Photographer Resume: Sample & Writing Guide [10 Steps]

photographer cv sample
Created by CakeResume

Most of us can take photos by ourselves daily. For important or momentous occasions, however, people would usually prefer to employ the service of a professional photographer for their technical skills and creativity to achieve better results.

Most photographers tend to specialize in one particular area, and their responsibilities usually include:

  • Editing and retouching pictures taken
  • Choosing and setting up backgrounds and locations
  • Communicating and working closely with clients for the best-desired results

No matter the type of photographer CV you’re looking to build – may it be a wedding photographer resume, a real estate photographer resume, or a freelance photography resume – a firm grasp of the anatomy of a resume can make the process a lot easier for you.

Step 1: Pick the best layout for your photographer resume

How long should a photographer resume be?

Ideally, your photographer resume should be within one to two pages long, as recruiters won’t have a lot of time to read through your resume thoroughly.

What is the best font to use in a photographer CV?

Stick to a font that is easy on the eyes. However, you should try to avoid using overused fonts such as Times New Roman if you want to stand out from other photographer resumes. Instead, you would want to use classic fonts such as Calibri, Cambria, Helvetica, Garamond, and Palatino.

What is the standard margin for a photographer CV?

An appropriate amount of white space is needed in your photographer CV to enhance readability. For that, stick to a one-inch margin on all sides; this will balance the resume’s contents and the remaining white spacing.

What spacing should a photographer resume be in?

Spacing affects your resume’s length, so you should ensure that it won’t make your contents look too jammed or too spacey. For a professional photographer CV, stick to a 1.15 spacing.

What file format should a photographer CV be in, Word or PDF?

In most instances, a photographer resume in PDF format is preferred as it is more robust (i.e., its content and template will not shift around when opened in different devices) than a Word format. Unless specified otherwise, submitting a photographer CV in PDF format is the way to go.

Step 2: Choose the right format for your photographer resume

Your photographer resume format will affect the flow and readability of your resume, so you should pick one that will not only highlight your strengths and benefit your background, but also one that would flow naturally. For this, there are three choices to choose from:

  • Chronological resume format
    
    With the main focus being past working experience, with this format you should list your previous working experiences in chronologically reverse order, starting with your latest experience first and your earliest working history last.
    
    This is the ideal format to choose if you don’t know which format to use, but because of how common it is, you may fail to stand out from other candidates.
  • Functional resume format
    
    Photography skills in your resume will be the main focal point, along with other relevant achievements you might have.
    
    Despite being a very skill-oriented format, this is the best format to adopt for a beginner’s photographer resume, a photography student resume, or a freelance photography CV with gaps in between jobs. 
  • Combinational resume format
    
    Combines the functional resume format with the chronological resume format. The photography skills in your resume should be highlighted first and followed by previous employment experience arranged in a reverse-chronological format.
    
    Both sections can complement each other by showing actual proof of your skills with your previous experiences.

Step 3: Start with contact information and basic personal details

A professional photography CV should cover the most basic information required by recruiters.

In this section, you

✅ Must include your most basic personal and contact details:

  • Full name
  • Email address
  • Phone number

💡 May include other details such as:

  • Address
  • LinkedIn URL
  • Personal website

❌ Avoid including unnecessary details:

  • Sexual orientation
  • Religion or belief
  • Marital status and dependency
  • Expected/current salary

Step 4: Create an intriguing photographer resume title

Your photographer resume title will tell recruiters who you are. It’s essentially a summary of your photographer CV.

The main purpose is to give recruiters a snapshot of who you are as a candidate. It also serves as an attention-grabber, so you want to make sure that your resume title showcases your relevant achievements and strengths. 

Photographer resume title examples:

  • Creative and Professional Fashion Photographer Specializing in Haute Couture Photography
  • Detail-Oriented Freelance Photographer with 7+ Years of Professional Experience in Weddings
  • High-Energy Nature Photographer Producing Premium-Quality Landscape Photos in Studio Settings

💡 Tip: Use strong and catchy words to make your resume title more appealing; also remember to insert keywords from the job description to make your resume more relevant.

Step 5: Craft a photographer resume statement

The purpose of a professional photographer resume statement or a photographer resume summary is to elaborate further on your resume title.

In this section, you will want to describe yourself, your previous experience, and the relevant skills you possess. Remember to keep it short, ideally, a sentence or two is enough for a photographer resume summary.

It is also important to note that a resume summary is different from a photographer resume objective.

A resume objective which focuses more on your career goals and aspirations as a photographer. Thus, it is more useful for a beginner photographer writing a resume with little to no experience in the photography.

Photographer resume summary examples:

  • Responsible and flexible fashion photographer with more than 7 years of experience. Specialized in fast-fashion photography and has photographed for H&M for more than 5 years.
  • Creative wedding photographer with more than 6 years of experience. Commended for adaptability and skilled in capturing candid wedding moments.
  • Meticulous and skilled freelance photographer. Take high-quality photos for birthdays, weddings, concerts, sports competitions, and expositions.

Step 6: Include skills and abilities relevant to the job

A photographer’s job requires a wide array of specific skillsets and abilities.

There are four ways you can showcase your photography skills in the resume: simple bullet lists, expanded bullet list, integrating skills with work experience, and categorized skills section.

No matter the format you decide to settle on, it is important to highlight your soft skills and hard skills.

