How can you get a travel photography job and what exactly do you have to do? There are many travel photography jobs that you can find these days. If you’re good at photography, it will be your ticket to travel the world. That means that you no longer have to wait for years before you can go to another city or country.
Traveling the world is one of the most listed things to do for many people. Dreaming of waking up on a beach in Thailand or seeing the northern lights in Norway can already be overwhelming. You can’t help but get excited by just talking about these places that you can visit if only you can travel the world one day.
However, with the hustle and bustle of your everyday life, it makes traveling the last thing on your list. Before you can visit one destination, you need to make a living and work for at least a year to save up. But for some people, traveling remains only in their dreams. Many people travel from one country to another while you’re still in the same place.
You don’t have to lose hope because there’s always a way for anyone to make their dreams come true. It may have sounded impossible before but these days, anything is possible. All you have to do is to be more creative and do a little research. As a photographer, you already have the skills and talent to make your dreams come alive. You should take a look at travel photography jobs and take your pick.
Our List Travel Photography Jobs
1. Become a Freelance Travel Photographer
If you choose to be a freelance travel photographer, it will pay you well enough as you go from one place to another. It’s more of a business than a job which means that you need to do everything. That includes finding your clients, marketing, producing, managing, researching, and handling invoices. It needs good organization skills, hard work, and more.
Make sure to set your goal and ask yourself why do you want to be a freelance travel photographer? By answering this question, you will know what goals you have to set. That way, you can work out how much money you need as well as what equipment you need to bring. Improve your photography skills as well before you start traveling.
Choose your niche so that your work will stand out from the rest. It will help you to create a portfolio that you can show potential clients. Create your website to show off your skills and talent. It’s also the best way to find future clients that will hire you to do travel photography. Your photography website will also act as your online portfolio.
Build your online and social media presence. It’s the best way to show the world what an excellent travel photographer you are. Social media is the best place to showcase your talent. It’s also a great way to find clients located in different parts of the world. Posting your work on social media will attract many businesses to hire your services as well.
2. Get a Job as a Photojournalist for Travel Publications
A photojournalist is a person who photographs, edits, and displays images. This job will allow you to work as a freelancer. It can also be regular employment with magazines, newspapers, and agencies. The job description includes television, print, and the internet. If you’re qualified to apply for this job, it’s a good start to become a travel photographer.
Travel publications are always looking for talented photographers. If you’re not into freelancing, then this is a good choice. You will still be a regular employee but you can travel to the locations they will assign for you. This travel photography job is more stable if you’re looking for stability for your career. Being a photojournalist will provide you more security.
While you can choose to just go around your town, many photojournalists choose to travel the world. It will allow you to document news and stories outside your country. Not to mention, you get to travel without spending on airfare and hotel. It’s usually covered by travel publications since it’s part of the job to travel for documentaries and other stories.
There’s no official way to become a photojournalist. Although some people take a relevant degree, some turn their hobby into a career. If you want to be a photojournalist, you need to take photography classes to improve your skills. Practice taking photos outdoors and create a portfolio. Once you’re ready, you can search for a photojournalist job.
3. Become an Influencer for Travel Destinations
Influencer marketing is the new way for companies and businesses to reach their target audience. This is where you can come in and get yourself a travel photography job. Business owners contact influencers with a huge social following to help them promote their products and services. They will pay you in cash, products, or a free stay in a hotel or resort.
If you have a massive social following, then being an influencer for travel destinations will suit you. All you have to do is to take photos of sponsored destinations and post them on social media. Influencers earn a lot from their accounts for just posting photos and videos on their profile. As an influencer, you can post photos of travel destinations.
The best thing about being an influencer for a travel destination is you can enjoy it while taking photos. Some clients will even pay you for staying at their resort provided that you post photos of your stay. You can also travel to different destinations locally and abroad. That will give you more experience in your career and personal life.
So, how to become an influencer for travel destinations? It’s not that complicated to get travel photography jobs in this direction. All you have to do is to create a blog and have a profile on Instagram and other social media platforms. Grow your followers and interact with them. Once you have enough following, you will be contacted and offered collaboration and opportunities.
4. Start a Travel Blog
Another simple way to have a travel photography job is by starting a blog. If you’re good at taking photos and like to travel, this will be easy for you. All you have to do is to travel to popular destinations to get the attention of the online community. It’s the best way to show your talent as a photographer.
What are the benefits of being a travel blogger? It depends on the person but mostly it’s for satisfaction, meeting new people, getting a good source of income, and more. As a photographer, you can include a lot of photos from different destinations. Once your travel blog gets a lot of followers, you can make some serious money out of it.
Although at first, you have to pay for your travel expenses. Once your travel blog grows and gets the attention of sponsors, you will start making money from it. That’s aside from the ads that you can place in your blog. These sponsors will invite you to visit their resort, hotel, or restaurant for free. They will be the ones who will be paying for your visit.
To start a travel blog, you can use any blogging platform like WordPress. Make sure to have a web hosting service so your audience can reach your blog. Once your website has been completed, start posting travel photos with your articles. Just make sure to post regularly so that you can gain more site visitors who are interested in traveling.
