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What Is It Like to Be a Photographer?
Day-to-Day Stories From Professional Photographers
Photography is often seen as a creative job built around taking pictures. In reality, professional photographers spend much of their time planning shoots, communicating with clients, editing images, marketing their work and running a business.
Some photographers work in studios, while others shoot weddings, events, brands, landscapes or travel stories. No two photography careers look exactly the same, but most involve a mix of creativity, technical skill, organisation and client communication.
In this post, professional photographers share what their working days look like, the skills they rely on and the advice they would give to anyone starting out.
Coordinate With Clients and Edit
Most of my job as an elopement and intimate wedding photographer is spent in coordination and communication with my clients. Meaning, while photographing itself is the absolute best part of the job, most of my days are spent at a computer.
Between editing galleries, coordinating logistics, researching permits and hikes, and creating timelines, I spend time online. With the help of some incredible programs, I am able to streamline my daily activities and keep the wheels running smoothly!
Rose Groves, Photographer, Matlai Photography
Network and Craft Content
While most people only see photographers with a camera in their hand, most of my job actually takes place behind a computer screen. All of the photos I take need to be processed and edited out of their RAW form so that they match my style. But when I'm not editing, I invest most of my time connecting with new couples on a video call or writing content to continue my marketing efforts. Emotional intelligence and strong writing and communication skills are actually the bedrock of my business.
I need these traits to network with new vendors in my industry, connect with new couples, foster relationships with my current couples, create blogs that drive traffic to my website, and craft social media posts that connect with couples on the hunt for their perfect wedding vendors. So while you might think of a photographer solely holding a camera, the majority of the time I'm behind a laptop, talking to people in one form or another.
Christine Murphy, Wedding Photographer, Christine Hazel Photography
Balance Client Interaction and Editing
In a typical working day, I'm speaking with prospective clients, bidding on future projects, preparing for current projects, and editing images to deliver to clients. On a shoot day, there is no time available for any of these essential business tasks, so it's important to take care of all pressing issues on non-shooting days.
The skills and qualities I use the most are responsiveness and adaptability. I've booked many shoots by being the quickest to respond and follow up with an inquiry and then adapting my skill set to the shoot the client needs accomplished.
In the commercial photo world, no two days are the same, as the scope of work, lighting conditions, and client expectations vary greatly from shoot to shoot. I recently photographed Canva Create at SoFi Stadium and spent the day before the event scouting the event spaces, previewing the speakers and performances, and finding the best locations to shoot from.
This extra level of preparation paid off with one-of-a-kind imagery that showcased the bold, colourful uniqueness of the event. This would have been harder to achieve without the proper preparation of the location scout and client walkthrough.
Jonathan Young, Photographer, Jonathan Young Photography
Adapt to Varied Daily Activities
On a shoot day, it's all about prepping my kit, making sure I've got fully charged batteries, cleared memory cards, and both cameras and all my lenses, lighting, and accessories before heading to a photo shoot.
During the shoot itself, apart from the skills needed to be able to take great photographs, I'm mostly using my skills and qualities as a friendly human being to relax my subjects in front of the camera!
On edit days, it's all about getting into the zone as I work through culling and editing the images I took down to a cohesive set of photos I can deliver. Here, I rely on my ADHD skill of hyperfocus to get the job done! And in between, it's all about the admin and organizing and all the other bits that happen when you run a business, answering emails, and arranging planning meetings. I love that every day is so different, and that's mainly why I do what I do.
Sarah Wayte, Copywriter & Brand Photographer, Sarah Wayte Creative
Organise Business and Creative Tasks
People imagine a photographer's job as very creative, forgetting that first of all, it is a business with everything that comes with it.
I created and try to follow my weekly calendar to keep things organized and my business running smoothly. Mondays are administrative days, as it is not very common for me to have shoots on Mondays. I start by creating a plan and tasks for the week, adding clients to the CRM, and booking time in the calendar for networking events, calls, and upcoming projects.
I also do bookkeeping, including logging receipts and updating my mileage journal for the previous week. I outline my marketing plan, plan themes for social media, and if there's any time left, I work on time-sensitive tasks like editing. I try to keep half a day on Thursday just for marketing, so I have dedicated time for writing storylines, post descriptions, and shoot content. It is so easy to skip this part if you don't have time dedicated specifically for this task.
The rest of the week is more fluid; I follow the main tasks I set up on Monday, and try to keep at least one day a week just for editing. I often work on Saturdays, so usually Wednesday is a day off.
If I have a day with a photoshoot scheduled, I start by double-checking my gear – I usually prepare everything in the evening and do a final check in the morning. I make sure I am on top of my communication with clients, ensuring they know where to go, what to bring, and any other necessary details.
I might go over a mood board for the shoot one more time just to feel more confident, then head to the studio or location for the shoot. After the session, I back up everything, making sure I have at least two copies of the photos, and start the culling process. Then, of course, comes editing. Depending on the photographer's process, editing can take a huge chunk of time. AI tools have made our lives easier, but it is still a lot of work.
It might be surprising, but your photography skill doesn't have that much to do with how successful you are as a photographer. The most important skills are marketing and business skills. It doesn't matter if you take the most beautiful photos if no one sees them, and pricing your work too low will put you out of business in a couple of years; we see that all the time.
Kate Klymenko, Owner, Kate Klymenko Photography
Finding Your Niche and Seasonal Changes
As a photographer and the owner of an elopement wedding service, my day functions generally the same every day, but varies some by season. Basically my life is centered around marketing and finding new clients. Most of it happens on its own, but sometimes you have to do new and more things to reach more people.
Being self employed is always a thing that contains a lot of uncertainty.
On days that there actually are jobs, I have to make sure that my equipment is all working, in place, batteries charged, memory cards ready. Then go to the location, meet everyone, do the photos, hopefully (fingers crossed!) have a great time (but doesn't always happen) and make amazing photos.
My advice for anyone wanting to become a professional photographer - at first, find other photographers in different niche markets and ask if you can shadow them, assist them, second shoot with them. Anything. Do ALL OF IT. Try it all: weddings, babies, elopements, portraits, real estate, headshots, senior pics, corporate parties, and shooting for a newspaper. If you find something you LOVE to do, because trying to say that you can do it all is just not realistic.
Elizabeth H Raley, Owner, Elope to Savannah