Photographers Salary
The median photographers salary in the United States is $44,660 per year ($21.47/hour). Salaries range from $30,820 at the entry level to $91,810+ for the top 10% of earners. There are 51,760 photographers jobs nationwide. Employment is projected to grow 1.8% through 2034.
Last updated: June 2026 Β· Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Median Salary
$44,660
per year
Hourly Rate
$21.47
per hour
Employment
51,760
jobs in the U.S.
Salary Distribution
10th percentile
$30,820
25th percentile
$36,050
Median
$44,660
75th percentile
$62,740
90th percentile
$91,810
Job Growth (2024-2034)
+1.8%
Slower than average
Annual Openings
12,700
jobs/year (growth + replacements)
Education Required
High school diploma or equivalent
Training Needed
Moderate-term on-the-job training
Photographers Career Guide
Interview questions, resume templates, and a career ladder written specifically for photographerss.
Photographers (BLS SOC 27-4021) shoot and deliver commercial, editorial, wedding, portrait, real-estate, sports, school, and photojournalistic imagery for a paying client. Typical seats: wedding + event studios (2-15 shooters per studio and thousands of solo shooters nationwide); commercial + product shooters selling into stock (Getty Images, Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, Alamy) and corporate marketing at Amazon, Target, Wayfair, and Nordstrom; portrait chains (JCPenney Portrait Studios, The Picture People β declining chain footprint but active); photojournalists at Reuters, Associated Press, Getty News, and regional metro dailies; real-estate photographers at VHT Studios and Truplace and independent Matterport 3D-scanning contractors; and school + sports photographers at Lifetouch, Jostens, and Herff Jones. BLS reports 51,760 employed with a median of $44,660, p10 $27,930, p90 $88,000+. Entry $28-42k; established $45-72k; senior / signature commercial $72-135k+; top-of-market editorial and celebrity portrait $135-395k+ from day-rate + licensing. The single biggest earnings lever is stacking Professional Photographers of America (PPA) CPP (Certified Professional Photographer) + a repeatable commercial or wedding portfolio delivering $6-14k per booking + licensing-rights discipline on every shoot, and moving from event-work commodity pricing into commercial retainer with corporate marketing clients or into stock at Getty + Adobe Stock scale.
Core Skills Hiring Managers Screen For
Lighting mastery β natural, strobe, and continuous
One-light, two-light, and three-light setups; key + fill + hair + background separation for portrait; softbox + octabox + beauty dish + gridded strip modifier selection; high-speed sync (HSS) for outdoor fill-flash beyond native x-sync speed; TTL + manual triggering (Profoto AirTTL, Godox X-system, PocketWizard); umbrella + scrim + reflector diffusion; on-camera bounce flash for event coverage; Rembrandt / loop / butterfly / split lighting patterns for portrait; product tabletop with continuous LED (Aputure, Nanlite) and macro-focus stacking; broncolor / Profoto B10 / B1X / D2 pack-and-head at high-volume commercial.
Camera + lens system fluency (Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, Leica, medium format)
Canon R5 / R3 / 1DX III; Nikon Z9 / Z8 / D6; Sony A1 / A7R V / A9 III; Fujifilm GFX 100 II + X-H2S; Leica M11 + SL3; medium format (Hasselblad H6D + X2D, Phase One IQ4). Fast-prime + zoom lens selection for portrait (85mm f/1.4, 135mm f/1.8), event (24-70 f/2.8 + 70-200 f/2.8), sports (300 f/2.8 + 400 f/2.8 + 600 f/4), commercial macro (100mm macro + 90mm tilt-shift). Autofocus subject-detection tuning (eye AF, animal AF, vehicle AF); frame-rate + rolling-shutter tradeoffs; dual-card redundancy (CFexpress + SD).
