Technical Specifications for Image Submission

Digital cameras are now capable of producing top quality results and have become increasingly popular with professional photographers. Use a pro-level camera with a 'true' (non-interpolated) resolution of at least 6 or 8 mega pixels. This will give a file size of at least 17MB at 8 bit. Carefully consider your choice of lens. Lens quality is just as important today as it ever was. The choice between shooting in RAW, TIFF or JPEG depends on your workflow. Shoot in RAW for maximum control in post-processing. If shooting in JPEG, always use the 'Fine' (least compressed) setting. Modern professional DSLRs produce excellent JPEGs, which are visually indistinguishable from RAW or TIFF. With non SLR cameras it may be necessary to shoot in RAW to achieve acceptable image quality (if the mode is available). Being a professional photographer is not essential, but having photos that are technically solid, large enough (minimum 6 MP) to be marketable and eye-catching is critical.

Cameras:

1. Minimum acceptable 6 Megapixel DSLR with image capture in RAW mode. Preferred 10 – 15 Megapixel or more.
2. We prefer and accept RAW image submission. 
3. We accept pictures taken with compact cameras above 8 Megapixels in best / high quality mode.
4. For exceptional picture content, we may compromise these guidelines at our own discretion.

If you would like to do your own post-processing, then please follow the specifications mentioned here OR you can send us the photographs without any touchups and our technical team will take care of the post-processing at no extra cost to you. Remember – we love the RAW format!

Recommended settings for your camera

• Shoot in RAW mode for maximum control in post-processing.
• If shooting in JPEG, always use the 'Fine' (least compressed) setting.
• Capture images on as low an ISO setting as possible
• Turn off in-camera sharpening
• Recommended software for post processing
  • Canon - Digital Photo Professional
  • Nikon - Nikon Editor
  • Apart from this, you can use the Adobe Lightroom which is very user friendly.

How much Photoshop is enough?

• There should be no artifacts such as visible over sharpening, cloning marks, pixilation, jagged edges and any computer-generated errors.
• Color rendition should be smooth, have depth and a photographic quality to it and not look posterized.
• There should be a smooth transition of color information in the shadow areas and highlights. Any kind of blocking or color banding is unacceptable.
• Grain structure should not be exaggerated, excessive or distorted. The quality of scanning equipment plays a very important role in accurately recording grain structure.
• The accepted color profile in Photoshop should be Adobe RGB 1998
• Excessive sharpening tends to separate grain, causing it to look artificial and broken up. Sharpening can also cause noise and distortion when used to extreme levels and will produce speckling and mottling
• Un-sharp mask filters should only be applied within these guidelines:
  • Amount: 0 - 100%
  • Radius: 1 - 2 pixels
  • Threshold: 0 - 4
  • Results will vary from image to image
  • PHOTOINDIA.COM will reject assets that have been over sharpened.
• Contrast should only be boosted to a minimum without detriment to mid-tones. The aim is to keep as much detail as possible in the shadows, mid-tones and highlights.
• Input levels should be clipped between 4 and 248 to prevent blocky blacks and burnt out highlights. Anything beyond these values will affect printing black or white areas, indicating that shadow/highlight detail has been lost.
• All assets should be free of hair, dust, marks, oil stains and smudges. No blemishes should be visible at 100% magnification.
• No recognizable logos should be present in the image for copyright and trademark reasons.
• Before working on fine JPEGs, they should first be resaved as TIFF or PSD. Never resave JPEGs in JPEG format - this will result in permanent loss of data and degraded image quality.
• RAW files should be checked for correct exposure, colour cast, etc. and if any adjustments they should be made at this stage. When converting from RAW, ensure sharpening is turned off – it is on by default in Photoshop.
• If necessary, rotate the image so that it is 'the right way up'.
• Do not crop your images excessively - after cropping your file should still be at least 17MB at 8 bit.

Recommended Image Technical specifications

• TIFFs or JPEG's saved at the highest quality setting.
• Image should be taken with the minimum of a 6 Megapixel (preferably 8) camera in the highest JPEG quality.
• Alpha-numeric file names ending in .jpg.
• RGB files, not single channel grayscale or CMYK. Without much cropping.
• Uncompressed files.
• Prepare your photos: adjust levels, curves, color balance, and other essential settings to produce the best looking images. (Not excessive. Please refer to section: How much Photoshop is enough?)
• Always submit the highest resolution file you have available.

Submitting Images - Transparencies & Negatives

We prefer to receive submissions in the digital format. However, if you are shooting images on transparencies and negatives, the images need to be of the highest possible technical quality and have immense sales potential for us to put in efforts to scan them.

In general, shoot on the finest grain film with high-quality lenses. Please note, however, that fine grain film is inherently high in contrast.

If you do not have the stock scanned, then send us your collection of transparencies and negatives, we will scan them at our cost and return the originals to you within four months. The sample submissions will be evaluated by our team, and if we have any queries we will get in touch with you. Based on your sample submissions, we will take a call on whether your submission is relevant to the market and of the quality we are looking for. If yes, we will first execute a contract and then take the final submissions from you.

The salient points of Technical Specifications:

• Minimum acceptable 6 Megapixel DSLR with image capture in RAW mode. Preferred 10 – 15 Megapixel or more.
• Uncompressed TIFFs or JPEGs files saved at highest quality settings and with alpha-numeric file names ending in .jpeg.
• RGB files.
• Prefer submissions in the digital format. In case of transparencies and negatives, the images need to be of the highest technical quality and have immense sales potential.
• We have an extensive list of how much Photoshop we accept.

For post-processing we recommend: Canon Digital Photo Professional, Nikon Editor or the Adobe Lightroom.