Frequently Asked Questions – Photographers

What should I photograph:
Everything that’s legally photographable + sellable.  Have fun, that’s why you became a photographer in the first place, right?
Don’t stop shooting everything you did yesterday, that’s why we wanted to distribute your work.
We’re always interested in creating a bigger better production.
Get macro close, get far away, get an aerial shot, basically all angels /perspectives if possible (or best).
We’re interested in a tight edit of images that are tack sharp (eyelashes sharp at 100%) + correctly exposed with strong composition and subject matter.
Have incredible images on your hard drives basically collecting dust, send them in if you have the rights.

Events:
Send in editorial (sports, news & event) content IMMEDIATELY/ASAP, ideally live on-site, even just a few images to get up selling a placeholder image is crucial & try to be the first one upload while the celebrity is still on the carpet, etc.  Bring a laptop and if no wifi, possibly use your phone as hotspot, be innovative and think how quick content ends up on Social Media platforms like Instagram, Twitter etc.  News editors want that same instant speed for content with the story.
(24 hours is the new too late for most news sales, it doesn’t take more than 10 minutes to find and name 5-10 photos)
Email “editors” for all event (carpet, concert, sports) request prior applying.

Social Media:
Social Media during events is allowed. Please tag, #ThePhotoAccess, @ThePhotoAccess and/or email images with your social media and we will give you credit on Twitter, Facebook and/or Instagram.  PLEASE ALWAYS WATERMARK IMAGES and say “Photo © Your Name/The Photo Access.” News outlets legally embed social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Youtube etc) images for free, so do not let them. A watermark + © notification + outlet will generally discourage a free embed usage.
(Photographer may use images on personal portfolio if there’s no additional restrictions on images. Highly recommended to copyright all images, watermark all images + have metadata on all images.  Image theft is at an all time high with Instagram, Google etc.)

Pay:
The Photo Access pays photographers/contributors a percentage of image license as stated in syndication contract.
The Photo Access licenses content to editorial & commercial customers around the world + works with a variety of clientele and partners.
Payout options can be made by check, wire, PayPal, Venmo and/or Zelle.
Can you pay for my gas, food, parking & hotel? Unfortunately no, if not offered, please don’t ask.

Pricing:
Anyone can price a desired license on a single image to get an estimate of pricing/sales click purchase: https://thephotoaccess.com/items/usa-2016-president-elect-donald-trumps-thank-you-tour-34/
There is not a standard price for images licensed with our distribution partners and their sub-partners / affiliates.  Images are generally licensed by pixel size, so important to not reduce pixels.

What Sells:
You never know what’s going to sell…  Yes, we have a good idea and there’s a ton of videos on YouTube that can help point you in the right direction, but it’s also predicting the future ie who’s going to be in the news tomorrow etc.  We recommend photographers start with a collection of 1,000 – 10,000+ images, and constantly submit new work (and don’t quite your day job).  Take 30 great new shots a day for a year (365 days) you’ll have 10,950 images, do it for 10 years as part time work, collecting residual income and you’ll have a collection more than 100,000 images before you know it.
Realistic creative composites like Ralph Clevenger’s “Iceberg” image (one of the highest selling stock images of all time) and model released conceptual portraits are genres of content that generate a lot of income in the industry because they are exclusive + commercially viable.
Events (Red Carpets, Concerts, Sports, News etc) are editorial images & generally less exclusive which in turn effects sales.
Being the first to upload editorial content opens the door to news sales opportunities + archival long term sales possibilities.
An exclusive set of images from an A-List celebrity marriage might be “a million dollar shot” vs Taylor Swift on the red carpet or at a concert (hundreds of thousands of images of her already, additionally keywords help clients find what they’re looking for and are crucial for sales) and Taylor will most likely sell more than a photo of a Z-List unless they become famous overnight and there’s only 100 images out there.  Additionally a photo of your kid, dad, best friend etc. if it’s model released and commercially viable may also be worth something.

Copyright:
Yes, photographer (or copyright owner) retains/owns copyright (unless a buyout is agreed, you’re work for hire or there’s an additional contract… Try to amend/be careful what you sign away).  We encourage clients to use photographer byline / The Photo Access.
Copyright owner (photographer) should register all images with the US Copyright Office.

Model Release:
If you don’t have a personal model release, you can use ours and have your model sign online:
https://thephotoaccess.com/modelrelease

What’s Required:
All we ask is you submit images, be respectful, reply to our emails promptly, communicate with your editor if you really can’t make an event we credentialed, show up on time/ stay til the end, have working equipment, take sharp, proper exposed & composed images, get the “money shot”, add metadata & submit news images timely.  If you have a question ask.

Image Size/Quality:
We’re interested in full size images (at least 4 megapixels).
Images can be cropped for aesthetic reason, but ideally let the photo buyer decide.
Events: 2mb-3mb jpg (Don’t downsize pixels, only jpg quality)
Commercial/Advertising: Tiff

Lightroom Plugin to export images at required quality: https://www.photographers-toolbox.com/products/lrmogrify2.php?sec=quickguide

Video:
If you have video content, send it in if you have the rights to distribute.
Whether you have a drone or you’re on a Red Carpet, News assignment and have an extra camera (even GoPro, iPhone etc.) thats 1080p or 4k we can distribute video content and it generally gets licensed for more than still photography.
Try to get the best audio possible and even ask questions.
Tripod, steady hands or stabilizer/gimbals are highly recommend.

FTP:
Place image folder in correct usage rights folder.  Always email editors with image count (+ restrictions/or model releases if applicable).
Please upload test image ASAP if your a new contributor.
Go to thephotoaccess.com/FTP for more information.

Metadata:
Double check all image Metadata + Keywords before uploading.
Go to thephotoaccess.com/METADATA for more info.

File Name:
We’re experiencing new hurdles with multiple partners where their systems aren’t able to identify duplicate file names and an additional hurdle if file names are longer than 16 characters in some cases as well as spaces in a file name can create issues due to computer coding.  We suggest adding in Lightroom export options your initials + date and keep original file name i.e.: a file name DSC0001.jpg will be JRM030117DSC0001.jpg (the 030117 is March 1, 2017)

Common Sense:
Be professional, always have a backup plan for when your car, camera fail and everything goes wrong when you have an assignment.
Britney Spears is coming to town, how can I photograph her? Multiple photographers from our agency will probably request to apply from your city… Would her strict publicist approve you off your website portfolio/published tearsheets?  Have you covered numerous concerts prior + proven your the go to reliable photographer in the area and doing perfect image submissions (on time, tack sharp, correctly named, etc)? Do you have an additional outlet we can tether the assignment with?
Just because The Photo Access has someone else credentialed for an event doesn’t mean you shouldn’t try to get a magazine/newspaper/online assignment with a 1-3 week embargo or no embargo period (whatever you agree) or even photos in the crowd (talent sometimes show more love to fans).
Please read all emails / communication thoroughly so there’s no misunderstandings. Ask google for easy GOOGLE answers i.e.. what time does the concert start, where is the concert or possibly call the box office.
Sound professional, intelligent and kindly get to the point.
If you don’t answer editors questions, have an attitude, ruin relationships with publicist, don’t show up, have multiple excuses, don’t send in content timely, don’t name metadata correctly and/or send in a bunch of out of focus photos and conduct business in a manner unbecoming will you still work with me? NO…
Do the best you can, is all we can ask.

Apply Now:
If you’d like to apply to be a contributor with The Photo Access™, here’s the link – ThePhotoAccess.com/ApplyNow

Syndication Contract:
If you’d like to review the contributor syndication contract (password required): ThePhotoAccess.com/SyndicationContract