Submission Guidelines

 

Important - Sufficient caption and credit information must be embedded in ALL of submitted high resolution image files by using either Adobe Photoshop File Info or other sophisticated software which is compatible with current IPTC/meta tag standard. Please read the section below on Captions, Keywords, File Info, IPTC, META, etc. and follow our examples on how to enter such information properly.

Important - Please do not submit more than 500 pictures at a time, and please do not submit same pictures you have submitted previously as well as similar/identical pictures. If you submit more than 500 pictures in one submission, it will take a long time for us to process or we will have to return your submission for you to reorganize to smaller batches.


Please choose ONE OR THE OTHER high resolution file specs whichever fits YOUR SKILL AND EQUIPMENT LEVEL.

Spec No. 2 can be achieved 1) with conventional drum scans; 2) by interpolating scanned images from a high-end desktop scanner; 3) by interpolating digital images generated from a professional digital SLR camera. However, you MUST use a proper interpolation method and software. For more information, please read the section on Digital Photography & Ethics.

If you have odd shaped pictures which are different from 3:2 dimension such as panorama and square shots, please keep the longest width or the tallest height to either 7200 or 5400 pixels depending on the spec you choose. For example, a panorama shot can be 7200 x 3000 or 5400 x 1500, and a square shot can be 7200 x 7200, 5400 x 5400, etc.

Pixel Dimension Resolution File Size File Format Spec. 1 5400 x 3600 35mm full frame (3:2 ratio) 5400 pixels wide/tall 300 dpi 55.7 MB (Uncompressed) 8 bit RGB TIFF IMPORTANT: DO NOT SAVE LAYERS Photoshop CS2 TIFF Options: Color Profile: Adobe RGB (1998) Image Compressions: LZW Pixel Order: Interleaved (RGBRGB) Byte Order: IBM PC Spec. 2 7200 x 4800 35mm full frame (3:2 ratio) 7200 pixels wide/tall 300 dpi 98.9 MB (Uncompressed) 8 bit RGB JPEG Photoshop CS2 JPEG Options: Color Profile: Adobe RGB (1998) Image Options: Quality 10 Maximum Format Options: Baseline ("Standard")

 

Captions: We provide accurate information about our pictures for our clients. Unlike other stock photo agencies, this is one of our specialities. IF YOU DO NOT SUPPLY SUFFICIENT CAPTION INFORMATION, YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS WILL NOT BE PROCESSED UNTIL WE OBTAIN IT.

Sufficient and accurate caption information must be embedded in ALL of submitted digital image files. Such meta data should be entered properly by using Adobe Photoshop File Info or by using any other commercially available meta tag editors such as Photo Mechanic, etc. Please DO NOT enter your own addresses, phone/fax numbers, web site URL in caption or any other IPTC info area as we have to delete them all or substitute them with ours. Such process will deter us entering your pictures into our database. We'd like them blank.

The minimum information submitted with any types of photographs should include: Your name or other names who is the copyright holder and/or photographer, Common Name, Scientific species name in Latin, location (for example: dive site, marine reserve, marine sanctuary, national park, etc.), Country, and Ocean. It is very important that you state any noticeable animal behaviors or anatomical features in an image because the caption directly affects our search results as well as our clients' decisions accordingly. If your subject is endemic to a certain area or listed as vulnerable, threatened, or endangered in that area, please include that information in the caption. If you're not sure, check the IUCN site at <http://www.iucnredlist.org>.

SeaPics.com Caption/Description Format:

Common Name, Genus species, Specific Location, Country, Ocean.

Proper Captioning Examples:

Woman tourist observing Red-footed Booby, Sula sula, Isla Genovesa, Galapagos, Ecuador, East Pacific Ocean. MR Hawaiian Monk Seal, Monachus schauinslandi, critically endangered, endemic, Hawaii, Pacific Ocean. (dc) Tide pool with sea stars, Pisaster sp., and anemones, Anthopleura sp., Soberanes Point, Garrapata State Park, Monterey, California, East Pacific Ocean. Endangered Green Sea Turtle, Chelonia mydas, being cleaned by Convict Tang, Acanthurus triostegus, off Kona Coast, Big Island, Hawaii, Pacific Ocean.

