F.A.Q. and Information for the Photographer

Insojourn.com is am imaging, design and stock photography agency. Our stock photo portfolio features striking images of weather, water, landscapes, flora and fauna, and many other outdoor themes. We invite unaffiliated outdoor photographers to join our roster. Submitting your work to Insojourn opens the best of your portfolio to publishers, artists and designers who use Insojourn for ready access to the kind of top quality images we offer.

As photographers, earth scientists and graphics designers, we understand the subject matters of weather, water, landscapes and outdoor scenes. As such, we work with clients to ensure they are getting the most ideal imagery for their use. This ensures not only their satisfaction, but yours as a photographer, in that your images will be well represented.

FAQ's:

• What percentage of each sale goes to the photographer? Insojourn provides 50% commission on all gross licensing fees. Gross licensing fees includes all revenues from licensing but will not include any service fees.
• What kind of representation can I expect? Inclusion in the Insojourn portfolio means instant nationwide and worldwide exposure. We will market imagery in two ways: advertising our service as a whole with both online and print publishers -- so that all our photographers get noticed -- and fulfilling specific requests as they arrive based on our online galleries. Current and prospective clients seeking imagery will inquire about its use, then we will negotiate a fair licensing fee, and upon agreement of terms, make a legally binding usage contract. We cannot guarantee any particular level of activity or income for your photos, because clients generally make requests as their own needs arise (out of our control).
• How soon will I be paid after a sale? We make payments within 30 days of our receipt of payment from the client. A sales report will be included with each check.
• Can I market images on my own that also are in the Insojourn portfolio? Yes. We actually do not demand exclusivity (more below), and we do not restrict photographers from marketing their own works in any other way they see fit. However, we do believe that a reputable stock agent provides photographers with the most exposure and long term earnings potential for their work, with the least effort on their part. It's convenient to sit back and let someone else do the legwork for your imagery, while you simply collect a check whenever it is licensed.
• Can I have another photo agency represent my images at the same time? Yes, provided the other agency approves of the same images appearing on Insojourn. This is called mutual reciprocity, and is distinctly an advantage for the photographer in maximizing his/her image's reach. Unlike most agencies, we allow and encourage photographers to exercise every available option for image marketing. We believe our production and medium are absolutely superior in quality and personalized service, and therefore, we have no reason to fear another agent's usage of the same imagery. Be advised, however, that most agencies disallow reciprocity and will prohibit anyone but their own from licensing any given image. Your agent is your choice, and you definitely should consider such limitations when choosing a stock photo representative.
• How long will my photos be represented in Insojourn's collection? Accepted images will remain in our online portfolio as long as we represent the images, which for most contracts is two years. To keep us as a stock agent beyond two years, simply do nothing. After two years, an image will continue to be represented by us until you decide and request otherwise. [This is part of the contract verbiage.] Longer or shorter representations can be negotiated with photographers on a case by case basis.
• Is there a fee to scan any accepted film images? No. Any original film images we accept will be scanned at no extra cost and returned to the photographer. However, because of the risks of loss or damage in transit, we deeply value the integrity of original film and believe it should never leave the photographer's direct control if possible. So we encourage photographers who cannot deliver their film to us in person to provide highest possible quality scans of film media, so as to protect their original work from the loss risk of mail or express transport.
• What copyright protection do I have for my images? Every photograph in the U.S. is copyrighted the moment it is taken. Formal copyright registration -- while not absolutely necessary -- provides very strong legal protection, so we encourage it and will provide this service if requested. At Insojourn, the copyright for all images stays with the photographer, no exceptions. In the usage contract (EULA, end-user license agreement), our clients must agree to respect your copyright and to credit both you and us for the imagery. We encourage all photographers to register all unpublished imagery themselves before submitting to any agency. Upon request, for those who don't want to deal with the paperwork, we can prepare and register your images for a nominal handling and postage charge, on top of necessary U.S. Copyright fees. Protection of your work from illegal and unauthorized use is top priority. In the event we discover that someone pirates an image of yours that is in our portfolio, we will notify you, aggressively pursue and confront the violator, and discuss any possible legal action with you or your counsel. See www.copyright.gov for all necessary copyright information, forms and government charges.
• Do I need a property or model release? Photos taken from public rights-of-way or own your own property do not require a release unless using a recognizable human subject. All photos taken on private property not belonging to the photographer, as well as of recognizable people (where the identity of the person is discernible) require the appropriate release from the property owner or human model.
• How do you accept images? As with all high quality stock agencies, it is simply a judgment call. We consider all these factors: uniqueness, composition, resolution, marketability of subject matter, clarity, focus and artistic power (similar to good music...simply put, is it a jaw-dropper, does it "blow you away?", make you laugh, cry, or evoke some other strong mood in the viewer).
• What kinds of images do you accept? Insojourn specializes in outdoor photography -- nature in all its forms, including land, sea and sky, flora and fauna. We heavily feature themes of clouds, weather and storms, but will accept from a vast variety of outdoor imagery across many album categories you see on our website. We also will create new portfolio categories or albums as demand and submissions warrant.
• What kinds of images do you not accept? We hold high standards for both quality and content of photographs, out of respect for the values of our clients and of the photographers on our roster. As a photographer, you deserve to have your top work promoted alongside nothing but the best of the others, without worrying about "guilt by association." As such we cannot accept imagery depicting or endorsing sexual activity, lewdness, human violence, racism, profanity, or gratuitous or illegal behaviors. Basically, the litmus test is this: Would most reasonable folks let their mother or children view the photo?

