Professional Competencies and Working Conditions of Hotel Photographers: A Mixed Methods Study

The purpose of this study is to investigate the opinions of hotel photographers working in 5-star hotels’ photography agencies regarding their professional competencies (technical, linguistic, educational, artistic and communication) and working conditions. Mixed methods research was used in the study. Data were collected using a convergent parallel design (QUAN+QUAL). The quantitative part of the study was conducted with one hundred and twelve participants and the qualitative part with seven participants. Quantitative data were analyzed statistically, and qualitative data were analyzed through descriptive analysis. According to the findings of the study, hotel photographers have a high level of financial satisfaction with the work, there is a lack of graduates from the photography departments of universities employed in the industry, the profession is perceived to be male-dominated, communication with the customers and fluency in foreign languages is considered to be of higher importance than mastering photography techniques, it is difficult to attract newly trained professionals to the industry, and the average age of employees is increasing.