Post-production β Adobe Creative Cloud + Capture One + DxO PhotoLab
Adobe Lightroom Classic + Lightroom cloud catalog for high-volume culling and batch color grading; Adobe Photoshop for compositing, frequency-separation retouching, and generative fill; Adobe Camera Raw for tethered ingest. Capture One Pro (Phase One / medium format tethered workflow standard at commercial studios) with sessions + variants + styles. DxO PhotoLab for high-ISO denoise (DeepPRIME XD) and lens correction. DaVinci Resolve for hybrid photo-video deliverables; Frame.io for client-review approvals. Culling automation (Photo Mechanic, FastRawViewer) at 4-8k image event volume.
Business + contracts + licensing-rights discipline
Model release (ASMP / PPA standard forms) for every identifiable person; property release for private property; work-for-hire vs licensed-use distinction under 17 USC Β§201(b); usage-rights scope (exclusive vs non-exclusive; duration in months / years; territory US / North America / worldwide; media β web + print + broadcast + OOH). Getty / Shutterstock / Adobe Stock RF (royalty-free) vs RM (rights-managed) licensing model. Buyout vs licensed-use pricing (buyout is typically 3-8x licensed-use fee). Kill fee (15-50% of shoot fee) for cancellations. Delivery format + resolution + retouching-round scope written into the contract before shoot day.
Studio + location production management
Shot list + call sheet + creative brief interpretation from art director / brand marketer; location scouting + permit pulling (NYC MOME, LA FilmLA, Chicago film office); crew hiring (1st + 2nd assistant + digital tech + stylist + makeup / hair + producer at commercial scale); grip + electric package rental (Samy's, Adorama Rentals, Foto Care, Milk Studios, Fast Ashleys); catering + craft services; talent + prop + wardrobe coordination; day-rate + half-day + kill-fee structure discipline; travel + expenses (T&E) markup at 15-25% per PPA / ASMP standards.
Wedding + event coverage flow
Getting-ready + first-look + ceremony + family formals + bridal party + reception + exit coverage across an 8-12 hour day; second-shooter coordination for parallel-angle key moments; low-light + mixed-lighting reception coverage (bounce flash + drag-shutter + video-light hybrid); rapid-turnaround sneak-peek (24-72 hr) + full gallery delivery (4-8 wk); online gallery delivery (Pixieset, ShootProof, Pic-Time); album design + printing (Miller's Professional Imaging, WHCC, KISS Books, Redtree Albums).
Real-estate + architectural photography with Matterport 3D scanning
24mm + 16-35mm wide-angle lens selection for interior; HDR bracketing at 3-9 exposures for window-pull retention; flambient (flash-ambient hybrid) technique for exposure control; twilight exterior + drone aerial for luxury listings (Part 107 remote pilot certificate for commercial drone); Matterport Pro3 / Axis LiDAR scanning for immersive 3D walkthrough deliverables at $200-600 per property; Zillow 3D Home mobile-app captures for entry-level; MLS-standard delivery at 24-72 hr turnaround; VHT Studios, Truplace, and independent real-estate photography contractor pricing at $150-500 per shoot.
Commercial + stock + editorial delivery pipeline
Getty Images contributor contract (typically 20-30% contributor royalty); Shutterstock contributor tiered royalty (15-40% based on tier); Adobe Stock contributor (33% baseline); Alamy contributor (40-50%). Editorial vs commercial licensing distinction (editorial requires no model release for identifiable persons in news / editorial context; commercial requires release). Metadata + keywording discipline (IPTC + XMP + Getty controlled vocabulary); tethered client-approved shoot delivery via WeTransfer + Frame.io + Pixieset for commercial retainer clients.
How to Become a Photographers
- 1Complete a Bachelor's in Photography, Photojournalism, or a Fine Arts program (BFA)Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) BFA Photography; Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) BFA Photography; School of Visual Arts (SVA) BFA Photography; Parsons School of Design BFA Photography; Art Center College of Design BFA Photo Imaging; Brooks Institute (closed 2016) historical alumni network; UCLA + USC + NYU + Columbia photo programs. Alternate path: 2-year AAS from a community college photo program (Los Angeles City College, Cabrillo College, Santa Fe University of Art and Design), or 100% self-taught + assistant-track progression β the latter is common and legitimate at the wedding and event tier.
