3 answers
Nick
Student
Grafton, Ohio
5
Questions
Asked
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is this career worth pursuing?
#photography #career-choice
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3 answers
Michelle Flahive-LeFebvre
Latent Print Examiner
63
Answers
El Paso, Texas
Updated
Michelle’s Answer
Hello Nick, photographers are very important. They document history, they find beauty in the world and they make many people happy. Being a photographer will get you into a lot of different fields. Photography is not just an art form, or a hobby, it can lead to many exciting paths and career opportunities.
I am a Crime Scene Investigator, and we use cameras and our photographs of the scene and evidence, to bring justice to the victim. We document places, things, people (injuries), the dead (at the scene or at the morgue), and we document latent prints we find at the scene or on evidence. I work for a Sheriff's Office, and we handle promotions, graduations and retirements, photographing those special events. We also document special events with the public, like National Night Out, and our Halloween or Christmas events.
My brother was in the Air Force as a photographer. He documented missile launches, missile and aircraft crashes as well as . He mostly did a lot of Public Affairs/ Relations documentation. Photographs for brochures for the public to see what the Air Force has to offer, promotion photos, graduation photos. He even did some work with an anthropologist in Laos (near Vietnam and Cambodia) to recover Missing In Action (MIA) soldiers/airmen/marines who fought during the Vietnam War. He also looked for remains in Germany and France from World War II - all documenting with his camera. So joining any branch of the military - you will find photographers are needed.
Some people choose to photograph nature (wildlife and the outdoors, scenery). These photographers work for themselves sometimes, and some work for environmental groups. If you know how to video document, as well as take photographs, you could work for entertainment companies who go out and video tape adventure series. There are many of these photographers who take prize winning photographs that are used in magazines and hung in museums and art galleries.
Photography as a hobby is fun and exciting...and it leads to careers. But knowing who needs photographers...can be a rewarding and exciting career, when you find that perfect place. Ask your Guidance Counselor for some schools that offer photography and video photography degrees. There are some schools out there that offer that type of degree. Find out what those degrees offer in coursework, this will give you an idea of where you can used those skills. Television, movies, documentary (National Geographic, BBC, zoos, and other animal entertainment companies) , military, police/sheriff's/fire department/law enforcement at the Federal level (CBP, ICE, DEA, FBI, CIA), PETA, World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), Public Relation firms, modeling firms (always need photographers for fashion, make-up and hair). You may want to work in the Arts - documenting plays, operas, concerts, etc. Or be paparazzi and capture the life of a superstar or model, political figures, etc. International companies - use photography to entice people to their countries and learning about their cultures to increase sales and exporting products and services. Car and other vehicle manufacturers, selling the newest models and showing the performance and style and elegance of vehicles and engines...magazines like Car & Driver. Lots and lots of career options out there.
So you have a lot to look into. Never give up the camera and taking photos. You never know where it will lead you. Best of luck.
I am a Crime Scene Investigator, and we use cameras and our photographs of the scene and evidence, to bring justice to the victim. We document places, things, people (injuries), the dead (at the scene or at the morgue), and we document latent prints we find at the scene or on evidence. I work for a Sheriff's Office, and we handle promotions, graduations and retirements, photographing those special events. We also document special events with the public, like National Night Out, and our Halloween or Christmas events.
My brother was in the Air Force as a photographer. He documented missile launches, missile and aircraft crashes as well as . He mostly did a lot of Public Affairs/ Relations documentation. Photographs for brochures for the public to see what the Air Force has to offer, promotion photos, graduation photos. He even did some work with an anthropologist in Laos (near Vietnam and Cambodia) to recover Missing In Action (MIA) soldiers/airmen/marines who fought during the Vietnam War. He also looked for remains in Germany and France from World War II - all documenting with his camera. So joining any branch of the military - you will find photographers are needed.
Some people choose to photograph nature (wildlife and the outdoors, scenery). These photographers work for themselves sometimes, and some work for environmental groups. If you know how to video document, as well as take photographs, you could work for entertainment companies who go out and video tape adventure series. There are many of these photographers who take prize winning photographs that are used in magazines and hung in museums and art galleries.
Photography as a hobby is fun and exciting...and it leads to careers. But knowing who needs photographers...can be a rewarding and exciting career, when you find that perfect place. Ask your Guidance Counselor for some schools that offer photography and video photography degrees. There are some schools out there that offer that type of degree. Find out what those degrees offer in coursework, this will give you an idea of where you can used those skills. Television, movies, documentary (National Geographic, BBC, zoos, and other animal entertainment companies) , military, police/sheriff's/fire department/law enforcement at the Federal level (CBP, ICE, DEA, FBI, CIA), PETA, World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), Public Relation firms, modeling firms (always need photographers for fashion, make-up and hair). You may want to work in the Arts - documenting plays, operas, concerts, etc. Or be paparazzi and capture the life of a superstar or model, political figures, etc. International companies - use photography to entice people to their countries and learning about their cultures to increase sales and exporting products and services. Car and other vehicle manufacturers, selling the newest models and showing the performance and style and elegance of vehicles and engines...magazines like Car & Driver. Lots and lots of career options out there.
So you have a lot to look into. Never give up the camera and taking photos. You never know where it will lead you. Best of luck.
Leahanne Thomas
Career Coach
42
Answers
Baltimore, Maryland
Updated
Leahanne’s Answer
Absolutely, if you love working with things and ideas, photography/videography is a great path. There are a lot of other things you can combine it with as well, so don't view it too narrowly, just do what you like to do and be open to any application of it and you will find your career that way.
James Mintz
16
Answers
Updated
James’s Answer
Yes.
Start building a portfolio
Build your technical knowledge of the camera
Find opportunities to photograph different types photography- documenting, portraits, events, artistic, etc
James recommends the following next steps: