Freelance Photographer Education Requirements
Freelance Photographer Education Requirements And Degrees
If a freelance photographer career is compelling to you, you might also be interested in what kind of education you need to become a freelance photographer. For freelance photographers, the most commonly required education level is a bachelor's degree.
We decided to investigate the topic of freelance photographer education more precisely by analyzing 11,451 freelance photographer resumes and found that freelance photographers most commonly study photography, graphic design, or fine arts. 61% of freelance photographers hold a bachelor's degree, 17% hold a associate degree and 9% hold a high school diploma.
The most common colleges for students to pursue their goal of becoming a freelance photographer are School of Visual Arts and Savannah College of Art and Design.
For those who would rather stay in your pajamas during the day, we prepared some online courses that can help in freelance photographer education paths.
We prepared a list of a freelance photographer certifications that you should consider. The most common certification for freelance photographers is Web Graphics and Multimedia Certificate.
We assessed our data to determine the typical level of education for freelance photographers. The most common degree for freelance photographers is bachelor's degree. In fact, 61% of freelance photographers earn that degree. A close second is associate degree with 17% and rounding it off is high school diploma with 9%.
- Bachelors degree, 61%
- Associate degree, 17%
- High School Diploma degree, 9%
- Masters degree, 6%
- Other Degrees, 7%
According to our resume data, most freelance photographers, 40% to be exact, major in photography. Some other common majors for a freelance photographer include graphic design and fine arts majors.
- Photography, 40%
- Graphic Design, 11%
- Fine Arts, 9%
- Communication, 7%
- Other Majors, 33%
Here are the most common colleges for a freelance photographer career in the US based on their resumes. Freelance photographers often get their degree in School of Visual Arts, Savannah College of Art and Design, and Art Institute of Pittsburgh.
Most Common Certifications For Freelance Photographer
Web Graphics and Multimedia Certificate
#1 Certification For Freelance Photographer
Equips the student for work as a Web graphic artist, creating illustrations, pictures, buttons, and other images for use on the Web, as well as the ability to create interactive multimedia designs in Flash or other programs.
Equips the student for work as a Web graphic artist, creating illustrations, pictures, buttons, and other images for use on the Web, as well as the ability to create interactive multimedia designs in Flash or other programs.
- More than two years of education or training after high school required? No
- More than two years of work experience required? No
- Oral or Written Exam Required? No
- Renewal Required? No
Certified Professional Photographer (CPP)
#2 Certification For Freelance Photographer
- More than two years of education or training after high school required? No
- More than two years of work experience required? Yes
- Oral or Written Exam Required? Yes
- Renewal Required? Every 4 year(s)
Top Online Courses For Freelance Photographers
Sometimes things are just better when you get to stay in your pajamas all day. That includes school. We found top courses for freelance photographers from Udemy, Coursera, EDX, and ed2go that will help you advance in your career. Here are essential skills you need to be a freelance photographer:
- Photoshop
- Photo shoots
- Lightroom
A Pro Camera Is Not All You Need to Make An Effective Portrait, Learn the Story Telling Secrets...
A Guide to Equipment, Technique and Workflow for Real Estate Photography...
Start a business photographing real estate photography jobs for architects, builders, and real estate agents...
Learn how to take stunning photographs by mastering both the technical and creative sides of digital photography...
See results today! 50 photography tips for taking amazing photos with your DSLR, Mirrorless or compact camera...
An essential Photoshop course for all photographers. Learn how to edit and manipulate your images with Photoshop CC...
Learn how I thrived for 35+ years photography people, products, and places for Fortune 500 companies and top maazines...
You'll learn how to take better portraits with any camera in this complete portrait photography course...
The ultimate guide to DSLR and Mirrorless cameras features and settings...
Master your Nikon D3400 DSLR and shoot great pictures and videos...
Your Online Guide to Taking Stunning iPhone Photography Like a Professional Digital Photographer...
Photography settings - learn how to get the most from your DSLR camera and improve your photography!...
Your complete guide to pro headshots with simple gear. You'll discover how to use your gear, edit like a pro, and more...
Learn and Master Photoshop for Photographers - Became Advanced User and Create Outstanding Images!...
Photoshop CC for the Digital Photographer...
Travel Photography for the Digital Photographer...
Become pro photographer - Understand camera gear, lighting + composition, portrait, stock photography sell photo online...
Learn how to turn your passion for nature and adventure photography into a thriving business...
Photography course for beginners masterclass. Perfect for all photography levels: Beginner - Advanced. DSLR photography...
Top 10 Colleges For Freelance Photographers
In a lot of cases, a higher education can mean a higher salary or even a better job. That's why we found out the best colleges for freelance photographers. We based this list on these metrics: admissions rate, retention rate, mean earnings of students working, ratio of working vs. non-working students 10 years after admission, average cost of attendance and median debt for graduates.
1. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
2. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
3. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
4. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
5. University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX • Public
6. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
7. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
8. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
9. University of California, Berkeley
Berkeley, CA • Public
10. Duke University
Durham, NC • Private
Top 10 Affordable Colleges For Freelance Photographers
If those top 10 were a bit out of your price range, you might want to check these schools instead. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price and mean earnings after 6 years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for freelance photographers.
1. University of Florida
Gainesville, FL • Public
2. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Public
3. Brooklyn College of the City University of New York
Brooklyn, NY • Public
4. Lehman College of the City University of New York
Bronx, NY • Public
5. Brigham Young University
Provo, UT • Private
6. Fashion Institute of Technology
New York, NY • Public
7. Hunter College of the City University of New York
New York, NY • Public
8. Queens College of the City University of New York
Queens, NY • Public
9. California State University - Los Angeles
Los Angeles, CA • Public
10. Florida State University
Tallahassee, FL • Public
Top 10 Hardest Colleges To Get Into For Freelance Photographers
Some people like a challenge. Well, we challenge you to get into one of these schools. It's not going to be easy. We know this based on these institutions' admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted and mean earnings of students 6 years after admission.
1. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
2. Harvard University
Cambridge, MA • Private
3. Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA • Private
4. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
5. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
6. Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY • Private
7. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
8. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
9. New York University
New York, NY • Private
10. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
Top 10 Easier To Apply Colleges For Freelance Photographers
Why make getting a job harder on yourself than it has to be? With these colleges, you're sure to be accepted in no time. We compiled admissions rates, average SAT scores, average ACT scores and average salary of students 6 years after graduation in order to uncover which were the easiest schools to get into.
1. Mount Saint Mary's University
Los Angeles, CA • Private
2. Notre Dame de Namur University
Belmont, CA • Private
3. Cardinal Stritch University
Milwaukee, WI • Private
4. Wayland Baptist University
Plainview, TX • Private
5. Curry College
Milton, MA • Private
6. University of the Incarnate Word
San Antonio, TX • Private
7. Barry University
Miami, FL • Private
8. Grand View University
Des Moines, IA • Private
9. Notre Dame College
Cleveland, OH • Private
10. Kean University
Union, NJ • Public