How to hire photographers

Job description template

Copy it, fill in the brackets, and remove anything that does not fit your job. Keep only must-haves you would really turn someone away for.

[Job title] at [Company name]
[City, State] · [Full-time / Part-time] · [Pay range]

About the role
[Two or three sentences about your team, the work and why it matters.]

What you will do
• Adjust apertures, shutter speeds, and camera focus according to a combination of factors, such as lighting, field depth, subject motion, film type, and film speed.
• Create artificial light, using flashes and reflectors.
• Determine desired images and picture composition, selecting and adjusting subjects, equipment, and lighting to achieve desired effects.
• Enhance, retouch, and resize photographs and negatives, using airbrushing and other techniques.
• Manipulate and enhance scanned or digital images to create desired effects, using computers and specialized software.
• Take pictures of individuals, families, and small groups, either in studio or on location.
• Transfer photographs to computers for editing, archiving, and electronic transmission.
• Use traditional or digital cameras, along with a variety of equipment, such as tripods, filters, and flash attachments.

What you bring
• [Required license, certification or years of experience, if any]
• [Education, only if you truly need it. Typical to start in this job: High school diploma or equivalent]
• Strong active listening, speaking, active learning, critical thinking, monitoring and reading comprehension skills
• Working knowledge of customer and personal service, sales and marketing, computers and electronics and administration and management
• [Anything else you would really turn someone away for]

Pay and benefits
[Pay range]. For reference, the U.S. median for this job is $21.47 an hour ($44,660 a year).
[Benefits, schedule and anything else candidates should know.]

How to apply
[Apply on JAI Bot. Every applicant hears back.]

Copy the template Check your finished job post

Interview questions for photographers

Ask every candidate the same questions, in the same order, and write down what they say. Questions about past work show what someone has actually done.

1. Tell me about a time you had to adjust apertures, shutter speeds, and camera focus according to a combination of factors, such as lighting, field depth, subject motion, film type, and film speed. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
2. Tell me about a time you had to create artificial light, using flashes and reflectors. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
3. Tell me about a time you had to determine desired images and picture composition, selecting and adjusting subjects, equipment, and lighting to achieve desired effects. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
4. Tell me about a time you had to enhance, retouch, and resize photographs and negatives, using airbrushing and other techniques. What did you do, and how did it turn out?
5. Tell me about a time you had to understand a request or problem that was explained poorly. How did you make sure you got it right?
6. Explain something technical from your last job as you would to a new coworker.
7. Tell me about something new you had to learn quickly for work. How did you learn it?
8. Why this job, and why now? What would make you stay here for the long term?

Good answers name a real situation, what the person did themselves and what happened. Avoid questions about age, family plans, religion, health, national origin or anything else unrelated to the job.

What photographers do

• Adjust apertures, shutter speeds, and camera focus according to a combination of factors, such as lighting, field depth, subject motion, film type, and film speed.
• Create artificial light, using flashes and reflectors.
• Determine desired images and picture composition, selecting and adjusting subjects, equipment, and lighting to achieve desired effects.
• Enhance, retouch, and resize photographs and negatives, using airbrushing and other techniques.
• Manipulate and enhance scanned or digital images to create desired effects, using computers and specialized software.
• Take pictures of individuals, families, and small groups, either in studio or on location.
• Transfer photographs to computers for editing, archiving, and electronic transmission.
• Use traditional or digital cameras, along with a variety of equipment, such as tripods, filters, and flash attachments.

Skills that matter most

Active ListeningSpeakingActive LearningCritical ThinkingMonitoringReading ComprehensionCustomer and Personal ServiceSales and MarketingComputers and ElectronicsAdministration and Management

Education, experience and outlook for photographers

• Typical education to start: High school diploma or equivalent (BLS)
• Related work experience most have: 1 to 2 years (O*NET)
• Training on the job: Moderate-term on-the-job training (BLS)
• Job outlook: -0.7% over ten years, little or no change · about 10,700 openings a year (BLS)

What to pay photographers

Pay depends a lot on where the job is. Highest and lowest median yearly pay by state:

See photographers pay in every state

Related hiring guides

• Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators
• Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators
• Graphic Designers
• Special Effects Artists and Animators
• Art Directors
• Prepress Technicians and Workers
• Film and Video Editors
• Craft Artists
• Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film
• Writers and Authors

Job duties and skills: O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license; O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. JAI Bot has modified this information; USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. Pay: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS, May 2025. Interview questions and the job description template: JAI Bot, based on the duties and skills above.