Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between digital producers and freelance photographers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a digital producer, becoming a freelance photographer takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a digital producer has an average salary of $82,842, which is higher than the $42,949 average annual salary of a freelance photographer.
The top three skills for a digital producer include digital content, digital marketing and digital platforms. The most important skills for a freelance photographer are adobe photoshop, aperture, and adobe lightroom.
| Digital Producer | Freelance Photographer | |
| Yearly salary | $82,842 | $42,949 |
| Hourly rate | $39.83 | $20.65 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 24,881 | 1,766 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 40 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 2 |
A digital producer is responsible for monitoring the development of digital content campaigns from initial planning to distribution and publishing. Digital producers supervise the creation of designs, ensuring that the plans stay within the clients' specifications and budget requirements. They also analyze the scope and limitations of the contents, maintaining its focus on the target audience. A digital producer reviews the current digital trends to identify strategic techniques, promoting client's brands, and attract potential clients to generate more revenues and increase profitability.
A freelance photographer produces photos while under a specific short-term contract. They are primarily responsible for coordinating with the client to learn any requests or preferences, bringing necessary devices and lighting equipment, securing the best location and setting, handling any obstruction during the photoshoot, and delivering high-quality results in a short amount of time. Moreover, a photographer must maintain a healthy working environment with clients or models by building rapport, which will also help establish a client base.
Digital producers and freelance photographers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Digital Producer | Freelance Photographer | |
| Average salary | $82,842 | $42,949 |
| Salary range | Between $55,000 And $123,000 | Between $29,000 And $61,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | - |
| Highest paying state | California | - |
| Best paying company | TBWA Worldwide | - |
| Best paying industry | Professional | - |
There are a few differences between a digital producer and a freelance photographer in terms of educational background:
| Digital Producer | Freelance Photographer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Communication | Photography |
| Most common college | Harvard University | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between digital producers' and freelance photographers' demographics:
| Digital Producer | Freelance Photographer | |
| Average age | 40 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 51.0% Female, 49.0% | Male, 51.2% Female, 48.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 6.4% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 7.0% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 14% | 11% |