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Professional photographer vs editor

The differences between professional photographers and editors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a professional photographer, becoming an editor takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an editor has an average salary of $52,107, which is higher than the $44,490 average annual salary of a professional photographer.

The top three skills for a professional photographer include adobe photoshop, customer service and adobe lightroom. The most important skills for an editor are web content, video content, and SEO.

Professional photographer vs editor overview

Professional PhotographerEditor
Yearly salary$44,490$52,107
Hourly rate$21.39$25.05
Growth rate9%-5%
Number of jobs44,68115,115
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 54%Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Average age3944
Years of experience24

Professional photographer vs editor salary

Professional photographers and editors have different pay scales, as shown below.

Professional PhotographerEditor
Average salary$44,490$52,107
Salary rangeBetween $31,000 And $62,000Between $34,000 And $78,000
Highest paying City-Washington, DC
Highest paying state-New York
Best paying company-Microsoft
Best paying industry-Technology

Differences between professional photographer and editor education

There are a few differences between a professional photographer and an editor in terms of educational background:

Professional PhotographerEditor
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 54%Bachelor's Degree, 77%
Most common majorPhotographyEnglish
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityNorthwestern University

Professional photographer vs editor demographics

Here are the differences between professional photographers' and editors' demographics:

Professional PhotographerEditor
Average age3944
Gender ratioMale, 47.4% Female, 52.6%Male, 46.4% Female, 53.6%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 7.0% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 3.6% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 7.3% White, 76.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage11%12%

Differences between professional photographer and editor duties and responsibilities

Professional photographer example responsibilities.

  • Manage creative projects from concept to completion; including signs, posters, specialize logos and video documentaries for clients.
  • Demonstrate professionalism and confidence out in the field gaining a greater understanding of photojournalism and photography
  • Retouch images including removing imperfections, color correcting and creating composite images.

Editor example responsibilities.

  • Manage content QC and Disney client QC of create content.
  • Manage campaign performance through data analysis and reporting, with actionable takeaways per designate KPI.
  • Manage and create newsletter archives for NASA: http: //www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/home/index.html
  • Manage business documentation for the department's strategic alignment SharePoint database.
  • Develop SEO strategies to increase profitability and manage social media to spread brand awareness and bolster readership.
  • Manage international man-made fiber market research/publishing company and supervise editorial content and sales of industry statistical journal.
  • Show more

Professional photographer vs editor skills

Common professional photographer skills
  • Adobe Photoshop, 37%
  • Customer Service, 12%
  • Adobe Lightroom, 7%
  • Photo Shoots, 5%
  • Event Photography, 3%
  • Portfolio, 3%
Common editor skills
  • Web Content, 13%
  • Video Content, 9%
  • SEO, 6%
  • Facebook, 4%
  • Editor-In-Chief, 4%
  • Twitter, 3%

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