The Photo Department on a cruise ship could consist of 3 to 15 photographers (depending on the size of the ship) and offers the following jobs: photo manager, assistant photo manager, photographer, junior photographer and videographer (the videographer position with some cruise lines is within the Cruise Activities / Criuse Staff Department). Seen everywhere on board and ashore, the photographers and videographers are constantly entertaining both the passengers and crew while creating instant memories for everyone around them. Most photographers are employed through concessionaire companies. Some cruise lines run their own photo department operations. In general the work of the Photo Department team members aboard a cruise ship could be subdivided into three main categories of activities – shooting photos (or videos for videographers), processing and printing the footage (work in the lab) and selling the photos, videos and other related retail items in the ship’s Photo Gallery.
Photo Manager +
– Oversees all the photography team operations aboard the cruise ship – Responsible for scheduling and assigning the daily work of all photographers, keeping track of their working hours, as well as on-the-job training guidance of new recruits – The photo manager is also responsible for improving the photography team personnel’s ability to achieve and exceed company sales goals through highly developed promotional and visual skills – Supports the development of the abilities of the photographers to promote successfully their services and certain products among passengers – She/ he is also in charge of the stock materials for the lab and retail items in the photo gallery/ photo retail shop, such as albums, frames, cameras and accessories – The Photo Manager works in close cooperation with all other heads of departments aboard the cruise ship ensuring optimal performance of the shipboard photography team, coordination for special events taking place all over the ship and providing best quality services for guests Photo Manager Job Requirements: Must posses strong leadership skills and excellent command of the English language (both spoken and written). Photo Manager Salary Range: $3000-4500 U.S. per month depending the cruise line, size of ship and commission on sales.
Assistant Photo Manager +
– Oversees the day to day operations of the photo department aboard the cruise ship as directed by The Photo Manager – He/ she is in charge of the photo gallery and retail photo shop set up, ensuring the photographers are on hand to deal with any passenger queries – Responsible for the proper set up of all photo equipment around the cruise ship for casual, special events, portraits and weddings photo shoots – assigns shore-side and land tours duties to ship’s photographers and junior photographers – She/ he is also directly involved in on-the-job training of new recruits within the photo department – Should be fully conversant with all of the Photo Manager’s functions and be able to assume his/ her duties at a moment’s notice Assistant Photo Manager Job Requirements: The Asst. Photo Manager must posses strong leadership skills and excellent command of the English language (both spoken and written) Assistant Photo Manager Salary Range: $2600-3800 U.S. per month depending the cruise line, size of ship and commission on sales.
Photographer +
– Responsible for shooting pictures of guests on various location on and off the ship – at the gangway during embarkation when new passengers board the ship or on port days as guests leave and return to the ship, on the pool deck of the ship, on formal nights shooting portraits and photos with the Captain during the Captain’s welcome party, or taking pictures around the dining room tables – The experienced cruise ship photographer would shoot special events, weddings and private parties footage, supplementing his/ her income (those events are paid extra), as well as performing photo shoots on assignment accompanying passengers on land tours – Works as photo retail sales consultant at the ships photo gallery and retail photo shop, selling photos, albums, frames, accessories and also accepting passengers photo print orders – He/ she would liaise with the Photo Manager and Assistant Photo Manager to maintain adequate stock levels for both the lab and photo retail shop by regular re-stocking – On special theme nights photographers would dress up in different costumes (depending on the destination of the cruise) and would pose with passengers while taking photos – Photographers familiar with processing and printing of footage would also work in the ship’s photo lab Cruise Ship Photographer Job Requirements: Must have excellent command of the English language (both spoken and written) Ship Photographer Salary Range: $1800-2800 U.S. per month, depending on the cruise line, commission on sales and size of the ship. Possibilities for promotion to Assistant Photo Manager position.
Junior Photographer +
– Entry level position in the photo department team aboard the cruise ship – Works under the direct supervision of the senior photographers, The Assistant Photo Manager and The Photo Manager – On-the-job training and development are delivered mainly through in-house workshops, courses and programmes – During the first several weeks of employment The Junior Photographer would spend most of his/ her time in the Photo Gallery and Photo Retail Shop, selling images of guests and retail photo products – He/ she would participate in various types of photo shoots, supervised by senior photographers – As more experienced The Junior Photographer becomes with casual and special events photography, as more assignments he/ she will receive and will eventually assume the functions of a photographer with all associated duties – gangway, land tours, special events and portrait photography Junior Photographer Job Requirements: Junior Photographer Salary Range: $1500-2100 U.S. per month depending the cruise line, size of ship and commission on sales. Possibilities for promotion to Senior Photographer position.
Videographer +
– Responsible for shooting video footage of passengers and events taking place on the cruise ship and ashore with the purpose of selling the videos at the end of the cruise – Produces a live morning show, which features the cruise director discussing the day’s activities – He/ she would accompany and film passengers on various shore excursions, then upon return to the ship the videographer would capture and edit the footage shot during the tour. A big size cruise ship may employ up to 5 videographers and there is a rotation between videographers assigned to the different tours – Assembles a documentary filled with trip highlights, including shore excursions – On sea days he/ she would film different activities taking place on the cruise ship – games around the swimming pool area, captain’s welcome party, formal nights and dance parties – The videographer is involved in filming weddings and renewal of vows that take place aboard the ship and this may include (depending on the wedding package) ceremony, reception, pre- and post- interviews, video montage etc. – Responsible for shooting training videos for other departments’ training programs, as well as promotional videos for the cruise line – On some cruise ships videographers in addition to the above mentioned duties are responsible for the ship’s entertainment systems, cruise ship’s own TV broadcast and interactive TV system, pay-per-view movies etc. Cruise Ship Videographer Job Requirements: The Ship Videographer must have good command of the English language (both spoken and written) Videographer Salary Range: $2200-2800 U.S. per month, depending on the size of the ship and commission on sales.
Courtesy of cruiseshipjob.com