- 2Assist established photographers for 2-4 years at $150-350/day2nd assistant β 1st assistant β digital tech track in the commercial studio world; 2nd shooter β lead shooter track in the wedding world; photojournalism intern β staff photographer track at metro dailies (declining but still active at AP, Reuters, and the LA Times / NYT / WaPo staffs). Learn lighting, gear handling, on-set etiquette, and client communication by watching working photographers at 40-80 shoot days per year.
- 3Build a portfolio + brand + Instagram / Behance / personal website20-30 signature portfolio images that establish a consistent visual voice β same lighting sensibility, color palette, and subject typology across the book. Instagram + Behance + Squarespace / Format / Wix portfolio site; Google Business Profile for local search; The Knot + WeddingWire + Zola listings for wedding photographers; Wedding Photojournalist Association (WPJA) + International Society of Professional Wedding Photographers (ISPWP) contest entries for wedding-tier credibility.
- 4Earn PPA Certified Professional Photographer (CPP) + specialized industry credentialsPPA (Professional Photographers of America) Certified Professional Photographer β combined written exam + image submission review; $200 application + $75 annual PPA membership + $150 CPP renewal every 3 years; the primary US commercial + portrait photography credential. PPA Master of Photography degree (long-form portfolio + merit accumulation); PPA Photographic Craftsman degree (teaching + writing merits). Wedding-specific: WPJA / ISPWP / Fearless Photographers memberships. Real-estate: Real Estate Photographers of America and International (REPAI) certification + Matterport Service Provider status.
- 5Structure the business β LLC or S-corp + business insurance + tax disciplineState LLC formation ($50-500 depending on state); S-corp election at $60-80k+ net for self-employment-tax savings; general liability insurance ($400-1,200/yr from PPA member benefits, HillUSA, Photographer's Insurance Company); equipment insurance (rider on general liability at 1-2% of gear value annually); professional indemnity / E&O for commercial work; Schedule C + SE tax + quarterly estimated taxes discipline; Section 179 + bonus depreciation on gear at year-end.
- 6Advance to established solo photographer at $45-72k net5-10 years in the seat. Signature portfolio + repeat clients + 25-60 shoots per year at $2-6k per shoot in the wedding / event tier or $1-4k per shoot in real-estate / lifestyle + $500-4,500 in licensing per commercial shoot. Referral pipeline established; social + SEO + directory listings driving inbound.
- 7Advance to senior commercial / editorial / signature photographer at $72-135k+ net10-20 years in the seat. Commercial retainer clients (Amazon, Target, Wayfair, Nordstrom, Athleta, REI, Everlane, Peloton corporate marketing) at $4-12k day-rate + licensing fees. Editorial magazine assignments (Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, ESPN Magazine β declining print, but active) at $1,500-4,500 day-rate + travel expenses covered. Stock catalog earning $12-45k passive from Getty + Shutterstock + Adobe Stock. Wedding-tier signature photographers at $9-22k per booking + 30-60 bookings/yr at the luxury tier ($270-1.3M/yr gross, 30-45% net after cost-of-goods + overhead).
- 8Top-of-market β celebrity + luxury + editorial signature at $135-395k+15-25 years in the seat. Named editorial + celebrity portrait photographers (Annie Leibovitz + Mark Seliger + Norman Jean Roy + Peggy Sirota tier); campaign-signature commercial photographers with $25-95k day-rate + campaign-usage licensing at $50-500k. Luxury wedding signature photographers ($20-45k per booking + destination) with 15-30 bookings/yr. Getty News + AP staff photographer or Pulitzer-track photojournalist at $85-165k salary + assignment premiums.
