Image bank

If you would like to make money out of photo taking, take a while to see what image topics are most in demand:

• - generally images of Poland: landscapes, historic monuments, landmarks, architecture, cities, folklore, flora, fauna, symbols, health resorts, churches, Polish cuisine, etc.;
• - architecture: details, whole buildings;
• - business: office scenes, preferably groups of people, lunch, using office equipment, business out of office, conferences, seminars, brainstorming sessions, negotiations, emotions, various professions, etc.;
• - people/children: babies and newborns, playing, at the doctor’s, in the kindergarten, adolescence, etc.;
• - people/teenagers: sport, learning, shopping, parties, clubs, cinema, driving licence, truancy, tourism, emotions, love, flirt, college, cafe, leisure, library, etc.;
• - people/family: family time, meals, playing, housework, family celebrations, daily routines, relaxing, pets, family relationships, emotions, etc.;
• - people/seniors: leisure, hobbies, family celebrations, time with grandchildren, time with children, emotions, new media, sport, illnesses, hospital, etc.;
• - people/friends: shopping, gatherings, conversations, going out, clubs, parties, cooking, celebrations, male/female friendship, sport, helping, etc.;
• - people/relaxing: spa, relax, beauty treatments, massages, fitness, dancing, etc.;
• - people/handicapped: everyday situations, work, in the city, at home, shopping, family time, sport, rehabilitation, emotions, etc.;
• - animals: rare species, in the wild (not in zoo), dangerous, animal protection and care, etc;
• - flora: rare species, exotic plants, plant nurturing, etc.;
• - sport: uncommon disciplines, team sports, using specialist sports equipment, etc.;
• - symbols: associated with professions and nationalities, esotericism, rituals, fortune-telling, luxurious goods, associated with emotions, associated with life events (such as funeral, wedding, baptism, promotion, unemployment), work related (such as conflict, mobbing, teamwork, office equipment), body language, strength, creativity, etc.;
• - religious and national holidays: rituals, folklore;
• - food: specialties from various countries and regions; people eating or drinking specific kinds of food, etc.

Photogenica Image Bank, as well as most other image banks, does not accept the following types of images:

• - showing logotypes, trademarks, company names, product names, product brands, designs with trademarks or patented designs;
• - images of goods protected by intellectual property rights;
• - camera phone pictures and videos;
• - images of documents with names, modern maps, computer screens with icons;
• - images of artwork: pictures, sculptures, showpieces from art galleries and museums, advertising, some architecture examples;
• - images with visible copyright notice;
• - images of buildings with trademarks, historic monuments and landmarks with property claims;
• - images of state property (insignia, military awards and decorations, state seals)
• - images of photographs;
• - images found (on the Internet, somebody else’s photo album, in a book, magazine, etc.);
• - images with pornographic, racist, or slanderous content, or violating any personal rights of third parties;
• - imagez violating any legal regulations.

Model and Property Release Any content submitted by author, presenting recognisable people and/or property, protected by intellectual property laws, must be submitted with a valid and legally binding document, duly signed by all persons and/or parties granting consent to use the image of people ("Model Release"), or property ("Property Release") on the photograph. A copy of Model Release and Property Release document should be submitted by the Author to any Content which requires such releases, and marked by the Author as having the release documents. We prefer Model and Property Release documents to be based on our forms. We also accept other forms, meeting the below criteria. Agreements should meet the following requirements:

• - should be written in Polish, Russian, and/or English;
• - information should be legible;
• - separate agreement for each model or property.

Model Release agreement should include the following information:

• - legible first name and surname of the model;
• - model’s signature;
• - complete contact details (address, telephone number, e-mail);
• - model’s birth date and age at the time when the photo was taken;
• - date of taking the photo and date of signing the agreement;
• - photographer’s first name and surname, or the name of the photo studio.

In case of minor releases (below 18), the additional requirements are:

• - legible first name and surname of the model’s guardian;
• - signature of parent or guardian;
• - legible first name and surname of the model.

Optionally, the following data may be added (helpful in case of any disputes):

• - attached thumbnail of the photo;
• - model’s gender;
• - nationality;
• - description of the photo.

Model Release is also required if an image presents its author (self-portrait).

