Photographer Salary, Skills & Requirements (2026)
Advertised pay, starting pay, skills and experience from 1,825 US job postings by 262 employers. Data as of October 2026.
What US employers post for photographers: advertised pay, the skills and experience they ask for, and the job titles they use, from 1,825 open job postings (October 2026).
- The median advertised pay for photographers in US job postings is $39,000 a year (748 postings from 54 employers, October 2026).
- The middle half of those postings offer $35,000 to $58,000.
- The skills that most set photographer postings apart are lightroom, Photoshop, lighting.
Photographer job postings in the US, October 2026
- $39,000
- Median advertised pay (748 postings)
- $35,000–$58,000
- Middle 50% of postings
- 1,825
- US job postings from 262 employers
How much does a photographer make?
The median advertised pay is $39,000 a year, from 748 US job postings by 54 employers that state pay. One in ten postings offers $108,000 or more.
Advertised pay in 748 US photographer job postings: median $39,000 a year, middle half $35,000 to $58,000.
- Median: $39,000
- 25th percentile: $35,000
- 75th percentile: $58,000
The figures as a table
| Annual pay | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| $10K–$20K | 0.6% |
| $20K–$30K | 8.4% |
| $30K–$40K | 45.5% |
| $40K–$50K | 13.2% |
| $50K–$60K | 7.8% |
| $60K–$70K | 7.8% |
| $70K–$80K | 1.2% |
| $80K–$90K | 2.4% |
| $90K–$100K | 1.2% |
| $100K–$110K | 1.8% |
| $110K–$120K | 3.0% |
| $120K–$130K | 0.6% |
| $140K–$150K | 0.6% |
| $160K–$170K | 0.6% |
| $170K–$180K | 4.8% |
Midpoint of each posting's pay range, hourly pay × 2,080 hours; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026.
| Median | Middle 50% | Postings | |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pay postings, annualised | $39,000 | $35K–$58K | 748 |
For comparison, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the national median annual wage of Photographers (27-4021) at $45,000 (May 2025). Postings advertise pay; the BLS measures what people earn, across all employers and levels.
What is the starting salary for a photographer?
Figure withheld: fewer than 250 US postings list pay. How we decide.
Highest-paying photographer jobs
Specializations with at least 250 postings that state pay.
| Specialization | Median pay | Postings with pay | Employers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Photographer (general) | $39,000 | 743 | 53 |
Skills employers ask for in photographer job postings
| Skill | Share of postings |
|---|---|
| Communication | 36% |
| Photoshop | 23% |
| Work independently | 21% |
| Lightroom | 16% |
| Attention to detail | 14% |
| Customer service | 14% |
| Organizational skills | 13% |
| Eye for detail | 12% |
| Time management | 11% |
| Lighting | 9% |
Skills named in the posting text; at most 20 postings per employer; US, October 2026. Methodology.
Skills that set photographers apart
- Lightroom897.3× as often as in all postings · 16%
- Photoshop93.5× as often as in all postings · 23%
- Lighting186.6× as often as in all postings · 9%
- Photography231.1× as often as in all postings · 6%
Skills named in at least 5% of these postings and at least 3 times as often as in job postings overall.
Have a photographer job posting in front of you? See which of its skills your resume is missing.
What does a photographer do?
Employers post these jobs as Automotive Photographer, Photographer/Videographer, Videographer/Photographer, Real Estate Photographer, Photography Intern and other titles. The largest specializations are Retoucher (under 1%).
The closest official occupation is Photographers (27-4021.00). Its most important tasks:
- Adjust apertures, shutter speeds, and camera focus according to a combination of factors, such as lighting, field depth, subject motion, film type, and film speed.
- Create artificial light, using flashes and reflectors.
- Determine desired images and picture composition, selecting and adjusting subjects, equipment, and lighting to achieve desired effects.
- Transfer photographs to computers for editing, archiving, and electronic transmission.
- Use traditional or digital cameras, along with a variety of equipment, such as tripods, filters, and flash attachments.
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database, U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (CC BY 4.0).
Other names for a photographer: job titles employers use
| Job title | Employers using it |
|---|---|
| Photographer | 149 (56.9%) |
| Automotive Photographer | 14 (5.3%) |
| Photographer/Videographer | 14 (5.3%) |
| Videographer/Photographer | 12 (4.6%) |
| Real Estate Photographer | 10 (3.8%) |
| Photography Intern | 9 (3.4%) |
| Event Photographer | 8 (3.0%) |
| Product Photographer | 7 (2.7%) |
| Vehicle Photographer | 7 (2.7%) |
| News Photographer | 6 (2.3%) |
| Automotive Dealership Photographer | 5 (1.9%) |
| Senior Photographer | 4 (1.5%) |
| Photography Assistant | 4 (1.5%) |
| Sports Photographer | 4 (1.5%) |
| Associate Photographer | 3 (1.1%) |
| School Photographer | 3 (1.1%) |
| Junior Photographer | 3 (1.1%) |
| Lead Photographer | 3 (1.1%) |
| Photographer III | 3 (1.1%) |
| Automotive Inventory Photographer | 3 (1.1%) |
Titles read in our audit and used by at least 3 employers.
Photographer compared with similar careers
| Career | Median pay | Median experience | Postings | Shares N of top 25 skills |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Photographer | $39K | – | 1,825 | – |
| Fashion Designer | – | – | 159 | 10 |
| Video Editor | $76K | 3 years | 945 | 12 |
| Graphic Designer | $84K | 3 years | 2,204 | 10 |
| Industrial Designer | – | – | 171 | 8 |
Similar careers
| Career | Shares N of the top 25 skills | Median pay |
|---|---|---|
| Fashion Designer | 10 | – |
| Video Editor | 12 | $76K |
| Graphic Designer | 10 | $84K |
| Industrial Designer | 8 | – |
| Producer | 11 | $70K |
| Instructional Designer | 10 | – |
Applying for photographer jobs?
- Photographer resume examples: one-page examples for these roles
- Match your resume to a job: paste a posting and see the skills your resume is missing
- Check your resume: see how an applicant tracking system reads it
- Find photographer jobs: search open postings
Frequently asked questions
How much does a photographer make?
Source and method
Open US job postings collected from employers' applicant tracking systems, de-duplicated, counted only when their job title was read in our audit. Shares count at most 20 postings per employer, and franchise locations of one brand count as one employer. Pay uses hourly and annual figures only; a figure is shown when leaving out the largest employer moves it by 10% or less. Every figure states its number of postings. Methodology and measured accuracy.
Accuracy check: we read 19 randomly chosen postings counted on this page in full; 19 of them were this career or a closely related one (October 2026).
Download the figures on this page (CSV): every number above with its count of postings. Aggregate figures are licensed CC BY 4.0; cite the page when you reuse them.