Average Salary

• The salary comparison website PayScale.com, in its survey of December 2010, put the yearly median pay for a fashion photographer working in America at between $31,585 and $65,447. The figures achieved by an individual may vary year to year as the majority of fashion photographers work on a freelance basis. Reputation is a key factor in increasing earning potential, with top-level photographers achieving $100,000 a year or more.
  
  

Salary by Employer

• The December 2010 survey by PayScale.com showed the variable nature of freelance work, listing the average salary for a self-employed fashion photographer as between $25,697 and $78,611. The rates for the few photographers contracted to a company (usually a fashion magazine, an advertising agency or a fashion website) are less variable, placed between $35,608 and $61,494.
  
  

Salary by Location

• It is telling that the two states for which the PayScale.com survey secured salary data are New York and California. This reflects their status as the centers of the fashion industry in America. New York leads the way, offering average salaries of between $36,973 and $72,500, while California is listed at $49,132 to $61,674.
  
  

Prospects

• The website Fashion Schools estimates that employment opportunities in fashion photography will rise by 17 percent until 2014. However, the industry is extremely competitive and the majority of these positions will be as ancillary staff to established photographers. To increase her chances of earning a good salary, a fashion photographer must gain experience and build her portfolio first, even accepting low-paid or unpaid work to do so, as well as apprenticing to other photographers and networking to secure commissions.