Learn Photography Egypt Published: 13 November 2020

Photography in Egypt has been one of the most trending art for young generations. Over the last decade, the number of professional photographers increased rapidly, and the demand increased to learn advanced photography techniques. Most of the Egyptian young generation start photography first as a hobby by using their mobile cameras or basic DSLR gears. Later on, when they accomplish successful trials of photo sessions, they become eager to start a photography career and shift from amateur to professional. Eventually, many people don’t get to learn how to start their own photography business or how to create a marketing persona and become specialized in a specific field of photography.

Understanding the photography market

Firstly, we have to outline photography in Egypt and what are the market opportunities. Egypt is one of the top markets in the Middle East and the biggest in the Arabic region. While the demand for photography in Dubai and Saudi Arabia is considerably higher in terms of service prices, Egypt has a developing market with high demand due to it is an increase in population and number of businesses as well as startups. The opportunities in Egypt can be outlined in some of the main categories.

Wedding photography in Egypt

Photo by Remon ElMarkiz

Wedding photography in Egypt is one of the most flourishing businesses. Due to the Egyptian culture, people tend to spend more on weddings, engagement parties, and recently even couples photo session is booming among young people. Hiring a professional photographer is becoming a must for such occasions and is considered as one of the most important traditions in couples’ relation to having a romantic photo session. Therefore, there is always a huge demand for this type of photography, and wedding photographers in Egypt are getting high prices for their services.

Product photography for E-commerce and Online Stores

Photo by Sam Coran

The rise of online startups who conduct business on social media channels such as Instagram and Facebook is becoming phenomenal. This has generated a huge opportunity for photographers. Startups are searching for product photography which is one of the most important elements to increase their sales. Showing their product with high quality and professional images is now a must to survive the competition. Product photography in Egypt has several opportunities such as handcrafts, consumer products, jewelry, accessories, and many more.

Food Photography in Egypt

Photo by Yehia Al Alily

Food photography in Egypt has a booming market in terms of food startups and restaurants. The demand for professional food photography and food styling is increasing and businesses are trying to win the competition by attracting customers. Restaurants are investing in their social media and want to frequently update their profiles with outstanding food photography. There is also a huge increase in catering services and online grocery who deliver food and meals and those are eager for high-quality food photos. The demand is increasing for food photography in tourist places as well as hotels and fast-food providers.

Architecture and Interior photography

Photo by Nour ElRifai

We all know that Egypt has one of the fastest-growing markets in real estate. The huge investment in new cities, compounds and coastal residential is increasing demand for professional photographers who are specialized in architecture and interior photography in Egypt. Real estate companies and brokers are actively hiring architecture photographers to provide highly professional images in order to help marketing the units. In addition, Egypt is one of the biggest tourism markets with huge investment in hospitality which requires professional interior photographers to create attractive portfolios and marketing visuals. Interior photography is having high demand in Egypt from interior designers and furniture stores as well as urban developers.

Setup your career goals

Becoming a professional photographer is not an easy step. There are many people who love taking pictures and sometimes they get excellent images and they edit it perfectly, yet this doesn’t qualify them to the professional photographer level. Starting your photography career is mainly about starting a business company. Photography skills are the main focus of photographers and they spend years trying to achieve a high quality and art sense. However, career development is important to sustain a profitable business and to establish a career. Your career goals should start with questioning if with what you are good at and what you need to achieve.

• Specialty: Amateur photographers tend to believe they can be professional without focusing on a specific field of photography. That is a deadly misconception which you need to solve. It is important to focus on one or two fields of photography and master it in order to gain an edge and match the market needs. In the business, companies and business owners are looking for specialized photographers.
• Professionalism: Without commitment and professional communication, there is no career. Photographers need to learn how to follow professional ethics such as commitment with times, delivery, email communications, sales negotiations, teamwork, and all the necessary skills to gain professional brand
• Management: The photographer needs to learn how to manage his time and his talent. Each project requires preparation and research as well as effective management from the planning phase to execution to delivery.
• Planning: Professional career takes more effort to sustain the quality of work as well as enhancements. As an artist, the photographer needs to dedicate time to learn and experiment as well as working with clients on the set.

Learn Photography Online

There are many ways to increase your knowledge and become more specialized.  There are many opportunities to learn photography in Egypt such as workshops and online photography courses.  People can learn in different ways and some photographers like to follow trial and error. However, the best way to learn photography in Egypt is to learn from the top professional photographer in the country. In Art and Creativity, we collected some of the best professionals in their field and who are commercially known for businesses to guide you through extensive courses. You will learn more than just the photography techniques on the set but will also get tips and guidelines on how to edit your work and how to deliver it to the client. These online courses are direct access to the career and will help you understand the needs of the photography market in Egypt.

Build your business

Once you acquire the main knowledge and skills, the main task is to establish your business in the market. The competition is not smooth in the Egyptian market and each photographer needs to do extra efforts to join and compete. There are several essential steps to establishing your local business.

• Business plan: Build a business plan which includes research to analyze the market and understand how to develop your services. You would need a financial plan to manage the income and outcome along with your expenses and gear requirements.
• Marketing plan: Photographers can rely heavily on posting their work on social media, but the market is art and science. A professional website is a must along with SEO to get a good rank in Google. Remember that business would search using Google to find professional photographers. Finally, make sure you are doing great PR to encourage word-of-mouth and engage effectively in business communities.
• Sales skills: As a startup, you have to improve your sales skills. The photography talent is not important if you cannot manage sales negotiations and close the deals. Sales are the most important skill any business can have. Remember that being an artist is something and managing this skill and generating profit out of it is something else.

Finally, to learn photography in Egypt is a very promising step to build a career. The country offers a huge market for photographers to profit. However, it is important to have the right mindset and understand that photography is more than just talent. Being specialized is very important to be able to compete in cities like Cairo and Alexandria which has the most opportunities. Eventually, by enhancing your field of expertise and gaining business skills you are able to get on the right track in professional photography.