Sports Photographer

Job Description:

Sports photographers are specialists hired to shoot pictures of sporting events and athletes. They work for newspapers, magazines, Web sites, and photo stock agencies to bring photos of events of all sizes (from a Little League game to the Olympics) to the pages of periodicals, the Internet, or other publications. Their pictures should clearly capture the movements, skill, and emotions of athletes.

Salary: $10,008 - $128,763.

Occupational Outlook:

Expected to grow 8.9% through 2031.

Links to Learn More About This Career:

Educational Requirements:

You do not need a degree to work as a sports photographer. However, certificate, associate's, bachelor's and master's programs in photography are available.

School of the Art Institute of Chicago

Address: Chicago, IL

Website: https://www.saic.edu/capx/contact

Information on the Major: https://www.saic.edu/admissions/freshmen

Western Kentucky University

Address: Bowling Green, KY

Website: https://www.wku.edu/contact/

Information on the Major: https://www.wku.edu/schoolofmedia/undergraduateprograms/photojournalism/photojournalism.php

Campbellsville University

Address: Campbellsville, Ky

Website: https://www.campbellsville.edu/contact/

Information on the Major: https://www.campbellsville.edu/academics/programs/art-and-design/

Soft Skills, Characteristics, and/or Abilities Need For This Career:

Knowledge of lighting
positioning and camera technique
photo editing expertise
maintain a dynamic photographic portfolio

Software Knowledge Needed For This Career:

One Pro or Lightroom and Photoshop.

Pros and Cons to Choosing This Career

Pros (Positives to this Career)

Good money if working good jobs

Get to be creative

A lot more freedom for life

Cons (Negatives to this Career)

Could be hard to book jobs

Bad money if working bad jobs

Expensive equipment

Typical Working Conditions For This Career:

Sports photographers work indoors or outdoors, depending on the type of sport they cover. They spend much of their job at sporting events and travel frequently. When editing photographs, sports photographers may work in an office or studio with photo-editing software.