Property Release Agreement should include the following information:

• - name/description and location of the property;
• - legible first name and surname of the property owner or authorised representing party;
• - signaure of property owner or authorised representing party;
• - complete contact data (address, telephone number, e-mail) of the property owner, or the authorised representing party;
• - title of the authorised party ("owner", "administrator", etc.);
• - date of taking the photo and date of signing the agreement;
• - photographer’s first name and surname, or the name of the photo studio.

The following information on Property Release agreements is preferred:

• - thumbnail attached;
• - description of the image.

An image with a person may be accepted by Photogenica if it meets the below criteria:

• a) Images for commercial use
  If at least one person (or any number of people) is recognisable on the image, signed model release for each of the people is required. Model release is required from every person who might be able to identify themselves on the image. In case the portrayed person is a minor under 18 years of age, the photographer needs to obtain agreement from a parent or a guardian.
  • - Commercial publication of a person’s image without their consent is violation of their personal rights;
  • - Model’s face does not have to be the feature identifying on the image. Clothes, tattoos, location, and other specific features are sufficient to identification, which means obtaining model’s release is essential;
  • - According to general guidelines, if a person is able to recognise themselves on an image, the image may not be used for commercial purposes without a signed model release.
• b) Images for editorial use
  If an image is intended only for editorial use (e.g. for commentaries), the photographer needs to check the adequate box "For editorial use only" when uploading the image.
  
  
• c) Images of gatherings, parades and other events
  Images of public events (such as demonstrations, parades, congresses or symposia, bigger gatherings, etc.), where a group of participants (several people) are recognisable, may be used without their written consent, but only for editorial use.
  • - images of a single person/or people, who may be distinguished from the crowd in such events are accepted only for editorial use;
  • - typical everyday scenes in parks, in the street, etc., are not public events. Obtaining model release from each person appearing in images in such places is necessary;
  • - concerts, sports stadiums or community venues, swimming pools, railway stations, shops, cemeteries, etc. are PRIVATE PROPERTY. It is NOT allowed to take photos in these places without the owner’s consent! You may take photos of such places only if you obtain a written owner’s consent.
• d) Celebrities
  Images of famous and well known people (in industry, politics, culture, film, television, music, sport) which are taken during a public event, may be accepted without written consent but only for editorial use, informative value in the context of their public functions.
  • - Images of celebrities taken in private locations (at the celebrity’s home, in the garden/ on their premises, on the beach, in the shop, restaurant, etc.) are papparazzi images and are strictly forbidden.

Not acceptable images of people Images of people who do not grant their written consent for commercial use and who are not legally excluded, except for public officials, or people recognised as public officials in accordance with Copyright Laws in Poland.

• - Paparazzi photos: these are images taken with professional photo equipment to take candid photos from hiding (long distance or under cover) of people while they are on their private premises (including company): spying on people in their private homes and industrial espionage;
• - Images violating people’s privacy;
• - Images disturbing a person’s intimate space;
• - Images which might be humiliating, demonstrate exhibitionism, disrespectful images;
• - Images which might expose the model to danger.

An image of a property may be accepted by Photogenica if it meets the below criteria:

• a) Acceptable without release
  Buildings/Property
  You may submit images of buildings or other properties without the owner’s consent if the following conditions are met: you were on a public ground when taking the photo (such as public road, pavement or other public places) and you were not using any facilitating equipment (such as ladder, telephoto lens, telescope) to take the photos.
  • - The following places are NOT public locations: sports stadiums or meeting points, museums, railway stations, schools, universities, hospitals, shops, commercial centres, zoo, etc. To publish images taken at such locations property release will be essential;
  • - Moreover, if any people are visible on the images, you need to obtain a signed model release for each of those people (see subsequent sections).
  
  Buildings and products
  You may submit images of buildings and products intended for commercial use only if:
  • - here are no trademarks visible on the image;
  • - products are not protected by copyright laws or by registered industrial design (such as modern models of laptops, mobile phones, cars, etc.);
  
  Otherwise the images will be rejected or may be accepted for editorial use only.
• b) Accepted only with property release
  Images taken on private premises or in interiors
  If you were on private premises while taking photo of building interior, or its outer structure, you may only submit those images, for which you will submit scanned written release of the property owner.
  • - The following properties are private premises: sports stadiums or community venues, museums, railway stations, schools, universities, hospitals, shops, commercial centres, zoo, concert locations, etc. You need to obtain property owner consent before publishing images taken in the above mentioned places.
  
