How to Sell to Getty Images
Getty Images is the pioneer of premier stock photography. Founded in 1995, the company works with a who's who of the world's great photographers. The company, based in Seattle, Washington, has become increasingly open to photographers with all levels of experience. And when it comes down to it, a great photograph is what matters to any stock photo agency. The company has multiple avenues that allows photographers to submit their images for purchase.
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Instructions
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Submit to the proper department. Getty Images has four basic departments for submissions: creative/advertising, filmmakers/moving images, news/sports/entertainment and archive. Each department has separate submission guidelines. The link is in the References accompanying this article.
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Register yourself with the company or send a query email. If you are seeking to sell your work to either the creative/advertising or filmmakers/moving images department, you will need to register with the company. This is a basic process of creating a user name and bio. If you want to submit news, sports or entertainment photography to their editorial department, you will first need to establish a relationship with the company. To do so, send a query email along with any tear sheets, professional references and online links to your work. If you have a collection of archival material, contact that department with a detailed list of your holdings.
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Prepare your submissions. Getty Images, as one of the premier stock photo agencies in the world, demands the best images available. The type of images they are looking for have "strong conceptual appeal" with an emotional appeal that "has the greatest power to make multiple, global sales." Make sure your photography doesn't look generic or unprofessional. Imagine what top art directors, advertising agencies and marketing professionals would look for in a photograph.
The company also has a detailed list of technical submission requirements for the photography. The images must be sent as uncompressed 47.5-52 MB TIFF files with 24 bit RGB Color at 8 bits per channel. There must be model and property releases where relevant. The photos also must have been taken with an approved 35mm camera model. The full requirements can be found at the link to Getty Images under References.
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Take the quiz. After you register at the site, you will be required to take their short quiz to ensure you understand how the company works. Upon completion of the quiz, you can then send the company a link to your work online.
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Submit work through the company's specialized programs. In March 2009, the Flickr Collection made its debut at Getty Images. The company handpicked images from Flickr's huge archive of photographic submissions. There is no formal submission process for this program. Simply upload your desired images to the Flickr website and create a detailed profile. Another program through Flickr is the Getty Images Call for Artists group, which allows you to submit a portfolio of your work.
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Sell to Getty Images. If you images are accepted by Getty Images, they generally pay you according to the sales of the images to other companies. You receive royalties that you can track through your profile on the website. If you are seeking to sell photos to their editorial department, they will establish a separate contract with you if you are hired as an independent photographer.
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References
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
