98% Of Photographers Love Their Job!

The majority of professional photographers 'absolutely love' their career or have a greater job satisfaction than friends in other industries, recent survey results say. 

One of the main reasons for photographers having job satisfaction is that they get to 'capture special moments in people's lives' and being creative, having a healthy work/life balance and being their own boss are also listed as reasons why they enjoy their career choice so much. 

The research, conducted by PolicyBee, also shows that 72% of professional photographers would also recommend their industry to others.

As well as looking at job satisfaction the survey also asked questions on when the photographers began their careers and what level of experience they had at the beginning to which only 36% said they had enough experience when starting their own businesses and that just over half (53%) felt like they lacked in experience, which could have made their first few years in the industry more problematic than necessary.

16% of those questioned said they went directly into photography as their first job, 28 per cent switched from a previous career that gave them less satisfaction and a further 23 per cent fell into photography by accident. Interestingly, a fifth of photographers had their eye on a career change many years before they switched, saying it was always a long-term plan for them to move into the industry.

Despite enjoying their job, professional photographers admit to there being significant challenges in running their business with 99% agreeing that: "There is a lot more to running a photography business or being a professional photographer than simply taking a great picture."

Some of the biggest headaches/challenges a professional photographer faces day-to-day are:

• Promoting themselves and their business
• Small business red tape such as tax return and HR matters
• Being commercial & charging a competitive amount
• Doing their own accounts
• Ensuring they allocate the right amount of time to different clients
• Getting the right insurances

For those following in their footsteps, the photographers questioned said they would offer the following advice: 

• No matter how basic, make a business plan to stay on track
• Find a niche rather than being a jack of all trades
• Value yourself and make sure you charge what you know you’re worth
• Know your camera and kit inside out and don’t stop trying out new things with it

^{*The study was undertaken amongst 304 professional photographers during May 2018.}