Explore by Career/Production
Photographic Process Workers and Processing Machine Operators
Perform work involved in developing and processing photographic images from film or digital media. May perform precision tasks such as editing photographic negatives and prints.
- Median pay
- $40,100
- per year
- 10-year outlook
- -2.6%
- Declining
- Typical entry
- High school diploma or equivalent
Key skills
- Operations Monitoring
- Active Listening
- Quality Control Analysis
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
- Service Orientation
- Critical Thinking
- Monitoring
What they do
- Select digital images for printing, specify number of images to be printed, and direct to printer, using computer software.
- Create prints according to customer specifications and laboratory protocols.
- Produce color or black-and-white photographs, negatives, or slides, applying standard photographic reproduction techniques and procedures.
- Set or adjust machine controls, according to specifications, type of operation, or material requirements.
- Review computer-processed digital images for quality.
- Operate scanners or related computer equipment to digitize negatives, photographic prints, or other images.
- Fill tanks of processing machines with solutions such as developer, dyes, stop-baths, fixers, bleaches, or washes.
- Measure and mix chemicals to prepare solutions for processing, according to formulas.
- Load digital images onto computers directly from cameras or from storage devices, such as flash memory cards or universal serial bus (USB) devices.
- Operate special equipment to perform tasks such as transferring film to videotape or producing photographic enlargements.
Majors that lead here
No mapped majors yet.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections) and O*NET, used under CC BY 4.0.