What skills or qualifications did photographers typically need 15 years ago?
Asked 4/12/2018
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I’m curious about how people became photographers around 15 years ago, especially before digital workflows became dominant. What skills or qualifications were commonly expected then? For example, did paid photography jobs usually require formal courses, a degree, or darkroom experience, and did that vary by field such as newspapers, commercial work, or photojournalism?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
8y ago
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The requirement to "become a photographer" have always been pretty similar: use a camera to take pictures.
If you mean, the requirements to get a job where you're paid to take pictures, the requirements tended to be more stringent then. In particular, many jobs as a professional photographer involved darkroom work. Although it's possible to learn that entirely on your own, the majority of people I recall took at least one class (and usually more).
A lot depends on what sort of photography you're talking about though. Newspapers typically did their own darkroom work, so a photographer was expected to know how to work in the darkroom. Commercial photographers were a lot more likely to shoot slide file and have somebody else process it for them (usually not the one hour place down the street though). Even when you didn't work in a darkroom at all, you were generally expected to be conversant with darkroom techniques, so you could (for example) discuss reducing contrast using an internegative, even if you didn't actually do that work yourself.
Originally by user603. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user603
8y ago
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The core requirement was the same as today: if you take photos, you’re a photographer. For paid jobs, though, expectations were often stricter 15 years ago because film workflows were still common.
Many photography jobs expected competence not just in shooting, but also in film handling, developing, printing, and sometimes darkroom work. Newspaper photographers, for example, were often expected to know darkroom processes. In some commercial fields, photographers might shoot slides or film and rely on labs or assistants for processing instead.
Formal requirements varied a lot by job. Depending on the role, employers might have preferred or required:
- photography coursework or a certificate
- a degree in photography, photojournalism, or fine arts
- an apprenticeship or practical experience
- a portfolio showing you could consistently produce useful images
So there was no single universal qualification then, just as there isn’t now. The biggest difference was that technical film and darkroom skills were more commonly expected, and access to paid work could be more gatekept by training, apprenticeships, or employer-specific needs.
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