Types of cool careers in photography you can pursue

– Types of careers you can pursue in the field of photography and what each career require you to perform.

Like all other artistic ventures, it takes time and a lot of effort to become noticed and make money out of photography. This can be sometimes demoralizing as the equipment is quite expensive, and there is excessive competition on professional levels.

If you are really serious about being a photographer, visit this article (insert link to article about photography gear) to understand the kind of gear that can help you start your career in photography.

Additionally, you should always attend photo walks, photography exhibitions and photography workshops in order to understand what the current consumer requires from you as a photographer and the techniques you need to learn to be able to produce handsome results.

What can a decent photographer expect from the photography job market?

To be honest, anyone can become a great photographer with practice and patience. However, the job market in this field is very tight since every other person is now a ‘photographer’. To be able to beat the competition, you need to build great contacts and enhance your skills by expanding your portfolio before applying for a job.

Don’t expect to get a job if your images are severely cropped, blurry, do not follow the rules of basic composition, or are simply not interesting enough! Photography is a visual medium and you should learn how to express yourself as a photographer to help showcase fleeting moments via images.

Here are some job options you can opt for in this field if you are really bonkers about photography:

1) Travel Photographer

A travel photographer has the chance to go to the most interesting places on the planet and earn a lot of money in the process. The payment covers travel, insurance, print costs and royalty for all/any images sold. The added bonus is the perk of being under a big brand and selling world class images.

Anyone can become a travel photographer by launching their own photo-blog on the internet. However, to earn big money, you should always keep sending in your images to travel agencies and other travel websites for exposure. This way, if they like your work, they can hire your services or use your images when you are travelling to any particular destination they wish to cover in their stories.

2) Wedding Photographer

Weddings happen all year round – not to mention that more and more people are looking for interesting poses\emotions to be captured that will last for decades. The prerequisites of finding a lucrative job as a wedding photographer involves having an incredible portfolio and a mastery of skills especially light control and handling complicated photography rigs.

To become a master wedding photographer, it is important to remember not to overprice your projects or else you may never get booked! Wedding photographers always work in teams, so group together with like-minded people and launch a wedding photography business to progress in this field.

3) Food Photographer

A relatively new field in photography! It’s very lucrative and fun to do. It’s not easy setting up the scenes and lighting right but the quality is highly regarded. Fake props are sometimes used but the final images are the highlight of every food blogger’s review!

Food photographers are also required to know the background history about the food being photographed and the various ways in which it can be shot.

4) Wildlife Photographer

Being a National Geographic photographer is a dream job for many nature lovers and photographers! However, you need to have professional qualifications and spend considerable time in wild areas to know your subject matter. Capturing the pristine beauty of flora and fauna is really rewarding.

It is risky and strenuous but comes with a lot of responsibility and pays really well. Wildlife photographers are also the most sought-after people in the industry for their patience and ability!

5) Product Photographer

A product photographer can work both indoors and outdoors. Indoor products are small items that are clicked in bright lighting and inside light boxes to produce terrific images. Sometimes humans are also used as props (fashion photography) to help sell the product. You can either work for branding agencies as a product photographer or sell your images via websites like Shutterstock or Getty Images.

Outdoor product shoots are advertorial images that are part of an ad-campaign. To land such jobs, you need to be hired by a creative media agency to be included in such projects.

6) Photo-Journalist

Reporting the news is one thing. Being the guy with the camera who takes pictures of all awful things that happen in the world and brings them to the world’s attention, is a completely different story. To be a photojournalist, you need to be able to face all kinds of situations like riots, mass public reporting, visiting multiple locations in a day and what not!

Such images help highlight the written word better and bring the world to a standstill compelling them to take action. It’s an incredibly tough job but well paid and highly regarded.

7) Freelancing

The key to becoming a successful freelance photographer is marketing. A pleasing website complete with your portfolio, and some literature related to your work can be handy while reaching out to prospective clients.

The amazing thing about becoming a freelance photographer is that you can capture whatever you want (as long as people are willing to pay for it). Freelance photographers cover a variety of subjects including but not limited to weddings, school pictures, portraits, and nature photography.

You may also want to try freelance websites where clients can search for freelancers based on their specialty like Fiverr, Freelancer, etc. These websites usually charge a fee for connecting clients and freelancers, but what you get in return helps you invest in the future.

Choosing the right career for yourself is crucial because it should necessarily be something you should love to do. Pick the type of photography you love from the aforementioned careers and strive to excel in it. Nothing can stop you from achieving greater heights in life if you have a clear vision and conscience!

All the best!