Photographer job description: what a photographer does, duties, skills, kinds of photographer and a template

A school wants a photographer for its prospectus and its 1,200 pupil portraits. An online retailer wants one for 300 products a week. A newspaper wants one who can be at a fire in ten minutes. The photographer job description is the same document in each case, and it has to say which job this is, because “photographer” covers all of them.

This article explains what a photographer does using two primary sources, the UK graduate careers service Prospects and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, sets out seven duties, the kinds of photographer, the skills, hours and routes in, and gives a job description template for an in-house role. Employers hiring their first staff photographer should read the section on what makes an in-house job different from freelance work.

Creative work still needs clear objectives: volume, turnaround, quality and the brief. See how New Dynamics Goals & OKRs keep a photographer's targets and progress in one place with the rest of the team's.

What does a photographer do?

Prospects defines the job in a sentence: “Photographers create compelling visual images that tell a story or communicate a message.” The Bureau of Labor Statistics describes photographers as using their technical knowledge and artistic vision to create and preserve images, and lists what that involves: marketing and advertising services to prospective clients, planning the composition, using photographic techniques and lighting equipment, producing professional-quality images, enhancing the subject with natural or artificial light, using photo-enhancement software, maintaining a digital portfolio and archiving images.

The point both sources make, and that job adverts miss, is how little of the week is spent taking photographs. Prospects says photography itself represents only part of the time, with editing, delivery and business administration making up the rest. A job description that describes only the shoot describes a fraction of the job.

Photographer duties: seven responsibilities

Grouped from the Prospects responsibilities and the BLS duties, the work has seven parts.

1. Take the brief. Meet the client or the internal team to discuss requirements: the purpose, the audience, the style, the deadline and the formats needed. Prospects lists meeting clients and identifying subjects and settings first.
2. Plan and prepare. Research the subject and location, arrange access, models, props and permissions, plan the lighting and composition, and check the equipment. The BLS describes analysing and planning the composition before the shoot.
3. Shoot. Capture the images in the studio or on location, in whatever conditions the assignment brings, engaging with the subject and arranging compositions. Prospects lists capturing images in various environments and using the technical equipment.
4. Edit and process. Select, process, retouch and colour-correct the images using editing software, to the client's brief and the house style. The BLS lists using photo-enhancement software.
5. Deliver. Prepare proofs, agree the selection with the client and compile the finished product in the formats required, from print to web to social.
6. Manage images and equipment. Organise, name, back up and archive the images so that they can be found again; maintain cameras, lenses, lighting and computers.
7. Run the business or the studio. For freelancers, marketing, scheduling, invoicing, accounting and the website, which Prospects lists in full. For an in-house photographer, this becomes managing the studio, the booking diary, the asset library and the relationship with the marketing or editorial team.

Kinds of photographer

The kind of photography changes the setting, the hours and the subject far more than the duties. Prospects lists commercial, events, editorial and press, fashion, fine art, landscape, portraiture, product, school and education, sports, real estate, wedding and wildlife photography. The BLS groups them as aerial, commercial and industrial, fine art, news (photojournalists, who often also shoot video) and portrait photographers.

The job description should name the kind, and where the role mixes several, say which comes first.

Skills employers ask for

Prospects lists technical proficiency with digital cameras and editing software, creativity and a compositional eye, meticulous attention to detail, communication and interpersonal skills, organisation and time management, adaptability and problem-solving, patience, self-motivation, networking, the ability to follow a brief and accept creative direction, working independently and in a team, and business and marketing skills, with a full driving licence usually required. The BLS names artistic ability, business skills, computer skills, customer-service skills, attention to detail and interpersonal skills.

For an advert, the skills that separate a good hire from a good portfolio are:

• Following a brief. Prospects puts it plainly: the ability to follow briefs and accept creative direction. An in-house photographer works to other people's requirements most days.
• Consistency at volume. Product, school and property work is judged on the five-hundredth image looking like the first.
• Editing and file discipline. Naming, backing up and archiving are where in-house photographers save or cost their employers most.
• People skills. Putting a nervous subject at ease is a skill the camera cannot supply.

Hours, conditions and physical demands

Prospects says hours vary with demand: wedding photography peaks in spring and summer, sports work needs evenings and weekends, and travel is integral for many specialists. The BLS describes work in studios and on location, part-time work as common, evening and weekend hours, and long periods standing and carrying heavy equipment. An advert should state the hours honestly, including the seasonal peaks, and say what the employer provides in equipment and transport.

