How Can I Join Your Agency as a Photographer?
If you are interested in shooting images for PhotoEdit, please contact us by e-mail or give us a call at 800-860-2098. The steps for admission to the agency are as follows: submit 40-80 recent images (keep in mind that they should be the types of images we are looking for), and our imaging department will review your photos for content and quality, after which someone from PhotoEdit will contact you. 75% of your photos must pass the quality inspection in order for you to be accepted as a contributing photographer. For a more detailed list of the kinds of photos that we want to see, please scroll down to the section titled "The Kinds of Images We Want," which should give you a better idea of what do and do not like to see during the submission process.
| Dollar Amount | Number of Images Submitted Last Year | Number of Years With PhotoEdit |
|---|---|---|
$31,942.57 | 419 | 15 |
$17,448.87 | 614 | 9 |
$9,216.47 | 2,704 | 5 |
Stock Submissions - The Basics
Please bear in mind that providing accurate caption information makes our caption writing and keywording processes more efficient and also increases positive search results for your images once the image is entered into our database.
The basic premise is to describe the "Who, What, Why, When, Where and How" of each image.
Caption information should include the following when relevant:
Location: include Town/City, State/Province, County, Region, and Country.
Ethnicity, nationality, tribal affiliations and religious orientation when known. (Please don't guess if you're not sure.)
Relationship of individuals when appropriate. (Father, daughter, teacher, student, brother, sister, employer, colleague, teammate, etc.)
Specific dates for images that are historic, newsworthy, or documentary in nature.
Specific age or age-range of individuals when known.
Names of animals and plants: provide the scientific name in parenthesis only if you are absolutely sure. There are instances where a particular species has many subspecies with very minor variations. If you're not sure, just stick with the common names.
Model release when available. For a simple example of a model release, click here.
For tips and information on acceptable digital manipulation, please click here.
Reminder: PhotoEdit, Inc. specializes in multi-ethnic photos for a primary client base of textbook publishers. If you can incorporate this theme into your shots, all the better.
What We Want
People: We are always looking for images of general school activities (classroom photos, elementary school photos, high school photos, college photos, etc.). Special education photos are needed, as well. Images that involve some kind of learning are welcome. Additionally, we have a need for photos of people using current technology (flat screen monitors, late-model cell phones, and so forth), family photos, photos related to careers and the workplace, and anything dealing with peer interaction, such as photos of children or teens hanging out together in any setting, or playing sports together with proper safety gear. Last, but not least, child development photos—learning to count, talk, walk—are important at PhotoEdit, too.
Politics: A constantly hot topic. We would like to see photos of United States political leaders, but any photos of foreign leaders are also useful. If you have any photos of the historic political campaigns from the 2008 presidential election (Obama/Biden, McCain/Palin, and/or Hillary Clinton), those would be images that we’d like to see. There is also interest in the textbook industry for photos of voting, protests, and the Supreme Court.
Environment: Recycling, recycling, recycling. If you have recycling photos, we want them! “Green” is a growing trend, so if you have photos of renewable energy technologies (such as solar power) or other environmentally friendly products, please send them. Other popular areas relating to the environment include clean-up efforts and anything having to do with global warming. General photos detailing pollution and the negative effects of industry upon the planet are also great.
Health: Our researchers indicate that photos of doctors’ offices and science labs top the list in the health category. A few specifically mentioned that they frequently use photos of medical technology such as MRIs, CAT scans, EEGs, and so forth. Other important areas in this category include photos of people exercising and photos of healthy eating. In addition, any images that relate to children and health would be welcome.
Miscellaneous: There are a wide range of images that PhotoEdit finds useful almost daily. In particular, we get many requests for animal photos; if you have good shots of animals in nature that would work well in a natural history book, we want them. Also, we are always looking for photos of the following: volunteering, children or teens doing chores, public speaking, crime scenes or crime labs using modern technology, Canada (especially landmarks and First Nations peoples), museums, parades (especially cultural), national and state-specific landmarks in America, foreign countries, senior citizens, immigrants and immigration issues, handicapped or disabled persons, transportation and/or mass transit, law enforcement, and poverty. If you have a range of these shots, we invite you to submit them.
What We Don't WantGenerally, please do not submit photos of the following: sunsets, weddings, flowers, flags, shots of people from the back, boats, crops, crowds, or multiple shots of the same image. We do not need to see outtakes, so please narrow down your photos before you submit them. This will ensure a faster turnaround time when we go to review your images.
When we receive a research request for an image we don't have but would like to add to our collection, we'll ask one of our photographers to shoot the image. Also, we periodically send out "want lists" of images that we need, so that way you'll be sure to know the kind of images that we are looking for. PhotoEdit photographers who are open to shooting on spec have done quite well for themselves. We are in need of more photographers who are open to shooting on spec.
