Photographers
Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media · SOC 27-4021
AI exposure from the Anthropic Economic Index (2025); salary from BLS; skills from O*NET. See /sources.
Decision card
Career Evidence Passport
SOC 27-4021 evidence across exposure, wages, projections, postings, certified LCAs, skills, and transitions.
- SOC exposure
- 19.5%
- High · Anthropic AEI
- Automation friction
- 44/100
- Moderate friction; broad SOC seed ORS job-requirements coverage.
- Wages
- $44,660
- No H-1B offered-wage row for this SOC.
- Projected openings
- 11,800
- BLS EP 2024–2034; employment change +1.8%.
- Observed/proxy demand
- 0
- FY2025 certified LCAs; 14,253 postings in 2025.
Skill evidence
- H-1B values are certified Labor Condition Applications, not visa approvals.
- Job postings are seed-static / seed-derived; treat as provider-ready proxy coverage until observed provider data is wired in.
- Transition matches are directional skill-overlap context, not placement guarantees.
- This release is a FutureGrid broad-SOC seed derived from public BLS ORS requirement concepts and categories, not direct occupation-level ORS survey estimates. It describes job requirements, not worker ability, AI capability, or displacement probability. Automation friction is a FutureGrid derived score and should be read alongside exposure, demand, wage, and projection signals.
Best transitions from here
Explore all pathways→Lower AI-exposure roles that reuse your skills, ranked by a transition score (skills that transfer, safety gain, pay and retraining effort).
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AI Exposure Analysis
Across AI measures
Multiple exposure lenses for this occupation.
AI could do ~38.5% of this role but only ~19.5% is currently done with AI — a large capability-vs-adoption gap.
Top Skills
H-1B Visa Sponsorship Demand
View full H-1B trends →Certified H-1B Labor Condition Applications naming this occupation, FY2016–FY2025. A descriptive high-skill labor-demand signal — employer filings, not visa approvals or individual outcomes. Note: one LCA can cover multiple worker positions.
O*NET occupation profile
What this work involves
Photograph people, landscapes, merchandise, or other subjects. May use lighting equipment to enhance a subject's appearance. May use editing software to produce finished images and prints. Includes commercial and industrial photographers, scientific photographers, and photojournalists.
Common titles: Advertising Photographer, Commercial Photographer, Graduation Photographer, Newspaper Photographer, Photo Editor, Photographer
Representative Tasks
- •Adjust apertures, shutter speeds, and camera focus according to a combination of factors, such as lighting, field depth, subject motion, film type, and film speed.
- •Create artificial light, using flashes and reflectors.
- •Determine desired images and picture composition, selecting and adjusting subjects, equipment, and lighting to achieve desired effects.
- •Transfer photographs to computers for editing, archiving, and electronic transmission.
- •Use traditional or digital cameras, along with a variety of equipment, such as tripods, filters, and flash attachments.
Detailed Work Activities
- •Set up still or video cameras or related equipment.
- •Convert data among multiple digital or analog formats.
- •Determine technical requirements of productions or projects.
- •Operate still or video cameras or related equipment.
- •Create computer-generated graphics or animation.
Tools & Technologies
Employment Projections & AI Exposure
Employment & Wage Trend
BLS OEWS, 2019–2025
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS). See /sources.
Sector Comparison
| Metric | This Career | Sector Average |
|---|---|---|
| AI Exposure | 19.5% | 18.3% |
| Outlook | Average | 18% Bright |
| Median Salary | $44,660 | N/A |
| AI Resiliency | 81/100 | N/A |