Photographer/Owner/Co-Owner 

(Female, Age 32) from Alpine, NY

This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Female aged 32 who works as a Photographer/Owner/Co-Owner in Alpine, NY. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.

At a Glance

Current Job

Basic data on your current job

Job Title Photographer/Owner/Co-Owner
Salary $30,000
Other Compensation None Set
Hours/Week 30
Company Size (not answered)
Location Alpine, NY
Years Experience 15 years

Career Ratings

Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)

Years in Career 0
Education (not answered)
Income Rating 0 / 10
Interest Rating 0 / 10
Work-Life Rating 0 / 10
Fulfilment Rating 0 / 10

Current job Q&A

Describe the type of organization you work for.
Portrait and still life photography. Co-owner for construction/personal service business. Only myself and my husband work here with occasional hired on help as needed.

Describe your job role and responsibilities.
Portraits and still life sessions. Office duties and data entry for husbands business, as well as working on income taxes.

Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
currently none

Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
under

Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
I don’t work with others everyday. I like this about the job, it makes it peaceful. I don’t miss office politics at all and the stress that comes with that!

Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?

Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?

Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it.
Home and in the field. I love working in the home for my husband and getting out in the field for my photography. No better choice I could make work wise!

Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 4
Benefits: 7
Hours: 3
Co-Workers: 5
Supervisors: 6
Job Title: 8
Level of Responsibility: 2
The Actual Work: 1

A day in the life of…

Please describe a typical workday for you in your current job:

5am to 6am
6am to 7am
7am to 8am Do not start this early on most days. No need to, unless it’s in the hot summer and it’s cooling off here now.
8am to 9am I was awoken to husband saying our computer internet was down. Having internet service in our line of work is very important. We need to be able to print information for his jobs as well as look up such things as directions.
9am to 10am I spent an hour working on internet connection issues and running computer scans. IN the tools menu, our settings had somehow gotten changed to a proxy server and we are not on a proxy server. Once I reset that and rebooted we were good to go.
10am to 11am Printing up invoices to submit. Also printing up estimates for future jobs. For my work, checking print and film inventory. Very important not to run out of film.
11am to 12pm Scheduling jobs for next week, as well as just making a weekly work schedule. Making invoices to match those jobs.
12pm to 1pm n/a (do not work from 12-3, unless emergency or special request)
1pm to 2pm n/a
2pm to 3pm n/a
3pm to 4pm From 3-5, I took several phone calls for the company. Was able to share some of the business with locals that had heard of it and were in need of service. Also scheduled several construction and locksmithing jobs for the next couple weeks for my husband. Afterwards called and updated him of his new schedule.
4pm to 5pm see 3-4…
5pm to 6pm n/a
6pm to 7pm Called my husband to finalize todays job. He was finishing up some contracted labor at the local book store. Made up the invoices for the day. Then filed them in a receipt folder for September.
7pm to 8pm n/a
8pm to 9pm n/a
9pm to 10pm n/a
10pm to 11pm n/a
11pm to 12am n/a

Table of Contents

How you got your job

How did you get your current job?
Started photography as a child, built up a good name for myself. Also got a degree in Desktop Publishing and Graphics Design.

What was the application process?
NO process. Just building up a good repoire with people in the community and doing my research.

Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
I have a discussion with each client before a job. Not a job interview though.

If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
n/a

Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
n/a

Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
Computer program training to edit and work with my own portraits. Practice with setting up portraits. Practice with working with light and light manipulation. Years of developing a good artistic eye.

Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
I feel that it contributes to what I do. The years of perfecting an art is what makes me good at what I do though. The training just complements it.

If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
n/a

If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
Do alot of research for the area you live in and make sure you get good references in your community. A business like this will not succeed in a community without good people to back you and spread your name! Make sure you have all business documents you legally need! Be honest in all dealings.

What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
They need to actually be a photographer if that is what they say they are. You don’t become one overnight, so don’t advertise you are one if you’ve been doing it for a day! BE good with people, especially children. Learn out to manipulate and work with lighting. AS far as office work, keep up to date on programs and tax/business law.

Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
You need to be a photograher and have computer program experience. Some certifications!

What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
Take time to perfect your trade. Work on areas you need to work on, don’t just jump into something blindly. Practice practice practice!

Long-term career plans

Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
It is what I have always wanted to do. I am blessed to be able to do it. So, yes, it is my plan!

What are your current career goals?
My next goal is to open an art stand in Eastern Arizona. Art and baked good will be displayed and we will also offer a childrens art and photography course.

Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
Just the fact that I can have a living and enjoy life. You don’t hear that often in this world. Do something that makes you happy, even if you don’t get rich doing it. Riches aren’t important. Happiness is.

Prior work history

Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:

Title Length Salary Description
Prior Job 1 Admin Assistant 1 year 9.50 p/hour Executive Director assistant. Responsible for facilty and non profit donations sector. Also responsible for keeping treatment homes and clients happy.
Prior Job 2 ind. Contractor 1 year 2000 p/ month Ind. Contractor for one of the largest routes in west texas. All customer services and records, billing. Responsible for consumer happiness and new consumers as well.

Educational background

Please list your educational background:

High School GPA:4

GPA School Degree
College (Undergraduate)
or Technical/Vocational
4 Newport Pacific Desktop Publishing.Graphics Design
Graduate or Professional
(Masters or Doctorate)

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