 

Model/Property Release: If your picture includes people or somebody's property, it is critical to indicate that you have a model release (MR), property release (PR) or do not have one (No PR or No MR). If you do not supply this information to us, we cannot submit your pictures for high-paying advertising projects, etc.

 

Captioning Abbreviations: Following is a list of our own abbreviations for captions. You are welcome to use them to save some space in description cells. At the same time, you are also required to disclose any manipulation which you have done to enhance over all quality of the shots. We need proper and correct information about your images as we deal mainly with the clients who's main focus is natural history.

(c) = captive
(cr) = captive release, a tamed or captured animal placed unrestrained in a natural setting such as "rent-a-dolphin"
(dc) = digital composite, two or more images combined digitally
(dm) = digitally manipulated (major picture elements removed digitally or other significant alteration)
(di) = digital illustration (includes non-photographic elements or special effects).
(mx) = multiple exposure (done in camera)
(pc) = photo composite (two or more pictures stack together to create an image in a traditional way without aid of computer, "sandwich picture")

 

File Naming: Your image serial numbers should be your digital photo names. For example, 002546.jpg, 002689.tif, etc. They should be unique to each one. We can keep track of your serial numbers in our database for cross referencing.

 

 

We are Macintosh people, so please make sure that you send your submissions in Macintosh compatible DVDs or CDs. Many CD/DVD burning software on PC workstation requires you to specifically instruct the software to burn Mac compatible ones.

 

More than 98 % of submissions to our clients are now digital, and this number seems to be reaching to the max very soon. We continue to welcome your film submissions for initial review purpose, however, it is now required for you to supply us properly formatted high resolution scans in one of our specs. Preferably you can just submit high resolution film scans of our specs without submitting any transparencies. Please see the above section on High Resolution File Specifications for more details. Requirement is essentially the same. Please crop out black slide borders, and properly interpolate to one of our file specs as necessary.

After reviewing your initial transparency submission, we will make a selection, return your transparencies, and then request high resolution scans of the selection. Duplicate slides are no longer necessary. Please do not send them to us except for initial review purpose.

Liability for transparencies: We cannot accept responsibility for lost or damaged transparencies regardless of cause, although the utmost care is taken to protect them while in our possession. All transparencies are stored in archival pages in air conditioned rooms. In the event of loss or damage to transparencies in possession of our clients, we seek appropriate compensation from the client.

 

Please submit 50 of your very best pictures for our quality control along with a signed contract. Every new photographer must clear this process to join our library. Your submitted pictures must meet our high resolution requirement and our quality standard.

We seek quality rather than quantity. Photographers are requested to send only their very best, or most unusual images covering a wide range of subject matters. Please be very selective with the pictures you submit. Natural history photography is an extremely competitive field in which we must maintain very high standards. The quality of scanned images and properly processed digital RAW files are essential as well as the basics of photography such as sharpness, correct exposure and good use of lighting. We are also looking for pictures with interest and impact - an image which makes a behavioral or ecological point is nearly always preferred to a straight portrait.

It is a good idea for you to search through our web database to find out which of your subjects are well covered and which are not, then edit your selection tightly. DO NOT SEND SIMILAR IMAGES. WE DO NOT LIKE TO SEE SLIGHT VARIATIONS OF THE SAME SUBJECT. THANKS.

