Photographer Resume Examples and Writing Tips

Photographer Resume Template (Text Format)

Start by choosing the best resume format for you.

Entry-level photographer resume

As an entry-level photographer, you will need to show your photography skills, knowledge, and portfolio in order to successfully land a job. Here’s a resume example for you to base your own resume off of:

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Example highlights

• Prominent skills: This resume design has the skills listed at the top and surrounded by an accent color. This emphasizes them and shows employers that the candidate has the right skills despite their lack of formal photography experience.
• Strong resume objective: The resume objective describes the applicant’s skill in telling stories through photography, which will impress hiring managers and implies that they have the artistic vision that will make them a great photographer.

Real estate photographer resume

To get hired as a real estate photographer, you’ll need to show your skill in staging and photographing properties from the inside, outside, and above.

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Example highlights

• Recent projects: As an active photographer, this applicant has many ongoing projects, which are perfect for showing hiring managers what they are capable of. In addition to listing their personal portfolio website, they have also summarized two recent property-related photography projects at the bottom of this resume.
• Quantified achievements: This applicant uses numbers to illustrate the scope of their accomplishments, a technique called quantifying your resume achievements. Including the number of properties they’ve photographed is a great way to show potential employers the breadth of their experience.

Freelance photographer resume

As a freelance photographer, you’ll still need a resume that showcases your wide range of photography skills, like this resume example does:

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Example highlights

• Key skills and additional skills: This freelance photographer separates their skills into “key skills” and “additional skills.” Showcasing both hard and soft skills is vital for showing clients that they have the technical expertise and practical know-how to successfully complete photography jobs alone.
• Portfolio website: Like all creative workers, this photographer has a personal portfolio website where they document their photography work, and this is listed at the top of their website along with their personal information. This makes it simple for anyone viewing their resume to quickly check their online portfolio.

Average photographer salaries in the US

The following table includes information from O*NET Resource Center by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. The data is presented based on the top states in the United States.

5 Tips for writing an illuminating photographer resume

Being a professional photographer is a dream job for many people. If you have an eye for capturing the world around you and know how to market your creative skills, there are plenty of opportunities to forge your own career path.

Use these five tips to write a photography resume that proves you have the eye to get the job done right. And when you’re done, finish your application with a photography cover letter.

1. Open with a resume summary that highlights your key qualifications

Many photography jobs are competitive, so it’s important to grab the hiring manager or client’s attention right away. The best way to do this is by starting your resume off with a compelling resume summary.

In 3-4 sentences, your resume summary should show employers your background, experience, key career achievements, and why you’re the best photographer for the job.

Here’s an example of a good resume summary for a wedding photographer resume:

Passionate Wedding Photographer with over 5 years of expertise capturing moments of love through the lens of my cameras. Phoenix, AZ “Wedding Photographer of the Year” in 20XX. Eager to bring my keen eye for perfect wedding images and exceptional interpersonal skills to your agency to immortalize the magic and beauty of their wedding days.

This example works because it tells hiring managers how many years of experience the applicant has and that their skills have earned them a prestigious award. They also emphasize their interpersonal skills and eye for visual storytelling, which are vital to stay calm and capture the perfect shots in a high-pressure wedding environment.

2. Prominently list your photography skills on your resume

Hiring managers want to see that you have the skills required to handle all aspects of a photography job, from the technical skills you need to operate camera equipment to the soft skills that enable you to work well with subjects and clients.

Hard skills can be listed in the skills section of your resume, where employers will be looking to see that you have the specific abilities they’re looking for.

