Photographers
Photograph people, landscapes, merchandise, or other subjects. May use lighting equipment to enhance a subject's appearance. May use editing software to produce finished images and prints. Includes commercial and industrial photographers, scientific photographers, and photojournalists.
- O*NET-SOC code
27-4021.00 - Preparation Job Zone Three: Medium Preparation Needed
Wages
Median annual wage, U.S.$44,660
Employment, U.S.51,760
Median hourly wage$21.47
| 10th | 25th | Median | 75th | 90th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $30,820 | $36,050 | $44,660 | $62,740 | $91,810 |
By state (51)
| State | Employment | Median annual | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 530 | $36,130 | 0.76 |
| Alaska | 50 | $39,190 | 0.48 |
| Arizona | 1,360 | $36,970 | 1.26 |
| Arkansas | 240 | $32,810 | 0.56 |
| California | 7,980 | $47,840 | 1.32 |
| Colorado | 1,140 | $47,070 | 1.19 |
| Connecticut | 630 | $49,790 | 1.12 |
| Delaware | 180 | $50,100 | 1.11 |
| District of Columbia | 260 | $110,970 | 1.13 |
| Florida | 4,390 | $42,640 | 1.33 |
| Georgia | 1,420 | $43,770 | 0.87 |
| Hawaii | 440 | $45,960 | 2.09 |
| Idaho | 190 | $33,320 | 0.67 |
| Illinois | 2,150 | $36,570 | 1.06 |
| Indiana | 810 | $35,960 | 0.76 |
| Iowa | 430 | $38,290 | 0.83 |
| Kansas | 300 | $37,790 | 0.63 |
| Kentucky | 380 | $47,170 | 0.57 |
| Louisiana | 510 | $36,830 | 0.79 |
| Maine | 180 | $46,680 | 0.86 |
| Maryland | 790 | $46,450 | 0.86 |
| Massachusetts | 830 | $57,990 | 0.69 |
| Michigan | 970 | Not available | 0.66 |
| Minnesota | 730 | $46,470 | 0.74 |
| Mississippi | 190 | $45,860 | 0.50 |
| Missouri | 950 | $39,170 | 0.97 |
| Montana | 190 | $39,900 | 1.09 |
| Nebraska | 220 | $41,920 | 0.66 |
| Nevada | 890 | $37,460 | 1.71 |
| New Hampshire | 220 | $44,780 | 0.97 |
| New Jersey | 1,460 | $40,520 | 1.02 |
| New Mexico | 230 | $48,090 | 0.79 |
| New York | 3,650 | $60,050 | 1.13 |
| North Carolina | 2,130 | $37,120 | 1.30 |
| North Dakota | 70 | $37,410 | 0.49 |
| Ohio | 1,540 | $38,470 | 0.83 |
| Oklahoma | 330 | $36,750 | 0.58 |
| Oregon | 510 | $53,630 | 0.78 |
| Pennsylvania | 1,870 | $40,520 | 0.93 |
| Rhode Island | 220 | $37,300 | 1.34 |
| South Carolina | 630 | $37,890 | 0.82 |
| South Dakota | 190 | $45,330 | 1.22 |
| Tennessee | 780 | $37,950 | 0.71 |
| Texas | 4,330 | $41,280 | 0.92 |
| Utah | 660 | $52,140 | 1.14 |
| Vermont | 60 | Not available | 0.58 |
| Virginia | 1,580 | $46,550 | 1.15 |
| Washington | 960 | $48,050 | 0.81 |
| West Virginia | 110 | $36,110 | 0.46 |
| Wisconsin | 850 | $42,060 | 0.87 |
| Wyoming | 50 | $39,330 | 0.56 |
Similar occupations
Similarity is our measure: the cosine of importance x level over all 120 O*NET skills, knowledge areas and abilities. It is not an O*NET finding. More.
Circles are the 20 most similar occupations, coloured by Job Zone. Lines join pairs where one is among the other's 10 most similar; darker lines are pairs O*NET also lists as related. Drag a circle to move it out of the way; select one to open it.
| # | Occupation | Job Zone | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Floral Designers | 1-2 | 0.944 |
| 2 | Opticians, Dispensing | 3 | 0.941 |
| 3 | Parts Salespersons | 1-2 | 0.937 |
| 4 | Disc Jockeys, Except Radio | 1-2 | 0.925 |
| 5 | Makeup Artists, Theatrical and Performance | 3 | 0.925 |
| 6 | Skincare Specialists | 3 | 0.921 |
| 7 | Graphic Designers | 4 | 0.920 |
| 8 | Prepress Technicians and Workers | 3 | 0.920 |
| 9 | Craft Artists | 3 | 0.919 |
| 10 | Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers | 3 | 0.918 |
One skill away
Among the 50 occupations most similar to Photographers, those at the same Job Zone or lower, where exactly one skill rated at least 3 in importance needs a level more than 0.75 points higher (on O*NET's 0-7 level scale). Our definition. Change the thresholds.