 

Please note that we expect your high resolution files to be:

• created by scanning your ORIGINAL color transparencies on a high-end scanner such as a drum scanner or at least, Nikon Super CoolScan LS-5000 or better quality high-end desktop scanners which produce more than 50 MB from a single frame of 35mm film without interpolation.
• or created by using a high-end professional digital SLR camera with high quality interchangeable lenses which produces at least 6 megapixels (more is better, of course).
• cleaned thoroughly (no dust spots, no scratches, please).
• white balance, color, exposure, contrast, etc. adjusted and corrected.
• cropped properly so that your scanned images do not have black mount/film borders. You can do this during or after scanning.
• processed & interpolated properly to meet our high resolution file requirement

We welcome any digital imagery generated by high-end professional digital SLR cameras (6 megapixels or more) with high quality interchangeable lenses. HOWEVER, WE DO NOT ACCEPT DIGITAL CAMERA FILES FROM ANY OF THE POINT-AND-SHOOT, CONSUMER LEVEL CAMERAS EVEN IF SUCH CAMERAS PRODUCE CLOSE TO 6MP AS THE IMAGE QUALITY IS SIGNIFICANTLY INFERIOR TO THOSE OF PROSUMER SLR CAMERAS.

In order for us to prepare your digital camera files for any type of commercial use, you must process them to our high resolution file specifications . If you are new to the high-tech world, be prepared for a steep learning curve. "Proper Interpolation" of your digital files is the key for the successful processing. There are number of very sophisticated interpolation method and software commercially available. Following is a list of such software. They all perform equally well but we recommend Stair Interpolation method in Photoshop and/or a combination of SI and Adobe Photoshop CS Camera RAW converter.

• Photoshop - SI (Stair Interpolation) - You increase the file size 10 % at a time using "Bicubic Smoother". By doing so, you can upsize your photos without degrading the quality. You can program the SI Actions by yourself in Photoshop, or you can purchase a more sophisticated Photoshop plug-in created by Fred Miranda
• Genuine Fractals by onOne Software
• pxl Smart Scale by onOne Software
• Blow Up by Alien Skin
• SizeFixer by FixerLabs
• PhotoZoom Pro 2 by BenVista

Although we do not have enough time to teach "basics" of digital photography to each one of our photographers, we will try to help you as much as we can. There are a number of web sites where you can learn and absorb many useful tips. Following is a brief list of such web sites: Digital Photography Review, Steve's DigiCams, Fred Miranda, Digital Outback Photo, Wetpixel.com, etc.

We also welcome any creative digital imagery such as a digital composite created by combining two or more images digitally AS LONG AS YOU DISCLOSE IT AS A DIGITAL COMPOSITE (dc). We require all digital images to be captioned as such. Many of our clients are dealing with natural history, and thus we must supply them with "true" natural history images.

 

 

It is very important for you as a photographer to have a high quality monitor and to calibrate it properly. You should never use your laptop computer to process your RAW images or slide scans because the color spectrum on a laptop LCD is quite different and is much more limited. If you do, your pictures will look very differently on our monitors and our clients monitors.

We highly recommend that you invest in a high definition LCD monitors such as Apple's HD Cinema Displays. Compared with a cathode ray tube (CRT), you will get about twice the brightness, sharpness and contrast - with flicker-free performance and the same full gamut of colors.

Available as 30", 23"and 20" at Apple. SeaPics.com uses both 30" & 23" models, and they are great!

For a basic monitor calibration, please use the following values. These are the very basic values to calibrate your monitor for photographic work assuming you will be working in RGB environment.

• Gamma: 2.2
• Whitepoint: 6500K

Macintosh users should make sure to use the gamma value 2.2 instead of 1.8 which has traditionally been the standard for all Macintosh computers. You could use other whitepoint values depending on your ambient light condition, but D65 is highly recommended for all professional photographers and illustrators who edit art work under dim to dark room condition.

If you are not sure about what you are doing on monitor calibration, we highly recommend you to invest in a monitor calibration hardware system. We have been using Eye-One Display 2 by Gretag Macbeth. It has been working great for us. No guess work. Spyderf2 by ColorVision should equally work well although we have never tried it yet. This unit is more affordable.

SeaPics.com Digital Dark Room Set-up	Eye-One Display 2	Spyder2