2 answers
Eben
Student
Rock Hill, South Carolina
1
Question
Asked
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What is the average life like for a photographer and/or videographer in the US?
How many clients per day does the average photographer and/or videographer have? What is the average pay of a photographer and/or videographer and what does their life look like?
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2 answers
Samuel McGee III
High School Art/Video Instructor
6
Answers
Brown Deer, WI
Updated
Samuel’s Answer
Good afternoon Eben,
Mr. Ritter gave about the concise answer about the life and work of a photographer. My addition to your question is networking. For instance, I do work with major networks and to do a whole season requires a lot of travel. The hours are long and sometimes the weather doesn't cooperate. That's just one thing that I do. The second thing that I would do (if I were you) please find the Film Commission for your state. Most Film Commissions around the country have a fee for joining, but many production companies surf these lists to find people with your talent. Once you receive a call from a perspective employer you discuss: date rate, hours per day, travel, hotel accommodations (if necessary), do you own your own equipment.
There's much more to add, but this will get you well on your way.
Mr. Ritter gave about the concise answer about the life and work of a photographer. My addition to your question is networking. For instance, I do work with major networks and to do a whole season requires a lot of travel. The hours are long and sometimes the weather doesn't cooperate. That's just one thing that I do. The second thing that I would do (if I were you) please find the Film Commission for your state. Most Film Commissions around the country have a fee for joining, but many production companies surf these lists to find people with your talent. Once you receive a call from a perspective employer you discuss: date rate, hours per day, travel, hotel accommodations (if necessary), do you own your own equipment.
There's much more to add, but this will get you well on your way.
Mike Ritter
Photographer
2
Answers
Boston, Massachusetts
Updated
Mike’s Answer
You'll be spending time with a combination of three things. Your computer, your camera, and people as clients and or subjects. You've got to be making plans to complete personal work along with professional work, and if you do enough of the personal it can be come more if not all of your professional. Various professional jobs are in various stages of pre-production, shooting, and post-production and you've got to keep an eye on all of them and keep them moving across the finish line. Then there's promoting yourself on social media, email and elsewhere. There's teaching yourself new things with technology from lighting to software. I keep my own books passing them off to an accountant at the end of the year. Essentially, you're lucky to spend even 20% of your time behind the camera. The better you are at time management and delegation the more that number can go up.
I used to see average gross pay of photographers somewhere around $40K in a national survey done each year the name of which alludes me. Depending on your market, what photography you do, and how carefully you curate your brand and improve your skills, photographers can earn well over $100K gross.
The 80/20 rule sales 80% off your work comes from 20% of you clients. I've got roughly 140 invoices from this year ranging from under $100 to over $10,000. It's turned into the best year I've ever had even counting the years before the pandemic.
I used to see average gross pay of photographers somewhere around $40K in a national survey done each year the name of which alludes me. Depending on your market, what photography you do, and how carefully you curate your brand and improve your skills, photographers can earn well over $100K gross.
The 80/20 rule sales 80% off your work comes from 20% of you clients. I've got roughly 140 invoices from this year ranging from under $100 to over $10,000. It's turned into the best year I've ever had even counting the years before the pandemic.