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Photographers

Photograph people, landscapes, merchandise, or other subjects. May use lighting equipment to enhance a subject's appearance. May use editing software to produce finished images and prints. Includes commercial and industrial photographers, scientific photographers, and photojournalists.

What you’d do

  • 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.
  • Manipulate and enhance scanned or digital images to create desired effects, using computers and specialized software.
  • Take pictures of individuals, families, and small groups, either in studio or on location.
  • Enhance, retouch, and resize photographs and negatives, using airbrushing and other techniques.

Skills that matter

  • Active Listening
  • Speaking
  • Service Orientation
  • Active Learning
  • Complex Problem Solving
  • Critical Thinking

How to get there

Medium preparation: usually vocational school, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree

Also called

  • Commercial Photographer
  • Photographer
  • Photojournalist
  • Portrait Photographer
  • Advertising Photographer
  • Graduation Photographer
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