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The differences between sports photographers and freelance photographers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a sports photographer and a freelance photographer. Additionally, a freelance photographer has an average salary of $42,949, which is higher than the $27,958 average annual salary of a sports photographer.
The top three skills for a sports photographer include adobe photoshop, camera equipment and kids. The most important skills for a freelance photographer are adobe photoshop, aperture, and adobe lightroom.
| Sports Photographer | Freelance Photographer | |
| Yearly salary | $27,958 | $42,949 |
| Hourly rate | $13.44 | $20.65 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 6,917 | 1,766 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Sports photographers are hired to take pictures of different sports events and athletes. They mainly work in print medias such as magazine or newspapers. Their photos must express the skill and emotion of the athletes. Sports photographers carry sophisticated cameras and shoot photos from different angles. Their photos could be mesmerizing to sports enthusiasts.
A freelance photographer produces photos while under a specific short-term contract. They are primarily responsible for coordinating with the client to learn any requests or preferences, bringing necessary devices and lighting equipment, securing the best location and setting, handling any obstruction during the photoshoot, and delivering high-quality results in a short amount of time. Moreover, a photographer must maintain a healthy working environment with clients or models by building rapport, which will also help establish a client base.
Sports photographers and freelance photographers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sports Photographer | Freelance Photographer | |
| Average salary | $27,958 | $42,949 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $34,000 | Between $29,000 And $61,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | - |
| Highest paying state | - | - |
| Best paying company | - | - |
| Best paying industry | - | - |
There are a few differences between a sports photographer and a freelance photographer in terms of educational background:
| Sports Photographer | Freelance Photographer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Photography | Photography |
| Most common college | Harvard University | Harvard University |
Here are the differences between sports photographers' and freelance photographers' demographics:
| Sports Photographer | Freelance Photographer | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 62.7% Female, 37.3% | Male, 51.2% Female, 48.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 7.1% White, 65.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 7.0% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |