How To Become A Photography Internship: What It Is and Career Path

What is a photography internship and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

A photography intern will learn the processes of photography, the studio, and assist the photography. You will assist the photography unit in handling work relating to photography. You will also help in handling different photography sessions and manage the equipment. Apart from this, you must listen to instructions by the photographer and make sure the instructions are followed thoroughly. You will assist the photographers by instructing the clients on the best positions and backgrounds to use for the photography session.

Photography Internships do not need a formal education to be given the post, but at least a high school diploma is important. A degree or certification in photography will also help you to understand the work better and increase your chance of hire. Also, you will need physical strength because you tend to stand during the session, which often can be outdoors in the heat or cold. Photography interns make an average of $28.31 an hour, and that is $58,888 a year.

ScorePhotography InternshipUS Average

Salary

5.3

Avg. Salary $67,376

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 6.99%

Black or African American 6.28%

Hispanic or Latino 15.03%

Unknown 5.69%

White 65.78%

Gender

female 69.88%

male 30.12%

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 photography internship

Explore photography internship education requirements

Most common photography internship degrees

Bachelor's

76.9 %

Associate

13.6 %

High School Diploma

5.4 %

Start to develop specific photography internship skills

Skills	Percentages
Adobe Photoshop	34.37%
Photo Shoots	9.81%
Photography Intern	6.33%
Adobe Lightroom	5.98%
Video Shoots	5.28%

Complete relevant photography internship training and internships

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

Research photography internship duties and responsibilities

Manage social media accounts including Instagram and Facebook.
Retouch all photographs generate by photography staff.
Gain experience with Photoshop and become efficient with a DSLR camera.
Collaborate with coworker to write company blog and promote company on Facebook.

Prepare your photography internship resume

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

Choose from 10+ customizable photography internship resume templates

Build a professional photography internship 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 photography internship resume.