Routes in and qualifications

Both sources agree that the portfolio is the qualification. Prospects says a degree is not mandatory, though qualifications in photography, art and design, digital imaging, fine art, graphics or media studies help, and that a strong portfolio is essential, built through volunteering, work shadowing, competitions and entry-level roles as a photographic assistant or second photographer. The BLS says entry typically requires a high school diploma, that many photographers take courses or degrees, and that expertise develops through years of practice, often assisting an established photographer. Prospects adds that professional membership, for example of the AOP or the BIPP in the UK, helps to build a network.

Career progression, in both sources, runs from assistant to photographer to specialist, and then to a personal brand, a studio, agency work or teaching.

What makes an in-house photographer job different

The BLS notes that most photographers are self-employed. An employer offering a staff role is therefore competing with freelance life, and the job description should say what it offers instead:

• Subjects and volume. What will be photographed, how much and how often.
• Equipment. What the employer provides and maintains; whether the photographer may use their own.
• Rights. Who owns the images and how they may be used. In employment, copyright in work made in the course of the job normally belongs to the employer, but say so, and say whether the photographer may use the work in their own portfolio.
• Hours and travel. The rota, the peaks, the weekend expectation and the mileage.
• Review. How the work will be judged: brief, turnaround, quality and the team's feedback, agreed in advance.

Photographer job description template

Job title: Photographer (in-house), or Staff Photographer, Product Photographer, School Photographer; state the kind

Reports to: Marketing Manager, Picture Editor, Studio Manager or Creative Director

Purpose: Produce photographs to brief, on time and to the organisation's standard, from planning through shooting, editing and delivery, and maintain the image library.

Responsibilities:

• Take briefs from internal teams or clients and agree the purpose, style, deadline and formats.
• Plan and prepare shoots: locations, access, subjects, props, permissions, lighting and equipment.
• Photograph subjects in the studio and on location to the brief and the house style.
• Select, edit, retouch and colour-correct images; prepare proofs and agree selections.
• Deliver finished images in the formats required for print, web and social channels.
• Organise, name, back up and archive images; maintain the asset library and equipment.
• Manage the studio diary and, where required, direct assistants or second photographers.
• Keep skills current with equipment, software and techniques.

Skills and experience:

• A portfolio demonstrating the kind of photography the role requires.
• Proficiency with professional cameras, lighting and editing software; state which.
• Ability to work to a brief and take creative direction; consistency at volume.
• Organisation, file discipline and attention to detail.
• Communication and people skills with subjects and colleagues.
• Full driving licence where the role involves travel.

Equipment and rights: State what is provided, and the ownership and portfolio-use position for images made in the role.

Working pattern: State the hours, seasonal peaks, evening and weekend expectations and travel.

Frequently asked questions

What does a photographer do?

They create images that tell a story or communicate a message, in Prospects' words: taking a brief, planning and preparing the shoot, photographing the subject, editing and processing the images, delivering them in the formats needed, managing the image archive and equipment, and, for freelancers, running the business. Shooting is only part of the time.

What are the main duties of a photographer?

Taking the brief, planning and preparation, the shoot, editing and processing, delivery, managing images and equipment, and business or studio administration. The kind of photography, press, commercial, portrait, events, property or fine art, changes the setting and hours more than the duties.

What qualifications do you need to be a photographer?

A portfolio matters more than any certificate. Prospects says a degree is not mandatory, though photography and art and design qualifications help; the BLS says entry usually needs a high school diploma with expertise built through practice and assisting. Many photographers start as assistants or second photographers.

What skills does a photographer need?

Technical skill with cameras, lighting and editing software; a compositional eye; attention to detail; the ability to follow a brief and accept direction; organisation and file discipline; communication and people skills; and, for freelancers, business and marketing skills. A driving licence is usually required.

What should an in-house photographer job description include?

The kind of photography and the volume, the equipment provided, who owns the images and whether the photographer may use them in a portfolio, the hours and travel including seasonal peaks, and how the work will be reviewed. Most photographers are self-employed, so the advert should say what the staff role offers instead.

Your next step: name the kind and the rights

1. Say which kind of photography the role is and what comes first when it mixes several.
2. State the volume, the equipment and the ownership of the images.
3. Set the hours honestly, including the peaks.
4. Agree how the work will be reviewed: brief, turnaround, quality, feedback.

For a way to write those review objectives so they can be measured, read and download our SMART goals guide. The guide is free to read, and the PDF uses our short download form.

Want a photographer's objectives, feedback and reviews alongside the rest of the marketing or editorial team's? Book a New Dynamics demo and bring your current job description. You can also email contact@new-dynamics.com.