| Occupation | Skill to build | Level gap | Similarity |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opticians, Dispensing | Reading Comprehension | 0.76 | 0.941 |
| First-Line Supervisors of Helpers, Laborers, and Material Movers, Hand | Management of Personnel Resources | 0.87 | 0.895 |
| Solar Sales Representatives and Assessors | Persuasion | 0.88 | 0.895 |
Software to learn next
Software used by at least 3 of the 20 occupations most similar to Photographers, excluding software Photographers already lists and any you named. Ranked by how many of them use it, weighted by how much more common it is among them than across all occupations (lift). Our ranking.
| Software | Similar jobs using it | Lift |
|---|---|---|
| Autodesk Maya | 5 of 20 | 16.5x |
| Adobe Director | 4 of 20 | 30.8x |
| Adobe Premiere Pro | 5 of 20 | 15.4x |
| Adobe ImageReady | 3 of 20 | 46.2x |
| Pixologic Zbrush | 3 of 20 | 46.2x |
| Adobe FreeHand MX | 4 of 20 | 13.2x |
| Hypertext markup language HTML | 7 of 20 | 4.1x |
| JavaScript | 7 of 20 | 3.8x |
| Maxon Cinema 4D | 3 of 20 | 23.1x |
| QuarkXPress | 4 of 20 | 8.8x |
Skills
From O*NET data. Importance is rated 1 to 5 and level 0 to 7.
| Skill | Type | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active Listening | Essential skill | 3.75 | 3.62 |
| Speaking | Essential skill | 3.75 | 3.25 |
| Service Orientation | Transferable skill | 3.25 | 3.12 |
| Critical Thinking | Essential skill | 3.12 | 3.25 |
| Active Learning | Essential skill | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Monitoring | Essential skill | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Reading Comprehension | Essential skill | 3.12 | 3.12 |
| Complex Problem Solving | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Social Perceptiveness | Transferable skill | 3.12 | 3.00 |
| Coordination | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Time Management | Transferable skill | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Persuasion | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 3.00 |
| Instructing | Transferable skill | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Learning Strategies | Essential skill | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Writing | Essential skill | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Management of Personnel Resources | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 2.88 |
| Negotiation | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 2.88 |
| Operations Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.75 | 2.88 |
| Operations Monitoring | Transferable skill | 2.62 | 2.25 |
| Quality Control Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.50 | 2.50 |
| Systems Analysis | Transferable skill | 2.50 | 2.38 |
| Systems Evaluation | Transferable skill | 2.38 | 2.38 |
| Equipment Selection | Transferable skill | 2.25 | 2.25 |
| Operation and Control | Transferable skill | 2.25 | 2.00 |
| Troubleshooting | Transferable skill | 2.12 | 1.75 |
| Mathematics | Essential skill | 2.00 | 1.75 |
| Technology Design | Transferable skill | 1.88 | 1.62 |
| Management of Material Resources | Transferable skill | 1.88 | 1.12 |
| Equipment Maintenance | Transferable skill | 1.88 | 1.00 |
| Science | Essential skill | 1.75 | 1.50 |
| Management of Financial Resources | Transferable skill | 1.62 | 0.88 |
| Programming | Transferable skill | 1.62 | 0.62 |
| Repairing | Transferable skill | 1.50 | 0.75 |
| Installation | Transferable skill | 1.38 | 0.38 |
Knowledge (33) and abilities (52)
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Customer and Personal Service | 4.68 | 5.14 |
| Sales and Marketing | 4.48 | 4.91 |
| Computers and Electronics | 4.18 | 4.91 |
| Administration and Management | 3.86 | 4.14 |
| English Language | 3.73 | 3.86 |
| Communications and Media | 3.73 | 3.55 |
| Fine Arts | 3.55 | 3.91 |
| Production and Processing | 3.50 | 3.55 |
| Administrative | 3.45 | 4.36 |
| Psychology | 3.36 | 3.55 |
| Economics and Accounting | 3.29 | 3.18 |
| Education and Training | 2.82 | 3.50 |
| Design | 2.77 | 2.86 |
| Personnel and Human Resources | 2.71 | 3.48 |
| Telecommunications | 2.48 | 1.95 |
| Mathematics | 2.36 | 2.86 |
| Engineering and Technology | 2.27 | 2.36 |
| Public Safety and Security | 2.27 | 2.23 |
| Law and Government | 2.14 | 2.18 |
| Mechanical | 2.14 | 2.14 |
| Sociology and Anthropology | 2.05 | 1.77 |
| Transportation | 2.00 | 1.91 |
| Physics | 1.90 | 1.50 |
| Philosophy and Theology | 1.55 | 1.77 |
| Therapy and Counseling | 1.55 | 1.09 |
