When people ask me what I do for a living, I usually say, "I'm a photographer." It's the easiest way to explain my job—it's a title people understand. But in reality, being a content creator is so much more than taking beautiful photos.
Content creation is a full-scale production, and every piece of content you see online has layers of work behind it that are often invisible to the casual viewer. A 30-second reel? That likely took five hours to film, edit, and caption. A well-lit food shot? That required recipe testing, ingredient sourcing, styling, photography, and post-processing. A blog post? That involved research, writing, SEO optimization, formatting, and marketing.
A Day in the Life of a Content Creator
No two days are the same, but here’s a glimpse of what goes into my work:
Recipe Development & Testing – Before I can even think about photographing a dish, I have to create it. That means brainstorming, researching, testing, tweaking, and sometimes completely redoing recipes to ensure they are delicious and visually appealing.
Photoshoots & Videography – Setting up a photoshoot involves lighting, composition, prop styling, and camera work. Filming reels or stop-motion animations requires meticulous attention to detail and hours of editing. Add voiceovers and music to that and you need scripts and to know about your music liscensing.
Writing Blogs & Newsletters – Content doesn’t just live on social media. Writing engaging blog posts that offer value to readers while also optimizing for SEO is a critical (and time-consuming) part of the process. Newsletters? Those require thoughtful storytelling, layout design, and strategic calls to action.
Brand Outreach & Emails – If you see a collaboration on my page, it didn’t just fall into my lap. I research brands, craft personalized pitch emails, negotiate contracts, and outline creative concepts.
Social Media Management – Posting content isn’t as simple as hitting "upload." It requires strategic planning, engagement, responding to comments, monitoring analytics, and keeping up with platform changes.
Editing & Post-Production – Hours are spent editing photos (and I mean hours), then color-grading videos, adding captions, and making sure the final product aligns with my style and branding.
Creating Digital Products – From e-books to guides, content creation extends beyond social media. Designing and formatting these digital products takes a mix of creativity and technical skill, allowing me to share expertise, provide value to my audience, and create new income streams.
Constant Learning – The industry is always changing. Whether it's new social media algorithms, emerging photography techniques, or trends in content marketing, I’m always learning and adapting. I started knowing how to cook and having some experience in photography. Videography and social media marketing were skills I had to learn. The learning will never end and I love that about this creative industry.
Wearing All the Hats – As a content creator, I am my own creative director, photographer, videographer, stylist, editor, writer, social media manager, marketer, project manager, negotiator, chef, and recipe developer—and that’s just the start. From conceptualizing ideas to bringing them to life, I juggle every role, and I do it all on my own.
The Effort Behind the Content
The reality is, most content does not reflect the hours put into it. A beautifully styled food shot may take an entire day to produce, from baking to shooting to editing. A short-form video that looks effortless likely required multiple takes, careful lighting, precise cuts, and hours of post-production. It’s not just "film and post"—it’s an entire production cycle that demands creativity, patience, and technical skill.
The Industry is Evolving
With UGC (user-generated content) becoming the new face of advertising, brands are relying more than ever on content creators to deliver high-quality, authentic content. Yet, the industry has been slow to recognize the actual value of this work. Content creators are marketers, brand strategists, and storytellers rolled into one, and it’s time for compensation to reflect that.
The hope is that the industry will continue to evolve, recognizing that content creation isn’t a "fluffy" job—it’s an essential, highly skilled profession. Until then, I’ll continue to do what I love, knowing that every post, every reel, and every recipe I share represents countless hours of dedication.
So next time someone asks, "What do you do?" maybe I’ll just say, "Everything."
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