How To Become A Commercial Photographer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a commercial photographer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Elena Volkova

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a commercial photographer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $17.8 an hour? That's $37,027 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 9% and produce 11,200 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a commercial photographer?

Elena Volkova

Professor of Art and Design, Stevenson University

One way to maximize salary potential is to understand professional practices such as contracts, creative fees, licensing, copyright, etc. Emerging professionals must be confident in the value of their work and not undervalue it.

ScoreCommercial PhotographerUS Average

Salary

2.9

Avg. Salary $37,027

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.5

Growth rate 9%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.20%

Asian 7.07%

Black or African American 6.38%

Hispanic or Latino 15.37%

Unknown 5.33%

White 65.66%

Gender

female 26.11%

male 73.89%

Age - 38

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38

Stress level

4.5

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.5

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

1.9

Work life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a commercial photographer

Explore commercial photographer education requirements

Most common commercial photographer degrees

Bachelor's

66.3 %

Associate

20.7 %

Master's

6.0 %

Start to develop specific commercial photographer skills

Skills	Percentages
Product Photography	38.44%
Adobe Photoshop	14.71%
Art Direction	6.62%
Video Production	5.30%
Photo Shoots	3.65%

Complete relevant commercial photographer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New commercial photographers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a commercial photographer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real commercial photographer resumes.

Research commercial photographer duties and responsibilities

Manage creative projects from concept to completion; including signs, posters, specialize logos and video documentaries for clients.
Compile portfolios for multiple photography competitions/certifications.
Compile portfolios for multiple photography competitions/certifications.

Prepare your commercial photographer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your commercial photographer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a commercial photographer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable commercial photographer resume templates

Build a professional commercial photographer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your commercial photographer resume.