Career Progression
Assistant / 2nd Shooter
0-3 yrs$28-42k gross ($150-350/day, 60-120 shoot days/yr; often 1099 self-employed)
- β’2nd or 3rd assistant on commercial shoots: lighting setup, cable runs, scrim + reflector handling, equipment care, on-set craft-services support
- β’2nd shooter on wedding + event days: parallel-angle coverage, second-camera lens swaps, guest candids, prep + getting-ready coverage
- β’Digital tech (DT) at commercial shoots: tethered Capture One / Lightroom ingest, on-set client review, color-checker calibration
- β’Post-production support: culling in Photo Mechanic / Lightroom, first-pass edits, gallery upload preparation
Next: Solo photographer / 1st assistant at 3-6 years with portfolio + repeat clients established.
Solo Photographer / 1st Assistant
3-8 yrs$42-72k net ($1.5-4k per shoot, 30-60 bookings/yr; solo 1099 or LLC / S-corp)
- β’Lead shooter on wedding + event days (mid-tier at $3-7k per booking) or commercial + product shoots at $2-5k day-rate
- β’Own the client-facing brief interpretation, shot list, and creative direction
- β’Deliver gallery within 4-8 wk with signature editing style; manage online-gallery + album-design pipeline
- β’1st assistant on high-end commercial (Amazon / Target / Wayfair) at $250-450/day with digital-tech + lighting responsibility
Next: Established solo / studio owner at 6-12 years with signature portfolio + retainer clients.
Established Photographer / Studio Owner
6-15 yrs$72-135k net ($4-12k per shoot, 25-50 bookings/yr; LLC / S-corp with 1-3 employees or contractors)
- β’Signature wedding photographer at $6-15k per booking or commercial retainer clients (Amazon, Target, Wayfair, Nordstrom, Peloton) at $4-12k day-rate + licensing
- β’Own the business: marketing, SEO, directory listings, retainer relationships, insurance, tax structure, employee / contractor management
- β’Stock catalog on Getty + Shutterstock + Adobe Stock generating $6-25k/yr passive
- β’PPA CPP + Master of Photography or PPA Photographic Craftsman degree; industry awards (WPJA, ISPWP, Communication Arts Photography Annual)
Next: Signature commercial / celebrity / luxury editorial at 12-20 years.
Signature Commercial / Luxury / Celebrity / Editorial
12-25 yrs$135-395k+ net (day-rate $8-95k, campaign-usage licensing $25-500k, 15-40 bookings/yr)
- β’Named editorial + celebrity portrait photographer (Vogue, Vanity Fair, GQ, Rolling Stone, Time, ESPN Magazine) at $1,500-8,000 day-rate + travel
- β’Campaign-signature commercial photographer (national + global brand campaigns) at $25-95k day-rate + licensing scope on 2-4 major campaigns/yr
- β’Luxury wedding + destination signature photographer at $20-45k per booking + travel expenses covered by client
- β’Getty News + AP staff photographer or Pulitzer-track photojournalist at $85-165k salary + assignment travel premiums (declining industry but active seats)
Interview Questions & Answers
5 free questions below. Career Kit unlocks 13 total plus resume bullets for every level.
Q1. Walk me through your last commercial shoot from brief to final delivery.technical
Structured, with real detail. Example: 'Commercial product shoot for Wayfair upholstered-furniture catalog, 2-day shoot at a Brooklyn daylight studio. Pre-production: reviewed the creative brief with the Wayfair art director + brand marketer, pulled call sheet, hired a 1st assistant + digital tech + prop stylist + PA, rented a Profoto B10 + B1X + Broncolor Siros L pack-and-head kit through Foto Care, and blocked 2 days of studio + 1 day of post-production. Day 1: tethered Capture One shoot at 40 product SKUs across 6 room-set builds; digital tech managed color-checker + tethered client review with the AD approving each set. Day 2: 32 SKUs across 4 additional builds. Delivery: culled from 4,200 raws to 320 selects, retouched frequency-separation on hero shots, delivered 5000Γ5000px + 2500Γ2500px + 800Γ800px web-ready files via Frame.io at 8 days from shoot day. Licensing: web + digital + OOH North America, 24 months. Fee: $6,500 day-rate Γ 2 days + $2,400 licensing fee + $1,800 T&E markup at 15% + crew pass-through + rental pass-through = ~$28k gross, ~$16k net after crew + rental. Interviewers screen for photographers who articulate the creative brief, the crew build, the tethered workflow, the licensing structure, and the P&L per shoot.
