Photographer
| Highest | $3,500 / mo · United States |
|---|---|
| Experience | 0–1 yrs |
| Degree | Not required |
| First paycheck | ~12–24 months for freelance and agency contributor work |
Pay in the destination countries
Monthly, in US dollars. Each country is an Imora admission package — open one for that route's fees, language requirement and deadline.
| Country | Monthly |
|---|---|
| United StatesTOEFL 80–100 · $10–70k | $3,500max |
| Hong KongIELTS 6.0–6.5 · HK–200k | $3,100 |
| SingaporeIELTS 6.5 · SGD 18–35k | $3,100 |
| United KingdomIELTS 6.0–7.0 · £11–38k | $3,100 |
| IrelandIELTS 6.0–6.5 · €10–25k | $2,500 |
| SwitzerlandIELTS 6.5 · CHF 0.9–8k | $2,450 |
What does the day look like?
Only 15% to 20% of your day is spent actually taking pictures. The bulk of your time, around 35% to 40%, goes into post-production: culling thousands of raw files, color grading, retouching, and entering IPTC metadata. Another 25% to 30% is consumed by business administration, pitching stories, client communication, invoicing, and contract negotiations, while 10% to 15% covers gear maintenance, packing, and location scouting.
Daily work relies on gear like Sony Alpha, Canon EOS, Nikon Z, or Hasselblad mirrorless systems, Profoto or Godox lighting, Sekonic light meters, and software such as Adobe Lightroom Classic, Photoshop, Capture One Pro, and Photo Mechanic. Hours are irregular, spanning early morning golden hours, late-night events, weekend shoots, or sudden breaking news. It also involves real physical effort, regularly hauling 15 to 30 kg of protective cases and equipment bags.
Where does this lead?
Next step up
What do you make of this job?