What does an events photographer do?
An events photographer specializes in taking pictures for important or specific gatherings such as parties, shows, events, and weddings. They must assist with the event setup and provide excellent customer service to ensure that things will run smoothly before, during, and after the event. They must have good communication skills to properly assess and meet their client's needs and capture the best moments for a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Independently, they work in studios or work hand in hand with event coordinators.
Events photographer responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real events photographer resumes:
- Manage creative projects from concept to completion; including signs, posters, specialize logos and video documentaries for clients.
- Report increase of ticket sales as a direct result of posting event photos to the company Facebook page.
- Use traditional and digital cameras, along with a variety of equipment such as tripods, filters, and flash attachments.
- Edit and send out files to clients on DVD's.
- Compile portfolios for multiple photography competitions/certifications.
- Compile portfolios for multiple photography competitions/certifications.
Events photographer skills and personality traits
We calculated that 30% of Events Photographers are proficient in Customer Service, DSLR, and Nikon. They’re also known for soft skills such as Artistic ability, Business skills, and Computer skills.
We break down the percentage of Events Photographers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 30%
Produced images, edited to specification and delivered per deadline while providing excellent customer service.
- DSLR, 16%
Operate Studio Strobe lighting in the field, Operate Canon DSLR's for both video and still photography.
- Nikon, 14%
Trained on both Canon and Nikon camera systems.
- Adobe Photoshop, 13%
Edited, processed and retouched all wedding pictures using Adobe Photoshop.
- STARS, 9%
Photographed Dinner with the Stars charity event.
- Photography Equipment, 3%
Capture journalistic-style photographs during wedding ceremonies and receptions using digital and film photography equipment.
"customer service," "dslr," and "nikon" are among the most common skills that events photographers use at work. You can find even more events photographer responsibilities below, including:
Artistic ability. One of the key soft skills for an events photographer to have is artistic ability. You can see how this relates to what events photographers do because "photographers capture their subjects in images, and they must evaluate the artistic quality of a photograph." Additionally, an events photographer resume shows how events photographers use artistic ability: "photograph, edit, and deliver wedding and portrait images in an artistically natural light style. "
Business skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling events photographer duties is business skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "photographers must plan marketing or advertising strategies, reach out to prospective clients, and anticipate seasonal employment." According to an events photographer resume, here's how events photographers can utilize business skills in their job responsibilities: "founded a photography business focused on individual portrait photography. "
Computer skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of events photographers is computer skills. This skill is critical to many everyday events photographer duties, as "most photographers do their own postproduction work and must be adept at using photo-editing software." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "manipulate and enhance scanned or digital images to create desired effects, using both windows and mac computers. "
Customer-service skills. For certain events photographer responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "customer-service skills." The day-to-day duties of an events photographer rely on this skill, as "photographers must understand the types of shots their clients want and agree on suitable alternatives for ideas that may be unworkable." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what events photographers do: "photographed headshots, runway, and event guests for an aids charity fashion show. "
Detail oriented. Another common skill required for events photographer responsibilities is "detail oriented." This skill comes up in the duties of events photographers all the time, as "photographers must focus on details, especially in postproduction." An excerpt from a real events photographer resume shows how this skill is central to what an events photographer does: "conducted all photo shoots explained price and package details to customers. "
Interpersonal skills. While "interpersonal skills" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to events photographer responsibilities. Much of what an events photographer does relies on this skill, seeing as "photographers often take pictures of people." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of events photographers: "trained, coached & developed staff cited for excellence in interpersonal communications, teamwork, customer service, flexibility and reliability. "
The three companies that hire the most events photographers are:
- American Achievement Group Holding Corp
1 events photographers jobs
- Cincinnati Eye Institute1 events photographers jobs
- San Francisco University High School1 events photographers jobs
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Compare different events photographers
Events photographer vs. Studio associate
Photography internship is an advantage to interns who assist photographers while studying since it can develop creativity, strong networking, technical, and practical skills as they learn both lighting and photography business in a real photography studio. These interns are tasked to perform research, update social media platforms, and create images for social media posts. Such valuable hands-on experience serves as an entry-level to boost confidence, increase motivation, gain references, and qualify them for a permanent job offer.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between events photographers and studio associate. For instance, events photographer responsibilities require skills such as "dslr," "nikon," "stars," and "photography equipment." Whereas a studio associate is skilled in "appointment scheduling," "front desk," "pos," and "personal sales." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Studio associates tend to reach similar levels of education than events photographers. In fact, studio associates are 1.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% less likely to have a Doctoral Degree.Events photographer vs. Photography assistant
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that events photographer responsibilities requires skills like "customer service," "nikon," "stars," and "photography equipment." But a photography assistant might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "video production," "photographic equipment," "scheduling appointments," and "video shoots."
In general, photography assistants achieve similar levels of education than events photographers. They're 1.0% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for events photographers in the next 3-5 years?
Verser Engelhard
Associate Chair Associate Professor of Instruction, Columbia College Chicago
Events photographer vs. Assistant manager and photographer
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from events photographer resumes include skills like "stars," "photography equipment," "promotional videos," and "social events," whereas an assistant manager and photographer is more likely to list skills in "photographic equipment," "scheduling appointments," "studio photography," and "edit photos. "
Most assistant managers and photographer achieve a similar degree level compared to events photographers. For example, they're 0.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Events photographer vs. Photography internship
Even though a few skill sets overlap between events photographers and photography interns, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, an events photographer might have more use for skills like "customer service," "stars," "promotional videos," and "social events." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of photography interns require skills like "photography intern," "video shoots," "event photography," and "product photography. "
In general, photography interns hold similar degree levels compared to events photographers. Photography interns are 1.7% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.5% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of events photographer
Updated January 8, 2025