Q2. How do you handle a difficult client during a shoot?situational
Slow down. Acknowledge the concern directly instead of deflecting; often the frustration is upstream (the brand marketer received last-minute changes from the creative director, or the bride's family added 8 formal groupings not on the shot list). Repeat back what you heard and confirm what needs to change. Concede honest limits (I can't add a 3rd lighting setup in the next 15 minutes without extending studio time; I can't reshoot the ceremony but I can prioritize a first-look reshoot after cocktails). Offer a specific alternative that keeps the shoot moving. On the wedding side, always defer to the couple, not the mother-in-law, but stay diplomatic. Never argue in front of the client's client (the brand marketer's boss, the bride's parents). Follow up with a written summary the same day.
Q3. Describe a shoot that went wrong and what you did to save it.behavioral
STAR. Situation: Wedding at a Napa Valley winery in October; the primary shooter's Canon R5 failed at the ceremony start with an SD-card write error, and the backup camera body was in the car 200 yards away. Task: cover the ceremony start without a working primary body while my 2nd shooter continued from the balcony. Action: (1) grabbed my 2nd shooter's Canon R5 secondary body with my 24-70 f/2.8, told the 2nd shooter to switch to their 70-200 f/2.8 primary for the wide coverage; (2) sent the PA to the car for the backup R5; (3) covered the first 4 minutes of the ceremony from the 2nd angle at 24-70 while the 2nd shooter kept the ceremony aisle wide from the balcony; (4) received the backup body within 6 minutes and returned to the primary aisle position for the remainder. Result: full ceremony coverage delivered with no visible gap in the gallery; the couple never knew there was an equipment failure. Debrief: I moved to 3-body redundancy on every wedding thereafter, and I now check CFexpress + SD write speeds the morning of every shoot. Interviewers want to hear you own the failure, respond with a specific tactical move, and change your process after.
Q4. Why photography rather than videography or hybrid content?culture
Honest answer that resonates. 'I love the discipline of the single frame β the whole story compressed into one image that stops the viewer. Video is a different craft; I collaborate with videographers on wedding days and I do hybrid content when brands ask, but my visual thinking is a still-frame instinct. Pay is real β signature wedding photographers at $8-18k per booking clear $180-380k gross, and commercial retainer clients at $6-12k day-rate keep the studio full. I've built my portfolio + PPA CPP + WPJA membership + Instagram brand around still work, and I'd rather deepen that than diffuse into hybrid.' Interviewers screen for photographers who chose the medium deliberately.
Q5. Where do you see your career in 5 years?closer
Show the fork clearly. Wedding photographers name the luxury-tier target ($10-22k per booking, 30-45 bookings/yr, destination-optional). Commercial photographers name the retainer-client target (Amazon / Target / Wayfair / Nordstrom / Peloton scale) with campaign-usage licensing scope. Editorial photographers name the magazine + agency track (Vogue, GQ, Vanity Fair, Wonderland). Real-estate photographers name the luxury-broker + Matterport-scale target ($250-750 per property Γ 300-800 properties/yr). All name the PPA CPP + PPA Master of Photography or Photographic Craftsman degree cadence, the stock-catalog build (Getty + Adobe Stock), and a specific portfolio direction (fine-art gallery representation, editorial book publication, teaching workshops at Santa Fe Workshops or Maine Media).
