only once you have had some experience should you adventure alone. A good place to look would be the classified section of your local online newspaper photography jobs near me
Sports Photography
For those who have a true passion for team or individual sports, sports photography is equally as awesome as wedding photography. It is an action packed activity, that forces you to master every aspect of ones camera. Things happen fast, and there is very little change for a redo. It is as exciting as scary at times. An added benefit of sports photography is the perk of traveling, staying in far away locations, meeting famous athletes and making money at the same time. The Olympics being the wholly grail of sports photography, many individual spend decades doing this type of photography before being granted the opportunity. Similar to any career, you have to start small and work your way up to make it to the pinnacle. Many photographers start at their local high school gym, community sporting events and many low key events. Although, there are many opportunities to generate an income from this type of photography, there are not a lot ways to scale up and generate significant money. You truly have to like what you are doing to stay in this field for entire career.
Photojournalist
This type of photography is for the serious individuals out there. This is a branch of the news media that focus on telling a compelling story of current events. You can act as a freelancer in this field but you will likely be part of a larger organization who will dictate when and where you will be photographing. However, this is a field that will help you with building serious credibility and give you a solid photographer resume. You should be aware that many individuals who went into this area, have found themselves in hostile and far away places. Perhaps reporting from a war torn country is not for the faint of heart and personal safety being at stake. However, the images that past photographers have captured have stood the test of time. An example of work that is still circulating today is that of Horst Fass who brought back chilling images of the War in Vietnam in the 60s. This is certainty a fulfilling career but that can come at the cost one’s soul.
Portrait Photography
A less intense style of photography job, which is available to anyone interested is portraiture. Usually, this type of activity is hosted in a centrally located studio in the core of any given city. People looking for headshots for their own websites, real estate, bus signs, expecting mothers, family photos, Christmas photos, these would be the main clientele. This is a high volume, low fee type of endeavor. There is money to be made in this field and an equal amount of demand. However, there is very little artistic expression, or any life changing event that come with this type of job. You can make an honest living and not much more.
Commercial/product photography
This is a lesser known career path but it is I would argue the most lucrative. This is highly dependent on your clientele. There are many large sized corporation engaged in marketing looking to sell many different types of products such a Nike shoe or a very expensive Rolls Royce. How hard you go after this area, will dictate how much you can generate. Like many photography jobs, commercial and product photography can take you around the world and let you discover infinite possibilities. Equally as attractive, is the opportunity to truly experiment and try new ideas that can launch products into the mainstream and change the financial direction of companies. This can potentially start a cascading effect that can create a referral chain that can lead to many more lucrative contracts. One of the most famous product photographer is Peter McKinnon, who became a very famous YouTube personality, combining his exceptional product photography skills and his charismatic personality.
Photography is a wide ranging field with many opportunities and for those interested in breaking into this industry, there are endless directions one can take. Real estate photography jobs is another option that you could explore, which can also be profitable. Having been in this field for a number of years, one can grow and change with the time. The skills and life experiences you build over time can transfer from one type of photography to the other. I would highly recommend trying this career path even it is a few months, a few years or even a few decades.
B&D Photo and Film 