A photographer’s job is to create visual images for a range of creative purposes.

Most photographer’s work for a client or an employer but can work independently.

Although a photographer can take pictures of anything, some photographers

categorise their work into a genre.

For Example:

Advertising

Corporate

Edititonal

Fashion

Fine art

And social photography (weddings, commercial and portraiture)

These types of genres help clients and employers find the right photographer for

what they are aiming for.

As much as photography can be fun there are lots of responsibilities required when

working with a client or employer.

When working with a client you really want to aim to meet their set brief, although

you can use your creative mind sticking to their brief will please them!

Use your imagination! A shot might not look good in your mind but through the lens

the shot could look amazing!

Working hours

Hours can be long depending on the client or employer, for example if you are

working with a client, the hours will be up to them. If you are a freelance

photographer you may have busy weeks than others.

Qualifications are important in a competitive business working as a photographer,

the main qualifications to have are:

Art and Design, fine art, graphics, media studies and of course photography.

Salary

In the creative industry salary can vary, most photographers are freelancers,

meaning they charge to what they think they can do with the amount of work they

can handle. So income will vary.

If you are working in full time employment salaries can start from £12,000 to £22,000

this is a very good starting salary for a photographer! But salaries can increase to

£25,000 to 65,000 for photographers that are well known.

Product designers work on new products or improving on existing products. They

use their knowledge and understanding of technology to improve the design and the

usability of a product.

Some work involves:

Designing

Modelling

Testing

Producing prototypes

They work alongside other clients for example engineers and model-makers.

Working hours

Working hours are usually 9-5 working days but you may have to do overtime due to

deadlines or design difficulties. Although overtime may drag! Usually the hours will

not include weekends or shifts.

Salary

Starting in the industry you could expect a salary between £17,000 to £25,000. This

is a good starting salary!

Designers with a lot of experience, for example a product designer team leader could

make between £25,000 to £45,000 a year.

Even more experiences designers for example senior product designers can earn

£60,000 or more!

Qualifications

Most product designers have a degree, foundation

or HND in a subject related subject.

Although you could also have a degree in Spatial

design, 3D design or industrial design.

You may not have the skills and experience to

begin with but you will learn a degree of technical

knowledge. You will have visual spatial and

commercial awareness.

Eventually you will have the goal and

determination to achieve a good end result.

Directors are driven in the creative industry especially with film production they bring

a visual and defining style to a film. They carry out roles such as casting, script

editing, shot composition and editing.

Working hours

Working hours depend on the shoot that you do! Some hours will be long and some

will be short. Depending on the production you may work out on location or in a film

or TV studio. Work may involve travel do different countries or locations depending

on the set for the film/TV show.

Salary

Freelance directors are mainly paid a fee for each project they do, this can vary

depending on the production company. You can contact BECTU (Broadcasting

Entertainment Cinematograph and Theatre Union) for pay guidelines.

Some Directors working on films could agree to work for no pay on the chance that

they will share in the profit that the film will make.

Training and qualifications

You can go to university for film production and make you way up the job roles

starting from being a runner, which will help you gain your commitment into the

industry, this will also give you an insite into the different media roles in the filming

industry.

You can have

extended training

for example going

to film school or

different agencies

to gain extra

experience and

training before

applying for job

roles.

Sound Assistants, are strong team players, that have the skills to work in a team,

and pay attention to detail. Being patient is a key skill for this job, especially working

with sound and the changing of audio.

Qualifications

For this job you don’t need a qualification just an interest in the job, and some

experience, experience is not nesseary!

But courses are available for this job role in the UK, and HND to to a degree level in

sound, audio engineering, and music recording.

Working hours

Working hours can be extremely long depending on the project, they will be long and

very unsocial. This will include evenings, and weekends. Your hours will adapt

depending on the project for example if a breaking news story has just come up.

Salary

Depending on the role and production, you may start a salary at £16,000 to £18,000

this is a beginners wage. If you have experience before applying, your salary could

rise to £30,000.

With sound assistants, freelance work is very popular, this will determain your salary.

This a good job to look around all the different media indstry jobs, giving you an

insight of an area you could improve into.

A television camera operator works with different types of technology, for example

digital, electronic and film cameras. They produce quality shots with a creative visual

skill. They work with a director or DOP (director of photography).

You may be at different locations for example in a studio, outside broadcast or on a

location. This will give you a different rariety of working conditions and the hours you

may be working.

Working hours

For this job role the hours are very unpredictable, these hours will include evening

weekend and night shoots. Hours can vary from 6-14 hours a day.

Qualifications

This job doesn’t require a

degree, but its always good

to have a degree in an

area based on the media

industry. For example:

Journalism

Media production

Media studies

Performing arts

Photography, film or

television.

As I stated above you don’t need a degree to work as a television camera operator

but with a degree in the media industry it will give you the extra skills and experience

to help you better your job.

Salary

Most camera operators are freelancers, and their rates will change depending on the

production.

