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Photographic developer

Also called photo retoucher, photo developer, photograph printer

Photographic developers use chemicals, instruments, and darkroom photographic techniques in specialised rooms in order to develop photographic films into visible images.

Will there be jobs?Limited prospects22 jobs to fill by 2035 for every 100 people doing this work today.Stationary plant and machine operatorsWhat does it pay?About averageFrom about €1,000 (Bulgaria) to €5,500 (Denmark) a month, depending on the country.Estimate · Stationary plant and machine operatorsWhat do I need to study?Upper secondary or vocational6 in 10 finished upper secondary or vocational training. 3 in 10 train through vocational routes.Stationary plant and machine operatorsWill AI change it?Very littleLevel 1 of 6. AI could help with only small parts of the tasks.Photographic products machine operators · ILO

What you'd do

Photographic products machine operators · ILO
  • Operating and monitoring equipment which makes photographic film and paper
  • Operating, monitoring and testing photographic processing and printing equipment, and maintaining operational standards
  • Preparing exposed film for different processing batches in dark rooms and dark chambers
  • Inspecting images, films and prints, and adjusting settings on printmaking equipment to produce required colour, brightness, contrast, number, size and type of prints
  • Adjusting settings and running automatic developing equipment
  • Operating equipment to transfer film to videotape or other electronic media
  • Performing photographic processing-related tasks
  • Operating automatic equipment (in retail establishments) to develop colour negatives, prints and slides
Cut photographic filmMonitor film development bathsMount photographic film in processing machineRemove film negatives from processing machineRemove photographic film from camera+ 6 more essential skills
What the work is like
  • Indoors
  • A mix of sitting and standing
  • Lots of contact with people, including the public
  • Some freedom to decide
  • Usually under 40 hours a week
  • Deadlines most weeks
  • Some repetitive tasks
US data: based on the O*NET profile of the US job "Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators"

Will there be jobs?

Limited prospects

Fewer jobs than in most work will need filling by 2035.

People working as stationary plant and machine operators in the EU
4.79m4.76m4.7m 201520232035

Solid: measured. Dashed: forecast.

Jobs to fill, 2026–2035
1,125,000 replacing leavers 71,000 jobs disappear
Jobs to fill per 100 people working now
Stationary plant and machine operators22
All jobs29
Right now
0 of 27 countries report a shortage of photographic products machine operators, 6 a surplus.
Photographic products machine operators · EURES

What does it pay?

About average

Pay depends a lot on the country: from about €1,000 a month (Bulgaria) to €5,500 (Denmark), 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 plant and machine operators, and assemblers in the EU, women earn 21% less per hour than men. Plant and machine operators, and assemblers · Eurostat

What do I need to study?

Upper secondary or vocational

Upper secondary or vocational training in audio-visual techniques and media production is the usual route.

Highest qualification of stationary plant and machine operators (EU, 2025)
Degree 8%Vocational 53%General secondary 10%Basic schooling 29%
Field that teaches it
Audio-visual techniques and media production
Vocational route, EU
3 in 10 trainees in this field

Pick a country at the top of the page to see where to study and the official course finders.

Will AI change it?

Very little

AI could help with only small parts of the tasks.

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

Average task score 0.27 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
Adjusting settings and running automatic developing equipment0.34
Operating, monitoring and testing photographic processing and printing equipment, and maintaining operational standards0.32
Performing photographic processing-related tasks0.32
Operating automatic equipment (in retail establishments) to develop colour negatives, prints and slides0.29
Inspecting images, films and prints, and adjusting settings on printmaking equipment to produce required colour, brightness, contrast, number, size and type of prints0.28
Operating equipment to transfer film to videotape or other electronic media0.25
Operating and monitoring equipment which makes photographic film and paper0.20
Preparing exposed film for different processing batches in dark rooms and dark chambers0.18

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 photographic products machine operators. Source: ILO (2025), adapted (credits).