PI - FAQ 11
There are many types of photographer from social (wedding or portrait photographers) to those with specialist markets such as fashion, medical, press, scientific or forensic.
All of these roles share many common photographic and business skills, but then vary according to the particular area of specialism, which is usually driven by a strong personal interest in that subject area. Your portfolio, skills and knowledge need to demonstrate not just your general talent but also your understanding of the specialist subjects you are working with.
Hints & Tips
- Look at the work of photographers who are successful in that field already - what can you learn from them?
- Read books and magazines that feature the types of images you want to take.
- Enter competitions that are dedicated to that subject area, or have specialist categories.
- Try to gain work experience or a work shadowing opportunity alongside someone who is already established in that job.
- Find a photography club that has a special interest group you could join.
Find out more about specific job roles from our Photo Imaging Job Profiles. If you are interested in medical photography, the Institute of Medical Illustrators also publishes helpful information about this specialist area.
When you research job roles remember that there is always more to the job than working with the subject area you love and the particular technical/creative skills it requires. Consider the lifestyle and financial impact of the job too, for example what employment status you would have, what are the working hours and environment, and whether you need to travel.
Skills for specialist photography roles are usually learned through 'on the job' experience and sometimes further study once you have already gained initial qualifications in photography. If you are planning to take a vocational, degree or diploma course in photography, it is worth finding out what the opportunities are to specialise during the course but this is not essential - a good general grounding is most important in the early days.