Careers at POP Photography — Photographers, Assistants, Retouchers & Interns

POP Photography is Australia’s busiest dedicated photography studio for aspiring models, performers and family portraits. We shoot in Melbourne and Sydney, work with hundreds of families a month, and operate alongside our sister agencies Bubblegum Casting and Hunter Talent. The work is creative, fast-paced, and people-heavy.

This page is for photographers, photo assistants, retouchers, and studio operations staff who want to work in a high-volume professional portrait studio. We hire selectively and always keep strong speculative applications on file.

Who We Hire

Photographers

Our photographers shoot portrait, fashion-style, and lifestyle work — primarily children, teens, and adults building portfolios for the modelling industry. The work demands speed (we shoot multiple sessions per day), creative variety, and exceptional people skills. We hire experienced shooters and we develop emerging ones; both pathways are real.

Photographer Assistants

Assistants set up lighting, manage talent flow on set, handle test shots, support the lead photographer through busy days, and gradually take on second-shooter responsibilities. This is the most common entry route into a lead photographer role at POP.

Photography Interns

We take 2-4 photography interns per year, typically students from photography schools, art schools, or visual arts programs. Internships are structured around real studio work — you’ll observe sessions, assist with lighting setups, and progressively shoot under supervision. Applications open February and August.

Retouchers & Editors

POP’s edited image volume is significant. We work with both in-house and contracted retouchers. Strong skin retouching, colour grading, and natural-looking edits are the bar — we don’t want plasticky, over-processed work. Adobe Lightroom + Photoshop proficiency required; Capture One a plus.

Studio Operations & Coordination

Studio bookings, family flow management, model release admin, contract handling, and on-the-day session coordination. Often part-time roles, sometimes filled by interns who’ve shown strong operational instincts.

What It’s Actually Like Working Here

High volume, high pace, high creative variety. A typical Saturday might run 8-12 family sessions across the studio. You’ll work with babies, teens, models, parents, dogs (sometimes), and the occasional rabbit. Days finish when the last session wraps — that can mean a 7am start and a 6pm finish on busy weekends.

The upside: you’ll shoot more in 6 months than most photographers shoot in 3 years elsewhere. Your portfolio compounds fast. Your speed and people-handling improve faster than in any other studio environment in Australia.

The downside: it’s not the slow, considered, fine-art-portrait pace. If you need 90 minutes per session and prefer creative isolation, this isn’t your studio.

What We Look For

  • Speed without compromising quality. Sessions are timed. Light setups need to be efficient. Edits need to be clean.
  • Genuine warmth with families and kids. Half your job is making nervous people comfortable. If you find that draining, this isn’t your studio.
  • Technical fluency. Comfortable across lighting setups, exposure, posing, and post-production. We don’t have time to teach the basics on the job.
  • Reliability. Saturday mornings are non-negotiable bookings. We need photographers who show up, on time, every time.
  • Portfolio range. Show us you can shoot variety — kids, adults, fashion-style, classic portrait, lifestyle. Specialists who can only do one thing don’t fit our model.

How to Apply

Email careers@popphotography.com.au with:

  • A short cover note — why you, why portrait/family photography, why POP
  • Your CV (or photographer bio + experience summary)
  • A portfolio link — minimum 20 images, ideally with at least 5 children/families included
  • If applying for retouching: 3-4 before/after edit examples

Subject line: [Role you’re interested in] — [Your full name]

We respond within 10 business days for live roles, or confirm speculative applications have been held on file. For photographer roles, we’ll typically invite shortlisted candidates to a paid trial session before any offer.

Internship Structure

  • Duration: 10-12 weeks, 2-3 days/week
  • Format: In-studio (Melbourne or Sydney)
  • Application windows: February and August
  • Paid or unpaid: Unpaid for university/college-credit placements; travel allowance otherwise
  • What you’ll do: Assist on real sessions, set up lighting, take test shots, gradually shoot under supervision. Edit alongside the post team. See an entire studio operation up close.
  • Pathway: Strong interns are routinely offered photo-assistant work, then progress to second-shooter and lead photographer roles over 12-24 months

Common Questions

Do I need formal photography qualifications?

No. We hire based on portfolio quality and people skills, not certificates. We’ve hired excellent photographers who were self-taught and weak photographers with degrees.

What gear do I need?

For assistants and interns: nothing — we provide everything. For lead photographers: a professional full-frame camera body (Canon, Sony, Nikon all fine), a primary portrait lens, and reliable backup gear. We supply studio lighting.

Can I keep shooting my own clients on the side?

Within reason, yes — provided there’s no client conflict. Most of our photographers have their own work alongside studio shifts. Direct competitive booking of POP clients is a different matter.

Do you sponsor visas?

Not currently. All hires require Australian work rights at time of application.

Is the work seasonal?

It’s busier on weekends and during school holidays, quieter mid-week in non-holiday periods. Most photographer roles are structured as part-time across busy periods rather than full-time year-round.

What if I don’t see a current opening?

Apply anyway. Portfolio reviews happen on a rolling basis. Strong applicants are matched to opportunities as they open.

For Photography Schools & Universities

POP partners with photography programs and visual arts schools across Australia for student placements. Program coordinators interested in listing our internship in student careers resources or building a formal placement pathway can contact careers@popphotography.com.au with “Education Partnership” in the subject line.

We currently host applicants from Photography Studies College, RMIT, Billy Blue, JMC Academy, SAE, Sydney Film School, and several other Australian institutions.