5. Use Stock Photography Websites to Sell Travel Images
Many photographers are using stock photography websites these days. It’s a great opportunity to turn the travel images that you have taken into cash. These websites also offer a chance to make a passive income from your photos. Selling stock photography is close to having a travel photography job. When someone buys your photo, you will earn from it.
If you’re good with taking travel photographs, you will realize that selling them on stock photography websites is worth your efforts. It will provide good exposure to your work and make money in the process. Stock photos are used in different things such as advertising, book covers, websites, banners, and more.
Shutterstock, iStock, and Stocksy are a few examples of stock photography websites. You just need to create an account so that you can start uploading your photos. Once you set the metadata on the image you wish to upload, you’re good to go. Wait for your photos to be sold so that you can earn royalties from them.
6. Hotel & Resort Photography
The hotel and resort photographer’s role is to make the property look its best from the photos. It can be a challenging job for the photographer since you need to have a background in real estate photography. This travel photography job is a great opportunity to take your career to the professional level. You will also have a chance to visit luxury hotels and resorts.
The right tools will help you to be a successful hotel and resort photographer. So, if you want to take perfect images, make sure to have the right gear. You will need to have a wide-angle lens, a full-frame sensor camera, and a sturdy tripod to take a professional shot. These tools will make your travel photography job better and more efficient.
You will need to be ready to travel anytime to shoot properties in different locations. The property style will also vary from historic resorts to ultra-modern boutique hotels. It can be easy or challenging depending on the property that you have to capture. But it’s also rewarding since it pays well and you get to travel for work.
This type of travel photography job can be demanding since the clients will expect you to be creative and deliver to their expectations. You can keep on practicing so that you can improve your photography skills more. It’s also useful if you’re good with talking to the clients. That will help you to get the exact idea of how they want the property to be captured.
7. Cruise Line Photography
Professional cruise ship photographers can make a high income. The responsibility of cruise line photographers it to take photos of passengers with a great view of the ocean.
As a professional cruise ship photographer, your responsibility is not limited to just taking the photos, however. It’s also expected that you will be processing and printing the pictures that you have taken. You will also need to act as a photo retail consultant in the photo retail shop of the cruise ship. This includes selling the printed photos, albums, frames, and more.
The best part of this travel photography job is that you can earn commissions from your sales in the photo retail shop. It will earn you more money aside from your professional income. This job will also allow you to cruise to different parts of the world while making a living.
The first step to being a cruise ship photographer is to find and choose a cruise line you prefer. Once you have decided, you can fill out their application form and wait for the interview schedule. You need to learn about seafaring basics and also about working on a cruise line. That way, you will be ready once you’re already on board to take pictures
8. Tour Photography
Tour photography is another opportunity for those who want to have a travel photography job. Tour photographers work either on contract or freelance in the music or entertainment industry. Your role is to take photos of the touring musicians for their events and concerts. So it’s a good option if you like to travel with your favorite singer or band.
This job will allow you to attend the musician’s shows, concerts, gigs, and performances to take photos. As a tour photographer, you are responsible for different things as well. You have to analyze the best angle, use natural or artificial light, and maintain a digital portfolio. It also includes using software to improve the photos you have taken.
Another duty that you will have as a tour photographer is to maintain your camera. You also need to keep a log on a storage device for the photos. Most importantly, using the tools needed to achieve the commercial quality of the pictures. It’s your job to make all the photos are of high quality to promote the artists.
How to become a tour photographer? Some companies are looking for applicants with a degree related to digital art. But others don’t care about it and are more interested in your experience as a photographer. If you don’t have any, go for an internship to learn the essential photography skills. It’s also a requirement that you are available to travel when needed.
9. Destination Wedding Photographer
This is one of the travel photography jobs that will provide you great experiences and income at the same time. A destination wedding photographer makes a good amount of money per client. You need to have the same skills as wedding photographers. Although it’s a little different since you have to travel to different locations to have the wedding photoshoot.
As a destination wedding photographer, you also need to know about the travel requirements. This job can require a lot of patience and you need to be flexible but can be a rewarding experience. So before you jump into this career path, make sure to improve your travel skills. Practice taking pictures while traveling so you will be comfortable with any location and setting.
When you have already covered the basic skills that you need, develop your photography style. It will make your work stand out from other photographers around. Take as many wedding photographs as you can to improve your skills. Then create your destination wedding photography website. It will allow you to show people your photography style and get your clients from there.
Build your network in every place that you have the destination wedding photoshoot. Distribute your business cards in case they need a photographer in the future. Talk to the event coordinators or wedding planners to widen your network. It will help you to get a lot of potential clients and people who might need your services.
Conclusion
Travel photography jobs are not hard to find. If you’re a talented photographer who likes to travel, there’s no need to limit yourself. Travel photography is the best way to explore other places for photographers like you. All you have to do is to decide which travel photography jobs that will suit you best. Then start pursuing the career that you dream of.