To Submit Images:

FIRST: Browse our galleries to get a sense of the types of imagery we promote and market. You're not limited to our categories, of course, but this should give you a "feel" for what might work for us. We believe in having a diverse portfolio, so if you have absolutely outstanding imagery that might not cleanly fit any particular album or category, we are willing to create new ones to accommodate them.

SECOND: No more than 25 images per submission, please. Note the date, location, and photographic medium used for each image to be submitted. This data, along with a copyright tag for you, will be transparently embedded in the display file, so please be as specific as possible. If film: What was the brand, speed and format, and if available, camera and lens settings? If digital, your camera already should have saved date, time, ISO, F-stop and camera brand information in the (EXIF) data accompanying the original file. We would like to know the location and a brief description of the subject matter. Please tell us about how you want your name is to appear in any credits, i.e., John Q. Public, John Quincy Public, J. Q. Public or J. Public. Pseudonyms aren't acceptable.

THIRD: If we don't know you already, please include a brief bio or link to one online, to tell us about yourself. We will not put any personal information online or in any publicly available place other than your name on the image(s), alongside "INSOJOURN", for example: © JOHN PUBLIC - INSOJOURN.COM

FOURTH: Provide the image submissions to us for review. We accept no liability for unsolicited film submissions. For digital photos, web URLs or FTP access (from your own server) are acceptable. One image at a time may be e-mailed also, within our 700 pixels long axis limit. If you are sending slides or a CD, and cannot deliver in person, please use a shipping method that you can track (FedEx, DHL or UPS recommended. Provide a SASE for express mail or an account number for your shipper. Also consider insurance for film. If you are submitting photos by online preview, you can email the URL or FTP access information to us at info@insojourn.com.

Imagery can be submitted in film or digital format.

A. Digital - whether from a digital camera or as scans from film, please submit web site sized previews - either (a) provide online URL or FTP address, OR (b) mail us low res previews on CD. Images should fit within a 600 x 600 pixel area. We will not post these initial images, only judge them for whether to accept full resolution versions.

B. Unscanned Film - 35mm or larger transparencies or negatives. 35 mm, medium and large format submissions are cheerfully welcomed. However, as mentioned above, we encourage photographers who cannot hand deliver their film to provide small, high quality scans (600 pixels max length) when submitting stock image candidates, in order to avoid shipping risks. We’ll work on making high-res scans later.

FIFTH: If all or some of your images are accepted, Insojourn will e-mail or mail you a stock photography contract that only applies to the images we select. If your submission was through web previews or CD, we will request original resolution digital images, drum scans from film, or film scans of the highest possible resolution from professional grade equipment, to have on file. We work in all common file formats but prefer either TIF or RAW. We can process high res JPGs into TIFs, but we discourage use of JPG format and will prioritize JPGs below TIFs or RAW files when choosing from images of comparable merit otherwise. The reason is that JPG uses "lossy" compression, meaning that format degrades each time it is opened then re-saved.

After Selection:

Once your full size imagery and contract are received here, we will return a signed copy of the photographer agreement to you, process and upload protected web versions and store the full versions in secure physical archives for retrieval as demand happens.