Toronto Photography Jobs

Are you a Toronto photographer, or rather, do you want to be? Finding it hard to pick up clients and get paid for what you love to do? Well, here’s some information about being a photographer in Toronto!

First of all let’s define one thing…

What is a Toronto Photographer?

Industry Canada defines a photographer as follows:

Photographers operate still cameras to photograph people, events, scenes, materials, products and other subjects. They are employed by photographic studios, newspapers, magazines, museums and government, or they may be self-employed.

How Do I Get Hired as a Photographer in Toronto?

If you don’t want to start up your own business, you could always apply for photography jobs where you can put your skills to good use right away, without having to wait to build up a clientele!

You’ll want to prepare your resume and remember to highlight all of your accomplishments using action words, and measurable figures wherever possible! For example, if a photo you took was used on a marketing campaign which increased sales by 69.42%, you’ll want to highlight that!

And remember, you can always seek mentorship if you want to learn valuable skills and receive guidance from someone who’s more experienced than you!

How Much Do Photographers Earn in Toronto?

This number ranges SO drastically that it’s impossible to even really pin down. Why is this? Because self-employed Toronto photographers versus photography employees in Toronto are paid drastically differently.

There’s also the factor of how much work each photographer is getting. You might charge $1,000 an hour, but how often are you getting hired at that rate given your skillset and demand for your service? Probably not too often, if you’re a newbie without much under their belt!

BUT It would seem that the Toronto photography market supports about $30,000 to $160,000+ per year in earnings, with the beginning of the range reflecting most entry-level positions and the latter reflecting experienced, in-demand photographers. So, speaking of demand, let’s explore that as well.

Are Photographers in Demand in Canada?

While there are mixed opinions, the general trajectory seems to be that there are fewer photography jobs being added to the market each year and photography is an industry in decline. This is due to a variety of reasons such as the fact that more people have their own digital cameras, phones take higher quality images than ever before, people can now reasonably learn the skills involved to capture their own basic business photography needs to save money, much advanced photography composite work can be done by a graphic designer or a 3D renderer, and to top it all off, someone’s probably taken the exact image your client is looking for already and uploaded it to a stock photography website.

The demand for unique photographs such as portraits, fashion, and branding photographs is projected to remain consistent. It would appear that aerial photograph demand is growing, simply because this is indeed a new and not fully tapped market.

What Skills Must a Photographer Have in Toronto?

If you’re aspiring to be a self-employed Toronto Photographer, then you’re going to want to consider a few things. Do you have the business skills to be a photographer? Do you have the marketing, networking, social, research, sales, accounting, web, social, and tech skills do succeed as a photographer in Toronto? Because you’re competing with some of the industry’s best, which are all located in either Toronto, or Vancouver, with a select few also in Montreal and Hamilton.

Anyway, here’s a list of skills for the modern photographer to have if they are going to be employed by someone else, followed by a list of skills they should also have if they are self-employed. Note, this is not a hard line set of skills; some of the skills may transfer over from one section to another. This is just a guide!

Photography Skills for Employees

• Working knowledge of

  • different types of lenses, new and old

  • different brand camera bodies, new and old

  • lighting equipment, both on and off camera flash, constant and strobe lighting

  • basic photography concepts like composition, exposure, lighting styles

• Having an artistic eye and a creative mindset

• Proficient in Adobe products such as

  • Lightroom

  • Photoshop

  • Premiere Pro also an asset (or FCPX on Mac)

• Basic people skills and an ability to make others feel comfortable if shooting portraits or working with others on set

• Having a driver’s license—gear can be heavy and tough to lug around so having a car is key

Self-Employed Photographer Skills

• Marketing

  • Social media

  • SEO/SEM

  • Networking

  • Email Marketing

  • Client relation & retention strategies

• Soft skills

  • Social skills

  • Negotiation skills

  • Research skills

  • Self-awareness—this has been MASSIVE in growing the success of That Toronto Studio since the way we feel internally reflects how we interact with our clients and stakeholders

  • Creative thinking—not to be confused with artistic talent. Many people assume creativity = artistic capability. This is false. Creativity is more often applied to a business context in terms of how to win over customers, how to structure deals, how to execute tasks more effectively, etc. as this will save you time and effort in your business

  • Having a can-do attitude, oriented towards growth

• Finance skills

  • Money management & book-keeping / accounting

  • Being able to research and determine where to invest finances and asset resources

• Production skills

  • Basic web-design and UX

  • Ability to create ads / promos whether it be in photo or video format

• And honestly there are plenty more skills, as these are just a few of the skills you’ll need to consider learning before you can be a self-employed photographer in Toronto!

What Challenges Do Toronto Photographers Face?

Well, the industry is in decline due to the forces we discussed in the demand segment, so the most pressing challenge is to stay relevant and competitive. Our suggestion is to build a strong, reputable brand known for a combination of delivering outstanding both quality products and service. If you want to be the best though, you’re going to have to spend a lot of time and effort learning new skills, so if you’re interested in learning new skills as a photographer feel free to check out Skillshare, where you can get 2 free months of service to learn new skills! And the best part about it is that you don’t have to pay per course, you can simply get one membership and watch as many courses as you want!

In Conclusion

If you’re in the market for a Toronto photography job; you’re going to face some competition. But if you’re passionate about what you do and it’s always been your dream to be paid to create, don’t stop—because while you may not land your dream job as you enter the market, you can always create your dream job as you gain new skills both technical and soft.

And with that, I wish you, the best of luck! Oh, and if you’re looking for an awesome resource to get started, my friends over at Jooble have awesome resources for finding Photography Jobs in Toronto!

That Toronto Studio’s List of Gear for Photographers!

Here’s a list of gear that can help make your shoot a success. We have tried to list products from several price points / tiers so that no matter your budget, you can have an awesome and successful shoot!

Portable Lighting

Neewer 300W Battery Powered Flash w. Softbox | Neewer RGB Camera Mounted LED | Heavy Duty, Tripod-base Light Stand

Drones & Cameras

DJI Mini - highest-end drone manufacturer, great for exploring new areas

Off Brand Drone - affordable drone for low cost urban aerial exploration

GoPro 360 Camera - great for documenting your shoot. Shoot BTS & time-lapse!

Sony A7IV Camera - excellent low light camera. Professional grade.

Canon R6 Mirrorless Camera - high quality pro-grade mirrorless camera.

Canon M200 Vlogging Camera - excellent vlogging camera. Low price point.

Portable Computing, Storage, & Power

13” M1 Macbook Air | Waterproof Hard Drive | Sandisk Extreme Pro 128gb SD Card | 20,000maH Power Bank | 10,000maH Power Bank | AirPods | AirPods Pro | AirPods Max | SD Card Dongle for iPhone

Gimbals, Screens, Tripods & Tools

DJI Ronin SC | Screen for Ronin | Best Low-Priced Tripod | Joby Gorillapod for DSLRs | Joby Gorillapod for Light Cameras/Phones | Tripod for Vloggers | Gerber Multi-Tool

Rainproofing

Rainproof Camera Cover or this Waterproof Cover | Large Umbrella for 2 people

And don’t forget to take care of yourself too!

Protein Bars | Filtered Water Bottle | Mentos Fresh Gum (6 x 50 pack) | SPF 50 Sunscreen