Resume Template β Established Photographer / Studio Owner (6-15 yrs)
Copy these bullets into your resume as a starting point. Career Kit includes bullets for every level of the ladder.
Established Photographer / Studio Owner (6-15 yrs)
- βΈSignature wedding photographer at [Studio Name] serving the Bay Area + Sonoma + Napa luxury market; 38 bookings in FY24 at avg $9,400 per booking = $357k gross + $28k album + album design margin.
- βΈCommercial retainer clients: Wayfair upholstered-furniture catalog (2-day quarterly shoot at $6,500/day + licensing) + REI Co-op lifestyle catalog (3-day biannual shoot at $5,200/day + licensing) + Peloton brand-social content library.
- βΈPPA Certified Professional Photographer + PPA Photographic Craftsman degree + WPJA + ISPWP. 4 Wedding Photojournalist Association Award of Excellence images in FY23-FY24.
- βΈStock catalog on Getty Images + Adobe Stock + Shutterstock generating $18k/yr passive; portfolio site at [domain] with 47k monthly organic visits and 320 wedding inquiries in FY24 (14% conversion to booking).
What Gets You Rejected
- βNo signature portfolio β 30 images without visual coherence (lighting sensibility, color palette, subject typology) signals a photographer still developing their voice, capped at commodity pricing.
- βNo PPA CPP or equivalent industry credential after 5+ years in seat β the CPP is table-stakes for commercial + portrait pricing above $2-3k per shoot.
- βWeak business structure β no LLC / S-corp, no general liability insurance, no equipment insurance, no written contracts with model releases; signals amateur-tier risk exposure to the client.
- βNo tethered-shoot workflow (Capture One or Lightroom tethered ingest with color-checker calibration) β signals a photographer who can't work commercial retainer with an on-set art director.
- βHistory of missing delivery deadlines β the single most reference-checked pattern in wedding + commercial reviews; a photographer who delivers 12-16 weeks post-shoot instead of 4-8 loses referral pipeline.
- βNo licensing-rights discipline β a photographer who signs work-for-hire (17 USC Β§201(b)) without pricing the buyout premium (3-8x licensed-use fee) leaves 40-70% of commercial revenue on the table.
- βWeak lighting outside natural light β a photographer who can only shoot golden-hour outdoor is capped at wedding + lifestyle; commercial + portrait requires strobe + continuous mastery.
- βInstagram engagement without conversion β 80k followers with zero inbound-inquiry pipeline signals a photographer optimizing for vanity instead of a real client-acquisition funnel.
Salary Negotiation Levers
- βLicensing-rights scope premium β buyout vs licensed-use (buyout is 3-8x the licensed-use fee); duration (12 months vs 24 vs 60 vs perpetual); territory (US vs North America vs worldwide); media scope (web vs web + print vs web + print + broadcast + OOH). Every commercial contract should price these dimensions separately.
- βT&E markup at 15-25% (ASMP / PPA industry standard) on all travel + equipment rental + crew pass-through; commercial clients routinely accept this.
- βKill fee 25-50% of shoot fee for shoots cancelled within 5 business days; higher tier photographers (signature commercial + luxury wedding) negotiate 50-75%.
- βRush-turnaround premium β 24-72 hr sneak-peek + 2-3 wk full gallery in wedding tier at $500-2,000; 24-48 hr commercial delivery at $1,500-4,500.
- βAlbum + print margin β 2-4x cost-of-goods markup at Miller's Professional Imaging + WHCC + KISS Books + Redtree Albums; luxury wedding album $2-6k retail on $500-1,500 cost.
- βPPA CPP + PPA Master of Photography or Photographic Craftsman degree adds 15-30% pricing premium over uncertified competitors at portrait + commercial.
- βStock-catalog passive income β Getty (20-30% royalty) + Shutterstock (15-40%) + Adobe Stock (33%) + Alamy (40-50%); an established catalog of 800-3,000 keyworded images can generate $8-45k/yr passive.
