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

What is a digital photographer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Elena Volkova

The average digital photographer salary is $41,706. The most common degree is a bachelor's degree degree with an photography major. It usually takes 1-2 years of experience to become a digital photographer. Digital photographers with a Certified Professional Photographer (CPP) certification earn more money. 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 digital 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.

ScoreDigital PhotographerUS Average

Salary

3.3

Avg. Salary $41,706

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.5

Growth rate 9%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.23%

Asian 7.10%

Black or African American 6.41%

Hispanic or Latino 15.49%

Unknown 5.72%

White 65.04%

Gender

female 35.44%

male 64.56%

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 digital photographer

Explore digital photographer education requirements

Most common digital photographer degrees

Bachelor's

64.0 %

Associate

20.7 %

Master's

5.4 %

Start to develop specific digital photographer skills

Skills	Percentages
Adobe Photo	24.99%
Digital Photography Equipment	9.09%
Customer Service	8.59%
Digital Cameras	5.75%
Adobe Lightroom	5.52%

Complete relevant digital photographer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New digital 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 digital photographer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real digital photographer resumes.

Research digital photographer duties and responsibilities

Photograph the dog and manage the Instagram and Facebook pages.
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 digital photographer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your digital 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 digital 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 digital photographer resume templates

Build a professional digital 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 digital photographer resume.