National Geographic photographers

I'm looking at National Geographic magazine, are these all freelance photographers in here? I have noticed some of the credits are listed while others are not? Matter of fact, it would seem most photos don't have any sort of credits to them.

Any of you have your work published in National Geographic before?

I think most national geo photographers are staff. There may be a couple here and there who are freelance. Then again, that could be the other way around. Most are freelence, some are staff. Either way, not all magazines will give credit. Some magazines only give credit if the photographer ask for it.

all of the photographers are staffed by national geographic. You might get a few freelance but they tend not to use them so much

butterflygirl921 wrote: all of the photographers are staffed by national geographic. You might get a few freelance but they tend not to use them so much

Sorry, but that's not correct. They no longer have a large staff of photographers they keep on board. They have guys they regularly use but they are not employees of National Geographic. They started changing the way they do things about the time digital came along. The photographers come up with ideas and submit a package for the story they are thinking about. The reason I know this is I met Peter Essick in September and he has been published in Nat Geo over 30 times. See more about Peter with the following links.

photography.nationalgeographic.com/photo...rapher-peter-essick/

also his website

peteressick.com/

I get the magazine, and don't have any trouble identifying the photographers. If they are not listed by the photo, they are listed by the article title and in the table of contents.

Henry Peach wrote: I get the magazine, and don't have any trouble identifying the photographers. If they are not listed by the photo, they are listed by the article title and in the table of contents.

Send your work into them, you never know, you might get a call from them.

Jeanne Merlo wrote: Send your work into them, you never know, you might get a call from them.

You can't just send them images. That would be a waste of time. You need to contact them for submission guidelines and have an idea for a story. You don't need to be a writer, you just need to present the ideas. If they like the idea, they will want to see some of your work at that time to see if you are capable.

The photographers who formerly were on staff are now virtually all freelancers. Essentially all the photographs you see published in National Geographic magazine are either shot on contract assignment or are stock. Assignments that used to be contracted via a one page letter from an editor (the equivalent of a handshake) are now lengthy documents full of legalese and rights-grabbing clauses that put NGS in control of the life of the material. It isn't nearly as glamorous as it once was, though there are very, very few publications left that assign the kinds of stories that Nat Geo does.

Anyone wishing to work with Nat Geo really needs to be a working, published photojournalist with established projects on their own. They will have built their own unique contacts, access, and deep expertise within their speciality. One needs to put in the time and effort to get to know the people at the organization as well. Basically, if you have something meaningful and unique to offer, have really exceptional talent and drive as a visual storyteller, impeccable journalistic ethics, and understand the priorities and interests of the publication, then you might be able to attract the interest of an editor long enough to show your work or pitch a story.

One of the easier ways to get a photo in Nat Geo is to enter their "Your Shot" competition. You submit a photo & if it's accepted, it makes it into their "Daily Dozen" on their online website. One photo a month is selected from the "Daily Dozen" for inclusion in the monthly print issue under the "Your Shot" segment of the magazine....I sent in a photo back in October 2007 Week 4 which made it onto their website "Daily Dozen" but not into the magazine itself...Here's a link to the National Geo "Daily Dozen" page...If you use the drop down box & go to the 2007 Oct Week 4 section, my shot is the Green Tree Frog.

Shadowfixer1 wrote:

Jeanne Merlo wrote: Send your work into them, you never know, you might get a call from them.

You can't just send them images. That would be a waste of time. You need to contact them for submission guidelines and have an idea for a story. You don't need to be a writer, you just need to present the ideas. If they like the idea, they will want to see some of your work at that time to see if you are capable.

That goes with any large magazine. You can't just submit your work and hope and pray they use it. You need to contact all magazines and see what topic they plan on covering in the near feature and submit any photos that cover that (if they need photos)

Screamin Scott wrote: One of the easier ways to get a photo in Nat Geo is to enter their "Your Shot" competition. You submit a photo & if it's accepted, it makes it into their "Daily Dozen" on their online website. One photo a month is selected from the "Daily Dozen" for inclusion in the monthly print issue under the "Your Shot" segment of the magazine....I sent in a photo back in October 2007 Week 4 which made it onto their website "Daily Dozen" but not into the magazine itself...Here's a link to the National Geo "Daily Dozen" page...If you use the drop down box & go to the 2007 Oct Week 4 section, my shot is the Green Tree Frog.

You forgot to link it.

Grind 4 wrote:

Screamin Scott wrote: One of the easier ways to get a photo in Nat Geo is to enter their "Your Shot" competition. You submit a photo & if it's accepted, it makes it into their "Daily Dozen" on their online website. One photo a month is selected from the "Daily Dozen" for inclusion in the monthly print issue under the "Your Shot" segment of the magazine....I sent in a photo back in October 2007 Week 4 which made it onto their website "Daily Dozen" but not into the magazine itself...Here's a link to the National Geo "Daily Dozen" page...If you use the drop down box & go to the 2007 Oct Week 4 section, my shot is the Green Tree Frog.

You forgot to link it.

Oooops!!
ngm.nationalgeographic.com/your-shot/daily-dozen

i worked for/with a nat geo guy for a bit. This guy would get up EVERY day before sunrise and take pics during the golden hour. Then work on his business during the middle of the day, then take pictures again during dusk.