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Photographer skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025
2 min read
Quoted experts
Jill Frank,
Jill Frank
Photographer example skills
Below we've compiled a list of the most critical photographer skills. We ranked the top skills for photographers based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 20.3% of photographer resumes contained adobe photoshop as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a photographer needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 photographer skills for your resume and career

1. Adobe Photoshop

Here's how photographers use adobe photoshop:
  • Offer a range of post-production and image editing with Adobe PhotoShop and LightRoom.
  • Introduced and supervised computer works and digital photo retouching and lay outing using Adobe Photoshop for advertising purposes.

2. Customer Service

Customer service is the process of offering assistance to all the current and potential customers -- answering questions, fixing problems, and providing excellent service. The main goal of customer service is to build a strong relationship with the customers so that they keep coming back for more business.

Here's how photographers use customer service:
  • Owned and operated an imaging and photography business where I gained and developed indispensable customer service experience.
  • Provide exceptional customer service by effectively multitasking appointments, handling customer calls, photo sessions and sales.

3. Excellent Time Management

Here's how photographers use excellent time management:
  • Relied mainly on a tight schedule ,including travel, and gained excellent time management skills.
  • Operated high quality camera equipment Prioritized excellent time management Recorded various types of events Troubleshot technical issues on-hand

4. Photographic Equipment

Photographic equipment is meant to make a photographer's job easier in capturing outstanding photos. These include using walkaround lenses, different types of lens filters, cleaning kits, external flash, reflectors, and tripods.

Here's how photographers use photographic equipment:
  • Implemented and coordinated a training program and personnel qualification system ensuring all personnel were 100% qualified on all photographic equipment.
  • Perform custom and specialized photography in-house or on location using a variety of still cameras and other photographic equipment

5. Professional Demeanor

Professional demeanor refers to one's outward behavior in a professional setting. Apart from uplifting your professionalism, it helps to limit inappropriate personal conversations and gossip that might be considered disrespectful..

Here's how photographers use professional demeanor:
  • Worked independently in crowds of thousands while photographing hundreds of adoring baseball fans and maintaining a professional demeanor.
  • Maintained a positive professional demeanor and outgoing personality.

6. Event Photography

Here's how photographers use event photography:
  • Provided event photography for resort initiatives including sales advertisements, holiday marketing pamphlets and renovations.
  • Coordinated and assisted portrait sessions and event photography for large corporate events.

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7. Camera Equipment

Here's how photographers use camera equipment:
  • Trained in capturing professional imagery of client s unique personalities with professional camera equipment.
  • Used new-technology digital camera equipment to photograph products for clients.

8. Digital Photography

Here's how photographers use digital photography:
  • Created, developed, and implemented new products and services using digital photography technology Field photography at local high schools
  • Discovered a few overlooked techniques and workarounds in digital photography of which some are published here http://georgesblogforfriends.blogspot.com/search/label/photography.

9. Portrait Photography

Here's how photographers use portrait photography:
  • Contracted to provide event and portrait photography for university publications, including Web content.
  • Provided seasonal portrait photography for the photo studio* Marketed portrait packages to customers

10. Photo Shoots

A photoshoot is a series of photographs that a photographer takes of someone, usually of a model or a famous person, to be used in a newspaper or a magazine. The goal of a photoshoot is to achieve a predetermined visual objective. Later, these images can be used for editing or post-production..

Here's how photographers use photo shoots:
  • Coordinate photo shoots of covers and editorials for monthly issues Scout locations locally, nationally and internationally for monthly Covers and
  • Organized many photo shoots and formulated an efficient system to eliminate scheduling conflicts.

11. Photography

Here's how photographers use photography:
  • Compiled portfolios for multiple photography competitions/certifications.
  • Represented Dorian Photography during face-to-face interactions with school personnel, maintaining a professional and pleasant working relationship with the client.

12. Adobe Lightroom

Here's how photographers use adobe lightroom:
  • Perform culling and editing of full weddings with Adobe LightRoom
  • Photographed daily activities, assisted in creating and choosing content for social media, performed basic edits to images using Adobe Lightroom

13. DSLR

Here's how photographers use dslr:
  • Utilize professional DSLR cameras, studio lighting equipment, Adobe editing software and an understanding of aesthetic forms to design images.
  • Used personal DSLR and external flash to photograph junior sports teams, outdoors and indoors, ages 3 to 15.

