College Crunch

A career in photography is a very exciting venture. Like most other career choices the communications field, it is going through massive changes. Digital photography has not only changed how we take pictures but also how they are stored, transferred and the actual production of the images.

While all of this is going on though, believe it or not, there is still room for the old traditional photographers. Will they be around for long, who knows. There are always die-hards that will just not let go, but it is probably inevitable that they will eventually be replaced and with digital photography. The quality of the product gets better and better every day and eventually, it will just phase out actual pictures. The need for actual physical photographs is diminishing more and more each day with the electronic age just taking over. There are some big name photographers that are going to have to get with the times or they are going to get passed by. The days of lugging 10 different camera’s and a couple of hundred pounds of gear to a photo shoot are soon to come to an end.

There are many different outlets for a photography career. They are employed by television, bookmakers, magazines, websites and of course newspapers. There are also the traditional photographers in photo studios (think weddings and family pictures) and industry itself employs them as there are commercial photographers whose sole purpose is to archive material in images and even scientific photographers who track the progress of research projects via video and stills.

This is one field that does not really require you to be tied down. If you recall, Peter Parker was a free lance photographer as his full time job had him a little occupied! Seriously, all of the pictures that you see in newspapers, magazines and many other publications are all done via freelance photographers. They may not be tied down to one company, but they make very nice livings.

If you are going to pursue a photography career, you need to do a little more than pick up a camera and shoot. It is advised that you get a degree in either photography or photo journalism. It will give you a well rounded background and introduce you to facets of the industry that you may not likely be exposed to.

If you are looking to get rich, this may not be the path for you. This is not to say that there are not individuals earning top money today, but realistically, this is a working mans job. Figure on making high $20,000 to low $30,000 when you start out with top photographers making just under $60,000 a year.

The bright spot about a photography career is that this in one field that continues to expand, even with a horrible economy. There are plenty of jobs with news outlets, publications and of course, with the internet growing larger each and every day, photographers are needed to fill those pages. While the salaries right now may be a bit on the lower side, that is sure to dramatically rise as the demand for this position increases.

To see more information on this career, check out the Photographer Career page.