Professional Photographer

Cactus Christmas Lights is Arizona's premier holiday lighting company, serving high-end residential and commercial clients in Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, and Phoenix. We create custom, turn-key lighting displays that transform luxury properties into holiday showpieces.

We're a Christmas light installation company looking for a talented nighttime photographer with a great eye and solid editing skills. Your job is to capture beautiful photos of the homes and businesses we've lit up and help us spot any installation issues that need attention.

What you'll do

• Drive around the Phoenix metro area at night taking photos of our finished installations
• Capture multiple angles of each property and deliver fully edited photos that really make the lights pop
• Typically work around 4 hours most evenings, usually between 6pm–10pm (exact days and hours are flexible based on jobs and your schedule)
• Wear a company-provided shirt and place a vehicle magnet on your car so customers can easily recognize you at night
• Choose your own route and shooting times, as long as:
• You visit all assigned locations, and
• You upload edited photos to our shared folder within 48 hours of being assigned each job
• Cover a lot of ground – installs are spread across the Valley, from Surprise to Queen Creek
• Act as a quality control specialist:
• Notify management if you see any problems (lights not working, sections fallen, timers off, etc.)
• Occasionally call or text homeowners when access to restricted areas (like backyards or gated spaces) is needed to confirm it's okay to come by

What we're looking for

• Your own camera and tripod suitable for nighttime/low-light photography (DSLR or mirrorless strongly preferred)
• Ability to produce clean, sharp low-light images
• Strong photo editing skills (Lightroom, Photoshop, or similar)
• Ability to deliver fully edited, high-resolution images (no RAW required — just highest resolution JPEGs or similar)
• Comfortable working independently at night and doing a lot of driving
• Reliable transportation and a smartphone for navigation and communication
• A portfolio of nighttime/low-light work, ideally showing lights, cityscapes, or similar scenes

Nice to have (but not required):

• Drone experience for aerial shots of properties (if you use a drone, you're responsible for flying safely and legally)

Position details

• Type: 1099 Independent Contractor
• We provide the addresses and deadlines
• You provide your own camera, gear, vehicle, and choose your own routes and shooting times (within the deadline)
• Schedule: Seasonal role running through December or until all homes and businesses have been photographed
• Hours: Mostly evenings, with flexibility within our 48-hour turnaround window
• Pay: Negotiable — we'll discuss structure and rates with you based on experience and portfolio

Image rights & ownership

As a condition of this role:

• All photos you take for our jobs are created specifically for our company
• You agree to grant us full copyright ownership of all images created for our projects
• This means we own the images outright and may use, edit, and share them in any way we choose, without additional compensation beyond the agreed pay
• You may use selected images in your personal portfolio (website, social media, or printed portfolio) to showcase your work, as long as you do not sell, license, or provide them to other clients

How to apply

Please email

• A short introduction about yourself
• A link to your nighttime/low-light photography portfolio (required)
• What part of the Phoenix metro you're based in
• Your general evening availability
• Your desired pay range

We'll review your work and reach out to discuss details and next steps.

Pay: From $100.00 per day

Application Question(s):

• Tell us about yourself, your experience with nighttime photography, your equipment, and provide a link to your portfolio
• Do you have a valid driver's license and are you ok with driving your own vehicle at night across the entire Phoenix metro area as needed (anywhere from Surprise to Queen Creek)?

Work Location: On the road

Salary : $40,000 - $80,000