Photographer Resume Template

Free photographer resume template for Word and Google Docs. A Selected Work block under the summary links one gallery per genre, then production facts.

Download for Word (.docx)Open in Google Docs

Free, no signup. Want it filled in first? Download the photographer example as Word.

What is in the file

[Your Name]

[Photographer] · [Product, portrait, editorial, event, real estate or wedding] · [portfolio URL]

[City, State] · [email@example.com] · [(555) 555-0100] · [LinkedIn or portfolio URL]

Summary

[Photographer with N years shooting (one or two genres) for (brands, publications, agencies, private clients), working (staff, freelance, studio). Deliver (volume: images per month or shoots per week) with (turnaround). Clients rehire you for (one thing they would name, e.g. consistent color across a catalog).]

Selected Work

[Genre or project] · [Client or client type] · [link to that gallery] · [Where it ran: site, packaging, print, paid social]

[Second genre or project, ideally different lighting or setting from the first] · [Client type] · [link]

[Exhibition, publication or award] · [Venue or outlet] · [YYYY]: only if it is recent

Experience

[Staff Photographer, Freelance Photographer or Studio Manager], [Studio, brand or your business name]

[City, State or Remote] · [Mon YYYY] – [Present]

[Shoot (N) (products, on-model looks, events, properties) per (day, week, month) for (who), delivering (N) edited images per (period)]
[Turnaround: selects in (hours), finals in (days), and what you changed to get there (tethering, presets, retouch workflow)]
[Produced (shoot or campaign) end to end: (casting, locations, crew of N, budget), used for (channel)]
[A business result the client measured: (returns, conversion, bookings, press pickup) after (your images or a process change)]

[Previous role: assistant, second shooter, staff photographer], [Employer or photographer]

[City, State] · [Mon YYYY] – [Mon YYYY]

[Assisted on (N) shoots: (lighting setup, tethering, digital tech, grip)]
[Owned (part of the workflow: culling, retouching, file delivery, archive) for (volume)]
[A standard you set or followed: (style guide, color profile, file naming, release forms)]

Skills

Capture: [Studio strobe, continuous and natural light; tethered shooting; the camera system you use daily]
Post-production: [Lightroom, Capture One, Photoshop, color management, skin and product retouching]
Production: [Shot lists, casting, location scouting, budgets, model releases, usage licensing]

Education

[BFA in Photography, certificate program or self-taught], [School or program], [YYYY]

A photographer's resume is read next to the portfolio, usually with the portfolio open in another tab. That changes what the page has to do. It does not need to describe your eye; it needs to send the reader to the right gallery and then prove you can run a shoot, hit a brief and deliver files on deadline. So this template places a Selected Work block straight under the summary, one line per genre or client, each with a link to that gallery.

Experience comes next, and every bullet slot asks for production facts: shoots per week or month, images delivered, turnaround, crew size, where the images ran. Skills are split into capture, post-production and production, so an art director finds your lighting and your retouching in separate places. Education sits last unless you graduated recently.

Write over each bracket and cut lines that do not apply to how you work. Staff, freelance and assistant photographers all fit this layout. For the page filled in by a commercial shooter, open the photographer resume example; for a more visual design with the same sections, try the Studio template.

Updated 2026-10-13.

How to fill in each section

Summary: genre, client type, delivery
Two genres at most in the first sentence. A summary that lists weddings, products, sports and headshots reads as someone still looking for a niche, and the reader cannot place you. Name who pays you: in-house brand, agency, publication or private clients. The second sentence is volume and turnaround, which is what an in-house team plans around. Change the genres for each application so they match the gallery you most want opened.
Selected Work: links that match the job
Every line points to a specific gallery, not your homepage, so the reader lands on the work that matches the posting. For a product role, link product; for an event job, link events. Say where the images ran, because published use shows a client trusted the work. If a contract keeps a client private, describe the client by category. Two or three lines are plenty; exhibitions and publications earn a line only while they are recent.
Experience: volume, turnaround, production
Brand studios and agencies want to know whether you can keep pace and whether you need hand-holding on set. Give the number of shoots or finished images per period, the turnaround, and the size of the crew you directed. One bullet per job should show an outcome a client measured. Freelancers can list their own business as the employer, with a client count and the types of work, which makes self-employment read as one continuous job.
Skills: capture, post, production
Three lines answer three interview questions: can you light it, can you finish it, can you organize it. Name camera systems and software once, without model numbers, unless the posting asks for a specific system. Production skills such as usage licensing and model releases matter most for freelancers and studio managers, who handle them without a producer. Leave out gear you own but rarely use on paid work.
Education: optional weight
A photography degree or certificate goes on one line. Many working photographers learned by assisting, and that path is better shown in experience than here. If you are self-taught, you can drop education entirely or keep a single line for an unrelated degree. Recent graduates can put a thesis series or graduating show in Selected Work instead of expanding this section.

See it filled in

The photographer resume example uses this structure with a realistic candidate, with versions for entry, mid and senior level.

Read the photographer resume example

Or build it online

Start from the same content in the Creative design, tailor it to a posting and export a PDF. Free to start.

Open it in Resume Master

Questions about the photographer resume template

Where should the portfolio link go on a photographer resume?

In the header next to your email, and again in Selected Work as links to individual galleries. The header link gets the reader to your site; the gallery links get them to the right work. Open every link before you send the file.

Can I use this template for wedding or portrait photography?

Yes. Replace business clients with couples or families as the client type, and use the production skills line for timelines, second shooters and album delivery. Bullets can count weddings per season and weeks to delivery. Referrals and reviews are results; describe them in words rather than quoting star ratings.

How do I apply for a staff photographer job after years of freelancing?

Show you can work inside a team's system. Put volume, consistency and turnaround first, mention style guides you have followed, and name the kind of designers or art directors you worked with. Staff roles worry that freelancers will resist a fixed brief, so a bullet about meeting brand standards helps.

Should a photo assistant use this template?

Yes. Put the assistant job in the first experience slot, describe the setups you rigged and the photographers you worked under, and keep Selected Work to your own test or personal shoots. At this stage, lighting and digital tech skills matter more than client results.

Is it free?

Yes. The Word files and the Google Docs copy are free to download, edit and use for any application. There is no signup and no email.

Will it read correctly in an applicant tracking system?

The layout is one column with standard headings and real text: no tables, text boxes, icons, columns or images, which are the parts parsers most often misread. Keep it that way as you edit.

Word or Google Docs?

Use whichever you edit in. The Word file opens in Microsoft Word, Pages and LibreOffice. The Google Docs link asks you to make a copy in your own Drive; the original stays blank for the next person. Send the posting the format it asks for, usually .docx or PDF.

All roles

Every application goes out fitting the job.

Paste a posting, get a resume written for it in two minutes.

Tailor your resume — free

Free to start. No card. Same price on web, iOS and Android.