Photography Job Report

Issues

Individuals looking to enter into a career within the creative media sector can involve issues and positives. The issues that are most likely to occur consist of competition, experience and knowledge. You will be competing amongst many other individuals to get the job role you’re after, you need to make yourself stand out from everyone else and prove why you’re more suitable for the role. Having appropriate work experience will give you a huge advantage to be noticed because it means you have a better understanding of different tasks and won’t need as much training as others might need. Also, having a clear knowledge on the industry can show commitment and interest in the media sector.

The main positive of entering into a career within the creative media sector is how the media industry is always evolving. You will never get bored and everything will constantly be improving and developing. There will be new tasks, achievements, and challenges. The media industry is very interesting, hard working, and fun.

Photography

The day-to-day roles and responsibilities of being a photographer are mainly focused on the clients. A photographer will be working with clients and discussing their demands/requirements. Along with this would include carrying out research for the shoot, working in different locations and circumstances, using an extensive range of technical equipment, and seeking out appropriate opportunities.

Other duties involved in the role are managing the processing and use of images, and managing the business aspects of work, including administration, scheduling work, invoicing and basic accounting. A photographer also liaises with other professionals, for instance a graphics designer, writers, gallery managers, picture researchers, commissioning editors, and art directors.

The amount of hours you would be expected to work can be long and unpredictable. There can often be periods with little or no work as it revolves around clients and opportunities. In some areas of photography, working days and hours will be led by demand. For example, wedding photographers are likely to be at their busiest on Saturdays during the ‘wedding season’, and sports photographer will expect to work weekends and evenings to cover fixtures and events.

A variety of media based skills can be a huge advantage in the photography role. Skills such as photography, art and design, fine art, digital imaging, graphics, and media studies.

There are a few qualities that are needed for this role: personality, perseverance and patience; dedication; ability to blend quickly into work teams and build rapport with different people. These qualities all require you to show the ability you have when put in different situations. Whether those situations are stressful, new, awkward, difficult, etc. You need to be able to adapt yourself to the opportunities.

Experiences required for the role are to join photographic societies, visit exhibitions and galleries, look at photographs in books and magazines and find out as much as possible about any specific fields of interest, volunteering, work-shadowing, work experience and project work. These are all great ways of gaining not only experience but new skills, as well as making contacts.

The minimum qualifications needed for this role are the same as the skills which you might need. The media based subjects will provide you with useful skills and knowledge (photography, art and design, fine art, digital imaging, graphics, and media studies)

Starting salaries can vary between £10,500 - £21,250. Many entrants to the profession start as assistants, receiving an extremely low starting salary which can sometimes be less than £10,00. Once you have gained more experience, the top end salaries can be around £25,000 - £65,000. The salaries could get much higher for those who become famous or highly sought-after.

A photographer called Dennis Reddick is an amazing inspiration for south coast landscape photography. I would love the chance to work along side Dennis because his photos capture a moment in time. His photos are truly breath taking. Having someone look at my photography and being lost for words is what I am aspiring.

Dennis Reddick is is an enthusiastic amateur photographer based in Brighton. many of his photographs are taken on the South Coast of England. He purchased his first camera just over 7 years ago and since then has grown a considerable amount of enthusiasm. He came across a website called ePHOTOzine.com, which heightened his excitement and commitment to his photography. During his free time he enjoys being active and mountain biking in different areas. Dennis' website 'http://www.dennisreddickphotography.com' has been up and running since April 2006 and he also has a Flickr account to show off his photography to a wider audience. I have also made a Flickr account because it can prove to be a huge help it being successful and getting feedback on your work from other photographers. 

I believe that I am suitable for this job role as I have a great passion for photography. Many companies do not want to hire someone with no experience because they will be the ones having to train them with a variety of skills. Most companies are not willing to pay for this as they do not have the time or money. I have already had a variety of work experience, including photography. I do as much as I can to gain new skills and experiences with my photography, e.g. doing a photo-shoot for a friends band and building up my portfolio.