Some Television Camera Operators can earn up to £254 to £300 pounds a day

depending on the production. The better experience and skills you can offer to a

production the higher your pay rate will be.

This may not be a job you want to stick at for the rest of your life, but It will give you

an insite into other media indstry jobs that you could then work your way to.

A runner’s job is a junior role in the media industry, this is a job to get into the

industry, and work your way up the job roles.

The job of a runner includes:

Tea making

Transporting scripts and equipment

Taking messages

Looking after important guests

Getting everything ready for a shoot.

This job may be slightly boring and dull but it offers experience and a knowledge of

other departments around the production.

Working hours

For a runner hours are extremely unpredictable, and can be six days a week

depending on the production. You may

work weekends and nights too!

Salary

Some runners work voluntary to gain

experience in the industry, but some

production companies pay runners up to

£8.80 an hour. Depending on the skills you

have. Although working for free, sounds

terrible but it does gain good experience

and working for free shows that you are

determined to commit to the industry.

Like most jobs editors mainly work freelance, this gives them different price ranges

to work at depending on the production. Your job is to create a finished product that

is suitable for that production company. You will use camera footage, dialogue,

sound effects, graphics and special effects to make your final piece.

Working hours

Most editors do 9-5 this is office hours, but depending on the production deadline

you may be required to work overtime to ensure that the product is complete to be

screened.

Qualifications

You don’t need a degree in video editing, most learn how to edit through experience

and watching tutorials, this would be gaining experience but you can get a degree in

a related subject to help gain experience and knowledge about the industry for

example:

Communications

Media studies

Photography

Film and television

Technology and

multimedia

Graphic design.

Salary

Depending if you are freelance or

signed by a production company

the salary can be slightly different.

If you are employed by a

production studio the salary could

be between £18,000 to £25,000

this is with very little experience.

If you have experience as an editor for film or video, you could possible earn

£20,000 to £25,000

If you are at a higher level so this could be with a degree and a good level of

experience, you could earn between £27,000 to £70,000

This job role requires you to have a high level of responsibility for the arrangements

for locations used for shoots. You will be organising crews and other staff members

to ensure everyone is at the correct location.

Working hours

Working hours vary with this job depending on the season, summer would be the

busiest period due to the weather and the winter being the quietest.

Location managers are the first to arrive on location and are the last to leave to make

sure that everything is in place before actors and arrive and that everything is ready

for the next day.

Qualifications

Although location manager doesn’t have a certain degree you can get a degree in

any media subject to come a location manager the experience is the most important

aspect. Degrees in certain subjects could include:

Communication

Media studies

Film and television

production

Media and broadcating

production

Photography

All these subjects will give you

experience with working on

different locations and sets.

Salary

Location managers usually work

freelance and are paid using

contracts, different productions will settle different payments depending on the

qualifications and experience a location manager can offer.

Rates of pay will change, depending on experience and reputation in the industry.

The more reputation you have the more likely you will be given the job at a higher

pay.

As a researcher you will contribute your own ideas as well as improving others to

make a good idea, you will find contacts and contributors and collect and prepare

information for the production. This job is often used for starting in the industry to

make your way up to a job you love to do.

Working hours

Most researching jobs are 9-5 depending on the production company that you

employed by, depending on the deadline for that production you may be required to

work overtime to ensure that the idea is complete and everything is prepared.

With researching jobs travel may be required to find contacts or information that you

can’t find over the internet.

Qualifications

This job is open to all aspects for example experienced, degree or neither. But to win

over a production you may

want to consider having a

degree or grades in one of

these subjects:

Architecture

Art

Media

Design

English

Journalism

Politics.

Salary

Salary can change

depending on experience and reputation in the industry for junior rates it can be

between £400 for a 50-hour week. Researchers with experience can earn up to £650

for a 50-hour week.

Its more common for a researcher to be freelance rather than contracted. This

means they can charge more depending on the project.

A producer will watch over each project and help complete the product making sure

everything looks okay. They may also be involved in marketing and distribution.

A producer will work closely with DOP (director of photography) directors and

location managers to ensure everything looks good and is running smoothly. They

have a lot of responsibility, for making sure they have the correct money, enough

research is complete, that writers have completed the script. They will have the

responsibility to hire staff with enough experience for what they are looking for and

also having the budget to do so.

Working hours

Hours will be weekends and most evenings very unsociable hours, for example

going to meetings or being in the office all day completing paperwork.

Qualifications

Although you can work up the media industry with experience its always sensible to

have a degree in a subject related to the job you are applying for.

Subjects like:

Communications

Photography/film/television

Technology

Broadcasting.

Salary

Salary’s for producer with little experience can be from £18,000 to £25,000 and with

experience can be between £40,000 and £55,000. Freelance producers will vary

their cost depending on the production and the working hours.

All my information gathered for this booklet was found at

https://www.prospects.ac.uk/ and http://creativeskillset.org/