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

What is a photographer, editor and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Bradley Shreve

A photographer utilizes his/her /her creativity, technical knowledge, and experience to capture images or videos for clients. This mostly takes place in a studio, at an event, or at a location specified by the client.

Most photographers focus on one particular area of photography, although it is common for some to specialize in more than one area. Photographers also double up as photo editors and use photo manipulation software to achieve desired results.

One major objective of photographers is to meet and exceed client expectations. It is therefore imperative that they maintain regular communication with these clients. A successful photographer must also have artistic ability and attention to detail in order to be able to use images to tell a story.

Photographers can be employed in various sectors, including media houses, real estate firms, advertising agencies, hospitals, government, etc. A good number of photographers are freelancers, which means that they have no specified working hours. Those in formal employment have flexible work schedules.

What general advice would you give to a photographer, editor?

Bradley Shreve

Editor, Tribal College Journal

Be flexible. An undergraduate degree in history offers a solid liberal arts background, but not a skill set that is finely tuned for most jobs. Think outside the box, and understand that the job you land probably won't be in the history profession.

ScorePhotographer, EditorUS Average

Salary

4.0

Avg. Salary $51,131

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.5

Growth rate 9%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.23%

Asian 7.02%

Black or African American 6.32%

Hispanic or Latino 15.17%

Unknown 5.70%

White 65.55%

Gender

female 37.05%

male 62.95%

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 photographer, editor

Explore photographer, editor education requirements

Most common photographer, editor degrees

Bachelor's

67.8 %

Associate

17.6 %

High School Diploma

7.0 %

Start to develop specific photographer, editor skills

Skills	Percentages
Adobe Photoshop	16.64%
Video Cameras	12.37%
Digital Photography	7.84%
Adobe Premiere	6.33%
ENG	5.40%

Complete relevant photographer, editor training and internships

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

Research photographer, editor duties and responsibilities

Manage creative projects from concept to completion; including signs, posters, specialize logos and video documentaries for clients.
Photograph original artwork on copy stands using DSLR's.
Complete assignments for weekly deadline using personal Nikon SLR film camera system.
Edit photos using Lightroom, and Photoshop to create special effects in post-production

Prepare your photographer, editor resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your photographer, editor 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 photographer, editor resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable photographer, editor resume templates

Build a professional photographer, editor 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 photographer, editor resume.