Photographers – NOC : 5221

Unit Group

5221 Photographers

Photographers operate still cameras to photograph people, events, scenes, materials, products and other subjects. Photographers are employed by photographic studios, newspapers, magazines, museums and government, or they may be self-employed.

Example Titles

aerial photographer

commercial photographer

forensic photographer

industrial photographer

photographer

photojournalist

portrait photographer

scientific photographer

View all titles

Main duties

Photographers perform some or all of the following duties:

Study requirements of a particular assignment and decide on type of camera, film, lighting and background accessories to be used
Determine picture composition, make technical adjustments to equipment and photograph subject
May operate scanners to transfer photographic images to computers
May operate computers to manipulate photographic images
May adapt existing photographic images and create new digitized images to be included in multimedia/newmedia products
May use delicate instruments, such as optical microscopes attached to cameras
May process exposed film
May use airbrush, computer or other techniques to retouch negatives
Medical photographers may work closely with medical illustrators.

Photographers may specialize in areas such as portrait photography, commercial photography, scientific photography, forensic photography, medical photography, digitized photography, multimedia photography or photojournalism.

Employment requirements

A bachelor’s degree in visual arts with specialization in photography
or
Completion of specialized training in photography in high school, college or specialized training schools
or
Extensive on-the-job training under the supervision of a photographer is required.
Experience in, or knowledge of computerized photography or digital imaging may be required.
Creative and technical ability, as demonstrated by a portfolio of work, are required.

Classified elsewhere

Film and video camera operators (5222)