If you’re not sure what skills to showcase on your resume, here’s a list of in-demand photography skills:

• Camera equipment management: DSLRs, mirrorless cameras, media format systems
• Camera operations: manual camera settings, exposure control
• Post-processing software and editing: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, retouching, color correction, advanced photo manipulation
• Composition mastery: use rule of thirds, framing, leading lines
• Super-resolution imaging
• High dynamic range (HRD) Imaging
• 360-degree photography
• Drone photography
• Lighting techniques
• Efficient file management

Specific technical skills can also be written into your professional experience bullet points and resume summary, in addition to being listed in your skills section. Here’s an example of one bullet point that shows the candidate’s mastery of several hard photography skills:

• Used specialized lighting modifiers, gels, reflectors, and strategic tripod placements to create dynamic lighting for an outdoor fashion shoot, resulting in a series of visually stunning images that exceeded the client’s expectations and earned 3 new client referrals.

Soft skills are better not listed in the skills section of your resume, and instead need to be demonstrated in other parts of your resume (and during your job interview). When highlighting skills in the work experience section of your resume, include specific instances when you’ve used your skills to achieve a positive outcome.

This example emphasizes the candidate’s communication skills, initiative, and empathy, and shows how it made a measurable difference at their job:

• Increased customer satisfaction and retention by 30% over 6 months by responding to clients’ needs quickly and proactively both in person and over text and email.

This example shows how the candidate used teamwork, patience, and professionalism to ensure client satisfaction:

• Collaborated with a team of 3 photographers and lighting technicians to deliver high-quality bridal photos, successfully diffusing stressful situations caused by technical failures and adverse weather, and earning a 98% satisfaction score from over 50 clients.

Here is a list of soft skills to demonstrate on your resume:

• Verbal communication skills
• Creativity
• Constructive feedback
• Friendliness
• Attention to detail
• Experimentation
• Initiative
• Professionalism
• Patience
• Focus
• Humor
• Building rapport
• Providing direction

3. Use the photography job description to write your resume

There’s a wide range of fields for photographers to dabble in, from editorial and travel to nature and product photography. To make your application as competitive as possible, it’s best to tailor your resume to each position you’re applying for.

Creating a targeted resume will help employers quickly see how your photography experience and skills line up with the role they’re hiring for and improve your chances of landing an interview.

For each job you apply for, examine the job description and make note of the keywords it includes, like specific skills, responsibilities, and qualifications — these are the things you’ll want to highlight in your resume.

For example, here’s a job description for a real estate photographer position with keywords in bold:

You can highlight these skills throughout your resume, but here’s an example of how you might write a resume summary for this particular role:

Experienced real estate photographer with 2+ years of experience capturing stunning visuals of residential properties, creating compelling listing videos, and managing drone operations for unique perspectives. Adept at drawing floor plans and leveraging strong communication skills to convey property details effectively. Reliable, independent, and equipped with a full-frame camera, drone, wide-angle lens (17-35mm), and professional-grade equipment for delivering high-quality results.

4. Demonstrate your photography experience

Your experience section is the foundation of your resume, and it’s an opportunity to give the hiring manager a clear and accurate snapshot of your career and achievements.

To set yourself apart from other candidates, it’s crucial to make your resume accomplishments stand out. Do this by quantifying your resume achievements with numbers.

Quantifying your achievements using hard numbers lends your resume more credibility than simply stating your job responsibilities, and will help you make a great first impression on employers.

Here’s an example of how to use quantified points in the work experience section of your resume:

• Build authentic relationships with clients, leading to a 70% return rate and 30% referral rate
• Manage a portfolio site and run an Instagram account with over 250,000 followers

When you measure your wins with numbers, timeframes, percentages, and dollars, it gives employers a clear picture of what you’re capable of as a photographer and makes your application more memorable.

5. Include your portfolio URL

As a visual artist, you should already have a place online where you display your work, either a bespoke website, or a social media account like Instagram. Include a link to your photography portfolio and professional social media accounts in the personal info section of your resume.

Including a link will allow potential employers to see what you’ve done first-hand.

To increase the chances of hiring managers viewing your online portfolio, include a list of recent projects on your resume with descriptions that will pique their interest.

Resume examples for different industries

Not sure what your resume should look like? The best way to learn is by taking inspiration from resume examples written by other candidates in your industry.

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