Photography skills for resume examples:

  • Hard skills
    
    DSLR camera, digital imaging, sports photography, real estate photography, fashion photography, ISO speeds, digital image processing, film development, film shooting, portrait 
  • Soft skills
    
    Communication, detail-oriented, perceptiveness, adaptability, critical thinking, creativity, open-mindedness, flexibility, patience, networking
  • Other skills (software)
    Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, Adobe InDesign, Canva, Gimp, Stencil, PicMonkey, Skylum Luminar, Capture One, DesignWizard 

Step 7: Highlight your best experience and accomplishments

The experience section of your photographer CV is extremely important because it tells recruiters and potential clients of your skills, qualifications, and work ethics. A professional photographer resume experience section should contain:

  • (Previous) organizations or employers names
  • State of the organizations
  • Titles you previously held
  • Employment period
  • Brief description of your responsibilities and achievements (if applicable)

Remember to tailor your previous photographer job descriptions in your resume to exclude irrelevant ones. Quantifying the results of your achievements in your resume can make them seem more apparent and convincing. Lastly, use action verbs to provide more information for recruiters to paint a clearer picture of you.

Photographer work experience and accomplishments examples:

  • Lead fashion photographer XYZ Models Inc.
    • Organized various fashion photoshoots. Responsible for setting up the shooting locations, choosing articles of clothing, and processing the shot photos for publishing.
    • Key achievements: Nominated for the 2015 Lucie Awards

Mar.2016 - Present

  • Freelance photographer Various
    • Employed as a wedding photographer in more than 500 weddings.
    • Key achievements: photographed for 50 politicians, celebrities, and VIPs weddings and events. Received rave reviews from more than 30 of them.

Mar. 2009 – Feb. 2016

💡 Tip: Let numbers tell the story! Try to add quantifiable accomplishments to make your banking resume more impressive and convincing.

Step 8: List educational qualifications and background

A lot of photography jobs can be completed even if you only possess a self-taught photographer resume.

However, in many instances, clients and employers would still like to see your educational qualification as it is definitive proof of your skills. In this section, you should list your:

  • Educational institution
  • Degree(s)
  • Major(s)
  • Year of graduation
  • Honors, awards, and extracurricular activities (if applicable)

Your experience level will affect how you should position your educational section.

For example, if you possess a beginner photographer resume, your education section should be positioned after your resume objective or photographer resume summary.

On the other hand, if you have an experienced photographer resume, skills and qualifications that are highlighted in the experience section are more important.

Thus, placing your educational qualifications after your working experience section is acceptable.

Photographer educational qualifications examples:

  • High school (can be omitted if you have a higher education degree)
    • Weston High School (SC, USA) 2012-2016
    • GPA: 3.89/4.3
    • Extracurricular activities:
      • President of the Photography Club
  • In progress
    • BFA in Photography (in progress) | School of the Art Institute of Chicago
  • Incomplete
    • School of the Art Institute of Chicago
      • 2017-2019: Completed 40 credits towards BFA Photography

Step 9: Add an extra section to stand out

Got hobbies, interests, activities, etc. that are aligned with the job context? You can include them to highlight your personality traits and achievements, allowing the recruiters to get a sense of you a lot better.

Some information that you can include in your photographer resume include:

  • Hobbies and interests
    If your hobbies and interests align with the job context, you can include them to emphasize more on your fit.
    
  • Volunteer work
    
  • Certifications and awards
    
  • Projects
    If you had been a part of a project or were in charge of a project that requires extensive picture documentations, including it in your photographer CV can be beneficial.
    
  • References
    
    If you have had any previous and relevant work experience before, you may want to find one of your previous clients or higher-ups to write you a recommendation letter, be your reference, or write a testimony if the recruiters would want to verify your qualifications in your photographer resume.

Step 10: Write a cover letter for your photographer resume

The final step in your resume-building journey is to craft a photographer cover letter to accompany your photographer CV.

Because of the limited space in your CV, it is difficult to fully convince recruiters of your qualifications and fit for the job; a photography cover letter is where you can do so.

This one-page document should introduce yourself and explain your motivation for applying for the position. 

❌  Don’t forget to also showcase your relevant experiences and abilities and to include your contact details. Finally, politely close your photographer cover letter by thanking recruiters for their time.

Job hunting is always stressful for everyone, but this stress can be somewhat alleviated when you understand the elements of a good resume.

Online resume builders like CakeResume can help you manage the formatting aspects (i.e., template, layout, format), which can benefit freshers or those who are looking to build their beginner photographer resumes.

CakeResume provides the best photographer resume templates & examples for talents to demonstrate their qualifications. Let us help you land the dream photographer job with a strong resume (free download)!

Photographer resume sample

Leah Washington

Creative Photographer with 8+ Years of Experience in the Fashion Industry

Phone: +1-415-523-0794
Email: [email protected]
Linkedin.com/in/leahwashington

Professional Summary

Creative and highly experienced fashion photographer with more than 8 years of experience in the fashion industry. Highly passionate about haute couture fashion and has photographed for Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Elle.

Work Experience

Lead Fashion Photographer
Elm Street Models
Jan. 2010 - Present

  • Organized various fashion photoshoots. 
  • Responsible for choosing the models, setting up shooting locations, choosing articles of clothing, and processing the shot photos for publishing.
  • Nominated for the 16th annual Lucie Awards.

Freelance
Various
Jan. 2008 - Dec. 2010

  • Photographed for over 300 weddings, events, and small fashion businesses.
  • Hired as a photographer for VIP events and commended for my photography skills.

Education

B.A. in Photography, University of Oregon

2004 - 2008 

Skills

  • Adobe Photoshop
  • Adobe Lightroom
  • Adobe InDesign
  • DSLR Camera
  • Digital Imaging
  • Fashion Photography
  • ISO Speeds
  • Digital Image Processing
  • Communication
  • Attention to Detail
  • Critical Thinking
  • Creativity
  • Flexibility


--- Originally written by Patricia Rosita ---

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