| Foreign Language | 1.50 | 1.09 |
| History and Archeology | 1.50 | 1.00 |
| Chemistry | 1.50 | 0.90 |
| Building and Construction | 1.48 | 1.14 |
| Geography | 1.38 | 1.00 |
| Biology | 1.18 | not rated |
| Food Production | 1.10 | not rated |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 1.09 | not rated |
| Name | Importance | Level |
|---|---|---|
| Near Vision | 4.00 | 4.12 |
| Far Vision | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Oral Expression | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Visualization | 3.88 | 4.00 |
| Originality | 3.88 | 3.88 |
| Oral Comprehension | 3.62 | 4.00 |
| Visual Color Discrimination | 3.62 | 4.00 |
| Problem Sensitivity | 3.38 | 3.50 |
| Fluency of Ideas | 3.25 | 3.75 |
| Written Comprehension | 3.25 | 3.62 |
| Speech Clarity | 3.25 | 3.25 |
| Deductive Reasoning | 3.12 | 3.75 |
| Category Flexibility | 3.12 | 3.38 |
| Flexibility of Closure | 3.00 | 3.12 |
| Arm-Hand Steadiness | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Inductive Reasoning | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Information Ordering | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Selective Attention | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Speech Recognition | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Written Expression | 3.00 | 3.00 |
| Manual Dexterity | 3.00 | 2.88 |
| Control Precision | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Finger Dexterity | 2.88 | 2.88 |
| Depth Perception | 2.75 | 2.88 |
| Time Sharing | 2.75 | 2.88 |
| Multilimb Coordination | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Perceptual Speed | 2.75 | 2.75 |
| Reaction Time | 2.50 | 2.50 |
| Speed of Closure | 2.38 | 2.75 |
| Rate Control | 2.38 | 2.25 |
| Trunk Strength | 2.25 | 2.12 |
| Wrist-Finger Speed | 2.12 | 1.38 |
| Memorization | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Static Strength | 2.00 | 2.00 |
| Extent Flexibility | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Mathematical Reasoning | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Response Orientation | 2.00 | 1.88 |
| Number Facility | 2.00 | 1.75 |
| Glare Sensitivity | 2.00 | 1.38 |
| Gross Body Coordination | 1.88 | 1.38 |
| Gross Body Equilibrium | 1.88 | 1.25 |
| Spatial Orientation | 1.88 | 1.00 |
| Auditory Attention | 1.75 | 1.50 |
| Hearing Sensitivity | 1.75 | 1.50 |
| Dynamic Strength | 1.75 | 1.25 |
| Stamina | 1.75 | 0.75 |
| Peripheral Vision | 1.62 | 0.75 |
| Night Vision | 1.62 | 0.62 |
| Explosive Strength | 1.25 | not rated |
| Speed of Limb Movement | 1.25 | not rated |
| Sound Localization | 1.12 | not rated |
| Dynamic Flexibility | 1.00 | not rated |
Software used
Examples from O*NET data. "Hot" and "in demand" are O*NET flags for technologies often listed in job postings.
- Adobe Photoshop in demand
- Adobe Photoshop Lightroom in demand
- Adobe Acrobat hot
- Adobe After Effects hot
- Adobe Creative Cloud software hot
- Adobe Illustrator hot
- Adobe InDesign hot
- Apple macOS hot
- Facebook hot
- Intuit QuickBooks hot
- Microsoft Access hot
- Microsoft Excel hot
- Microsoft Word hot
- WordPress hot
- Apple Final Cut Pro
- Blinkbid
- Cradoc fotoBiz
- Email software
- Genbook
- Google Drive
- HindSight InView
- Light Blue Software Light Blue
- ShootQ photography studio management software
- ShootZilla
- Simplifi pixifi
- Simply Studio System
- SmugMug Flickr
- StudioCloud
- StudioPlus Spectra
- SuccessWare service management software
All 35
- Tave Studio Manager
- WeVideo
- Web browser software
- YouTube
Where it concentrates
Metro areas ranked by BLS location quotient: the occupation's share of the area's jobs divided by its share of all US jobs. Above 1 means more concentrated than the nation. Metros employing fewer than 100 are left out.
| Metro area | Employment | Location quotient | Median annual |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kahului-Wailuku, HI | 100 | 4.04 | $51,870 |
| Asheville, NC | 160 | 2.69 | $35,120 |
| Vallejo, CA | 110 | 2.25 | $43,040 |
| Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL | 980 | 2.08 | $34,860 |
| Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 4,290 | 2.06 | $47,840 |
| Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL | 210 | 2.04 | $45,380 |
| Las Vegas-Henderson-North Las Vegas, NV | 770 | 2.02 | $36,880 |
| Spokane-Spokane Valley, WA | 170 | 1.99 | $45,690 |
| Urban Honolulu, HI | 280 | 1.91 | $45,300 |
| Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | 210 | 1.81 | $36,670 |