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Photographer

Also called portrayist, photo designer, art photographer

Photographers take pictures using digital or film cameras and equipment. Photographers may develop negatives or use computer software in order to produce finished images and prints.

Will there be jobs?Yes, good prospects52 jobs to fill by 2035 for every 100 people doing this work today.Legal, social, cultural and related associate professionalsWhat does it pay?About averageFrom about €1,400 (Bulgaria) to €6,600 (Luxembourg) a month, depending on the country.Estimate · Legal, social, cultural and related associate professionalsWhat do I need to study?Usually post-secondary or a short degree4 in 10 have a degree. 3 in 10 train through vocational routes.Legal, social, cultural and related associate professionalsWill AI change it?In some tasksLevel 3 of 6. AI could take on part of some tasks, but none fully.Photographers · ILO

What you'd do

Photographers · ILO
  • Taking photographs for advertising, or other commercial, industrial or scientific purposes and to illustrate stories and articles in newspapers, magazines and other publications
  • Taking portrait photographs of persons and groups of persons
  • Studying requirements of a particular assignment and decide on type of camera, film, lighting and background accessories to be used
  • Determining picture composition, making technical adjustments to equipment and photograph subject
  • Operating scanners to transfer photographic images to computers
  • Operating computers to manipulate photographic images
  • Adapting existing photographic images to create new digitized images to be included in multimedia products
  • Using airbrush, computer or other techniques to create the desired visual effect
Prepare personal work environmentDesign an artificial lighting systemTest photographic equipmentSelect photographic equipmentSet up photographic equipment+ 11 more essential skills
What the work is like
  • Indoors and outdoors
  • A mix of sitting and standing
  • Lots of contact with people, including the public
  • Good freedom to decide
  • Often more than 40 hours a week
  • Deadlines most weeks
  • Some repetitive tasks
US data: based on the O*NET profile of the US job "Photographers"

Will there be jobs?

Yes, good prospects

Many jobs will need filling by 2035.

People working as legal, social, cultural and related associate professionals in the EU
3.99m3.83m4.95m 201520232035

Solid: measured. Dashed: forecast.

Jobs to fill, 2026–2035
915,000 new jobs 1,198,000 replacing leavers
Jobs to fill per 100 people working now
Legal, social, cultural and related associate professionals52
All jobs29
Right now
1 of 27 countries report a shortage of photographers, 12 a surplus.
Photographers · EURES

What does it pay?

About average

Pay depends a lot on the country: from about €1,400 a month (Bulgaria) to €6,600 (Luxembourg), before tax.

Pick a country at the top of the page to see typical pay there, for people under 30, and compared with all jobs.

Among technicians and associate professionals in the EU, women earn 16% less per hour than men. Technicians and associate professionals · Eurostat

What do I need to study?

Usually post-secondary or a short degree

Post-secondary training or a short degree in marketing and advertising is the usual route.

Highest qualification of legal, social, cultural and related associate professionals (EU, 2025)
Degree 44%Vocational 33%General secondary 15%Basic schooling 8%
Field that teaches it
Marketing and advertising
Vocational route, EU
3 in 10 trainees in this field
Business and law graduates in a matching job
66% in the EU

1,314 institutions in the EU offer business and law bachelor's degrees. Pick a country at the top of the page to see where to study and the official course finders.

Will AI change it?

In some tasks

AI could take on part of some tasks, but none fully.

How exposed is this job? ILO scale
Very low
Low
Some tasks
Moderate
Significant
High

Average task score 0.39 on a scale from 0 (AI can't do it) to 1 (AI could do it fully).

See the score for each of the 8 tasks
Operating scanners to transfer photographic images to computers0.56
Adapting existing photographic images to create new digitized images to be included in multimedia products0.56
Operating computers to manipulate photographic images0.44
Determining picture composition, making technical adjustments to equipment and photograph subject0.35
Taking photographs for advertising, or other commercial, industrial or scientific purposes and to illustrate stories and articles in newspapers, magazines and other publications0.33
Studying requirements of a particular assignment and decide on type of camera, film, lighting and background accessories to be used0.33
Using airbrush, computer or other techniques to create the desired visual effect0.30
Taking portrait photographs of persons and groups of persons0.25

Based on what AI could technically do when assessed in 2025. It is not a forecast for a future year, and not a forecast of job losses. Scores for photographers. Source: ILO (2025), adapted (credits).