Job Check
Photographers
Photograph people, landscapes, merchandise, or other subjects. May use lighting equipment to enhance a subject's appearance. May use editing software to produce finished images and prints. Includes commercial and industrial photographers, scientific photographers, and photojournalists.
10 main tasks · most important first
Your main tasks and AI
Importance- 01Adjust apertures, shutter speeds, and camera focus according to a combination of factors, such as lighting, field depth, subject motion, film type, and film speed.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 02Create artificial light, using flashes and reflectors.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 03Determine desired images and picture composition, selecting and adjusting subjects, equipment, and lighting to achieve desired effects.People already use AI for this at work
- 04Transfer photographs to computers for editing, archiving, and electronic transmission.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 05Use traditional or digital cameras, along with a variety of equipment, such as tripods, filters, and flash attachments.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 06Manipulate and enhance scanned or digital images to create desired effects, using computers and specialized software.People already use AI for this at work
- 07Take pictures of individuals, families, and small groups, either in studio or on location.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 08Enhance, retouch, and resize photographs and negatives, using airbrushing and other techniques.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
- 09Test equipment prior to use to ensure that it is in good working order.Mostly human for now
- 10Estimate or measure light levels, distances, and numbers of exposures needed, using measuring devices and formulas.AI could speed this up, with extra tools
Tasks from O*NET® 31.0 (US Department of Labor, CC BY 4.0, changed by us), most important first. “Already use” comes from Anthropic’s data on real work chats with Claude; “could speed up” from task ratings made with GPT-4 in 2023.
Four studies, side by side
None is a forecast of job loss20%of this job’s work time goes to tasks that people already do with Claude at work, counting tasks where AI only helps as half (2026).Anthropic, 2026
39%of this job’s tasks an AI model could do in half the time, counting tasks that need extra tools as half (rated in 2023).Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin and Rock, 2023
Above 79% of jobsin how often and how well AI helped with this job’s work in Microsoft Copilot chats (2024 data).Microsoft Research (Tomlinson et al.), 2025
Above 53% of jobsin how much of this job’s physical work robots have been shown to do, from factories to homes (2026).Anthropic, 2026
Your human edge
The main tasks with no real AI use seen and no big speed-up expected. This is where your skill counts most today.
- Test equipment prior to use to ensure that it is in good working order.