- βMetro premium β SF Bay Area + NYC + LA + Chicago + Miami + Nashville luxury-wedding markets pay 30-70% above US median for the same booking level.
- βRepeat-client retainer discount trade β a 3-6 shoot annual retainer at 15% discount vs single-shoot pricing locks in cash flow and reduces marketing spend at established commercial studios.
- βEducator + workshop track β Santa Fe Workshops + Maine Media + Palm Springs Photo Festival + PPA-affiliated workshops pay $2-8k per teaching engagement + travel; workshop-tier photographers add $25-90k/yr to portfolio income.
Already a Photographers? Grow From Here
Free playbooks on what actually gets you promoted and raised β not motivational advice, the real mechanics.
Photographers Resume Review β $29
Personalized resume review from someone who has hired photographerss. Purchase, email your resume to support@weblabra.com, and receive detailed written feedback within 7 days.
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- β 7-day turnaround, 100% refund if we miss it
Photographers Career Kit β $19
- β All 13 interview questions with expert answers
- β 8 real questions aggregated from Glassdoor, Blind, Reddit, LinkedIn
- β Interview format intel for 8 top employers
- β 3 copy-paste salary negotiation emails
- β Resume bullets for every level of the career ladder
- β 30β60β90 day plan for your first role
- β Cover letter templates specific to this occupation
- β Detailed salary negotiation script
- β Ranked list of certifications with cost + ROI
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One-time purchase. 7-day refund guarantee.
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Photographers Career Growth Kit β $29
Already working as a photographers? This kit is for building your case for the next promotion or raise β not for getting hired.
- β Self-review draft mapped to photographers competencies
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- β Promotion committee anticipation guide
- β Tenure and pay reference bands by level
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β 7-day money-back guarantee β no questions asked
One-time purchase. 7-day refund guarantee.
Photographers Salary by State
Best Cities (cost-adjusted) βSalary Map β Click a state for details
$33K$111Kβ No data
Top Paying States
District of Columbia
$111K
+148%
New York
$60K
+34%
Massachusetts
$58K
+30%
Oregon
$54K
+20%
Utah
$52K
+17%
Delaware
$50K
+12%
Connecticut
$50K
+11%
New Mexico
$48K
+8%
Washington
$48K
+8%
California
$48K
+7%
Vertical line = national median. Click a state for full details.
| State | Median | vs. National |
|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $110,970 | +148.5% |
| New York | $60,050 | +34.5% |
| Massachusetts | $57,990 | +29.8% |
| Oregon | $53,630 | +20.1% |
| Utah | $52,140 | +16.7% |
| Delaware | $50,100 | +12.2% |
| Connecticut | $49,790 | +11.5% |
| New Mexico | $48,090 | +7.7% |
| Washington | $48,050 | +7.6% |
| California | $47,840 | +7.1% |
Showing 1β10 of 49
Photographers Salary by Metro Area
| Metro Area | Median | vs. National |
|---|---|---|
| Bend, OR | $65,990 | +47.8% |
| Fort Collins-Loveland, CO | $62,550 | +40.1% |
| Boulder, CO | $60,930 | +36.4% |
| Springfield, MA | $60,430 | +35.3% |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | $60,050 | +34.5% |
| Salt Lake City-Murray, UT | $60,000 | +34.3% |
| Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA | $59,220 | +32.6% |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | $58,840 | +31.8% |
| Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY | $58,050 | +30.0% |
| Charleston-North Charleston, SC | $56,890 | +27.4% |
Showing 1β10 of 176
Data Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). Data reflects the most recent annual survey.
How does this compare to pro athletes?
A photographers earning $44,660/year would need 1335 years to match Stephen Curry's NBA salary, or 1433 yearsto match Patrick Mahomes' NFL contract.
See all sports & celebrity salaries βπ See how photographers salaries have changed over the past decade.
View Photographers salary trend (2011β2024) β