Photography

Some photographers specialize in certain types of photography, such as headshots, portraits, or event coverage. Photographers skilled at headshots will be listed in the notes section under their contact information on the UMC list.

Many photographers have a two-hour minimum fee, and others have half-day rates. Ask the photographer for their rates and minimum requirements and land on a price before the shoot. Make sure you know how much the photographer will charge if he/she is asked to work beyond the negotiated hours.

Prior to signing a working agreement, connect with your department’s business manager to ensure the necessary paperwork is completed. Once the job is finished, the photographer should send you an invoice. Please share the invoice with your department business manager, who will provide guidance on processing the payment.

Some photographers will turn around images the same day, while others take a week or more. Discuss the turnaround time and your needs with the photographer up front and ask for a rush of deliverables if you have an immediate need.

Some schools and departments want to be able to post a photo to their social media accounts during an event. Photographers able to fulfill this need on the approved UMC Freelance list will have “photos available in real time” in the notes section under their contact information.

Ask the photographer about their preferred method of file sharing. Some send a secure link through Yousendit, Dropbox, or another file sharing service, or you may request that the deliverables be sent on a thumb drive.

Let the photographer know your needs in advance of the shoot. If they are covering an event, you may want to provide them with a shot list to make sure they get all of the photographs you need. If it is a big event, make sure there is a point-person or liaison to assist them at the shoot.

If the photographer is taking headshots, let them know how many you want clients to choose from. Prepare the photographer for success and manage expectations up front.

If you plan to use the photos for archival purposes or internal departmental use, they can be sent to anyone on your team after the event or assignment. If you’d like the photos to be available for marketing or editorial use, have the photographer email the photos to our University photographer. Please request they use the UMC Captioning Guide to title and caption their photos. Photographers on our freelance list are likely to be familiar with this process and the captioning guide.

In addition to placing the photos on a backup server, UMC will place selected images in a digital photo archive to be accessed internally.