Two roads diverged in a wood, and I/ I took the one less traveled by,/ And that has made all the difference. — Robert Frost
This amazing quote has been an anthem for anyone who has ever wanted to do something out of the box, for those who have chosen the less preferred paths because they believed in setting themselves apart from the herd and carving out their own paths.
There was a time when the obvious career options were either a doctor or an engineer or a lawyer, however in the recent years we have seen many distinguished creative career paths and have seen people who excelled in these paths, be it designing, content writing, photography, architecture, etc. We have seen a lot of people taking up their hobbies and passions and turning them into very successful career. One such path is that of photography. Photography as a career is thrilling and lucrative. Creativity is the core of any photographer’s job. A photographer is able to capture emotions, action, memories at different occasions and sometimes all at once. Photography is both science and art, and is emerging as a popular career option amongst people of all age groups. With advancement of technology photography has become a user friendly and affordable choice as a profession.
The field of photography has many interesting career paths which a passionate photographer can opt for like:
- Wedding/event photographer
This is one of the most lucrative career paths for a photographer in India. India’s wedding industry is valued at approximately $50 billion industry. Most couples want to go for pre-wedding shoots, post wedding shoots, and want their entire wedding experience to be captured as a fairy tale, which is making the wedding photography business grow at a very substantial rate. Even with the global pandemic, 65% of couples who are engaged to be married have decided to still have a big celebration after the restrictions are lifted. With this, we can say that the Indian wedding industry will still be big and so will be the demand for wedding photographers.
- Cinematographer
A cinematographer also referred to as director of photography (DOP), is the person responsible for the actual shooting of a film. A cinematographer is the most important in creating a motion picture. A cinematographer has to work in constant coordination with the light technicians and other crew members of the project to be able to perfectly capture the essence which needs to be depicted in the motion picture. Cinematographers are not only needed to shoot a film, they also work on shooting television shows, documentaries and advertisements as well. Today television is not the only source where people watch general entertainment content which involves motion pictures. With booming OTT platforms and the dawn of web series on various video streaming platforms such as YouTube, the demand for a good cinematographer has risen.
- Sports photography
Majorly a part of photo journalism, sports photography is one of the highly skilled careers one can take up in photography. Sports photography involves shooting a live sporting event, be it cricket, badminton, tennis, football, etc. A sports photographer is usually tasked with telling the story of a sporting event through the artistic images of fast-moving athletes in action during a live sporting event. If someone is passionate about both sports and photography, this will be the ideal career path for them.
- Social media content creators
Today. social media influencers have become a major part of the digital landscape. The content creators are spread across a wide array of genres such as fashion, lifestyle, food, gardening, cooking, fitness etc. Once they have a substantial reach in the social media universe, they need to keep improving and innovating the content that they put on their channels and thus they eventually need a team to support them, in this team a photographer plays one of the most important roles.
- Wildlife photographer
Some of the most valued photography professionals are wildlife photographers. To be able to take images of animals in their natural habitat is valued not just in the artistic field but also in the scientific field as well. Being a wildlife photographer will often involve a lot of travelling across the globe, their destinations are generally decided based on the subjects that a photographer wants to shoot or is assigned to shoot.
- Travel photography
If one wants to travel the world with a camera, a career as a travel photographer is an ideal path. Travel photography can include various subject matters such as photographing destinations, hotels and resorts, tourist attractions, scenery, outdoor adventures, local events, cultures and customs etc. With such a huge variety of subject matter, travel photographers employ skills across all photographic disciplines: portraiture, landscape, wildlife, architectural, reportage and event photography. To be able to travel the world, learn about different cultures, meet new people is one of the main rewards of being a travel photographer.
The author is the managing director at Fujifilm India.