14. Real Estate

Real estate is land that has buildings on it. This kind of property consists of permanent improvements either natural or man-made, which include, houses, fences, bridges, water trees, and minerals. There are 4 types of real estate namely; residential real estate, commercial real estate, industrial real estate, and vacant land.

Here's how photographers use real estate:
  • Managed photo color correcting as well as retouching; processed aerial photographs including decoration, primarily for real estate customers.
  • Represented sellers of developed and undeveloped commercial properties to photograph properties to advertise in real estate media.

15. Scheduling Appointments

Scheduling appointments is the practice of finding a free slot with the person(s) you want to meet. The process of scheduling appointments involves finding mutually free time, negotiating follow-ups, sending reminders, and creating new appointments. Scheduling appointments is important to ensure that the timings of consecutive meetings do not clash with each other.

Here's how photographers use scheduling appointments:
  • Performed general office duties including scheduling appointments, providing estimates and ordering supplies.
  • Performed receptionist duties to include answering phones and scheduling appointments.
top-skills

What skills help Photographers find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What skills stand out on photographer resumes?

Jill Frank

Assistant Professor, Georgia State University

The ability to use all camera functions and fully understand the tools, both analog and digital. Having an artistic vision and creative drive that makes your portfolio unique and memorable. Confidence with lighting, managing large photoshoots, awareness of the current trends in photography, ability to handle deadlines and difficult situations.

What soft skills should all photographers possess?

Jill Frank

Assistant Professor, Georgia State University

Listening, being observant, trusting your vision. It is always important to work well in teams and have the patience to be a good collaborator.

What hard/technical skills are most important for photographers?

Jill Frank

Assistant Professor, Georgia State University

There is an expectation that material and technique are mastered. For example, if you want to photograph an event at night, you should know how to handle the resolution, the iso, the lighting, the speed of the shutter, etc., so that the images work for their intended purpose. If you are not ready to handle the technical elements, you are not ready for the photoshoot.

What photographer skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?

Peter GlendinningPeter Glendinning LinkedIn profile

W.J. Beal Distinguished Professor, Michigan State University

In my experience, people like being a photographer for reasons that often have to do with what they like doing in life, what their personality is, what their passions outside of photography are. The "people person," the "quiet poet," the "analytical type," and more, all can find a field in photography that suits them well, whether fashion photography, landscape photography, architectural photography or other. Someone who is lazy, disorganized, feels they already know everything, undisciplined, lacking in courage, will probably not like this field.

What type of skills will young photographers need?

Susan McSpaddenSusan McSpadden LinkedIn profile

Marketing Photographer, Johnson County Community College

Graduates in the field of photography would benefit significantly from some business knowledge. Take some business classes, if you can, even if it's a weekend continuing education session. There are freelance opportunities out there, if you are self-motivated and seek them out. Knowing about self-employment tax and how to budget your earnings as a freelancer would help until you are able to land a full-time position with a company or institution. Just like with any profession, being a go-getter, a self-starter, a hard worker, a go-the-extra-miler will help.
Do you want to know more?
Read more about what experts have to say about photographer

List of photographer skills to add to your resume

Photographer skills

The most important skills for a photographer resume and required skills for a photographer to have include:

  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Customer Service
  • Excellent Time Management
  • Photographic Equipment
  • Professional Demeanor
  • Event Photography
  • Camera Equipment
  • Digital Photography
  • Portrait Photography
  • Photo Shoots
  • Photography
  • Adobe Lightroom
  • DSLR
  • Real Estate
  • Scheduling Appointments
  • High-Quality Images
  • Edit Photos
  • Excellent Guest
  • Product Photography
  • Mac
  • Facebook
  • Digital Images
  • Photo Packages
  • School Administration
  • Exceptional Time Management
  • Post Processing
  • Commercial Buildings
  • Quality Photos
  • Instagram
  • PowerPoint
  • Nikon
  • Digital Cameras
  • Edit Images
  • Tripods
  • Quality Photographs
  • Photography Services
  • Artificial Light
  • Photo Sessions
  • Studio Equipment
  • Twitter
  • Santa
  • Technical Equipment
  • Costumes
  • Picture Composition
  • Photojournalism
  • Electronic Transmission
  • Camera Focus
  • Lifetouch
  • Photography Sessions

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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