  Products and designs protected by copyrights or protected by registered design rights.
  Image of products with trademarks of protected by copyrights (such as clothing brands, computers, mobile phones, cars, Barbie dolls, Coca-Cola bottles, designed furniture etc.), you may only submit if you have written consent of the property owner / manufacturer, which you will scan and submit to us.
  
  Intangible works of art
  Photos of masterpieces which were created for fixed period of time (such as wrapping of the Reichstag by Christo and Jeanne-Claude) may be submitted if you obtain written consent of the artist (s), which may be scanned and submitted to us.

Images of properties which are not acceptable Public administration offices
Courts, images of court trial participants; photos taken inside courts, prisons, and offices; government offices; images of police officers. Military property
e.g. military airports, barracks, naval bases, and military equipment (such as vehicles, weapons, radar or radio communication equipment). Aerial images
Images taken off the ground that endanger the state or that violate people’s privacy, such as images of private backyards and private parks. Buildings should be recognisable. Images with brand names or trademarks, if the trademark takes a considerable part of the image Human rights
Images that might arouse conflicts related to the owner’s personal rights, such as:

• - doorplates;
• - car number plates;
• - private houses or summer houses which are property of famous (or other) people;
• - any other images which allow identification of a person

Privacy
Taking photos which violate private property (violating as such privacy of others) is against the law (e.g. through windows, on backyards and gardens). Local regulations: images may be taken within a private property only with the owner’s consent. Photographer should obtain the release, and also check if there are any regulations which might forbid publishing such images for commercial use. In particular, interiors of properties (companies, public institutions, private buildings, stadiums, supermarkets, zoos, railway stations, factories) as well as images of any type of events (sports events, exhibitions, theatre performances, concerts, etc.) You should always ask if the images may be used commercially, before taking photos inside buildings. Images violating local regulations (concerts, football games, supermarkets, etc.) may only be submitted if the photographer has obtained a formal and/or written consent from the licensee/owner (e.g. from press photographer)

Basic technical criteria Any content (photos, illustration, video) submitted on Photogenica website must be submitted by its author.
alid model or property release is required for any person / property that is presented on the submitted content. In case of properties, only images that were taken from public venues without using equipment such as elevators, ladders, etc. (according to Act on Copyright and Related Rights, art.33.1) public venues are defined as generally accessible: roads, streets, squares, gardens). In case of such properties, the property release is not required.

• 1. Images and illustrations JPEG
  • - Images must be in JPEG format;
  • - File size must be at least 2500 x 1750 pixels, preferably 3500 x 2500 pixels or larger;
  • - File size at least 1 MB or larger, max. 20 MB (compressed);
  • - Colour profile: sRGB or Adobe RGB 1998;
  • - Saved on quality level 12 (balance between file size and its quality);
  • - Standard proportions;
  • - Balanced lights and shadows;
  • - File size should not be changed by interpolation (original file sizes are required).
• 2. EPS vector illustrations
  • - File size minimum 3300 kb or larger, max. 2 MB;
  • - EPS format or AI8 compatible;
  • - No open paths;
  • - Gradients should be avoided, as they might interfere editing with some types of software.

Requirements for photos and illustrations to be accepted by Photogenica:

• 1.Submitted files may be rejected due to:
  • - Out of focus, moved, blurred images;
  • - Incorrect exposure;
  • - Incorrect brightness or contrast settings;
  • - Too high JPEG compression;
  • - Excessive noise and grain;
  • - Chromatic aberrations;
  • - Unintended vignetting;
  • - Noticeable geometric distortions (bends, perspective distortions);
  • - Discolorations, incorrect white balance;
  • - Compression artefacting caused by the camera of image editing software;
  • - Over retouching – los of quality and details in images;
  • - Poor cropping and extracting;
  • - Dusted and soiled scans;
  • - Artificial increasing image size;
  • - Incorrect composition;
  • - Too similar files or files in multiple colour versions;
  • - Incorrect title or description. Files must have at least five keywords and description of what is in the image or illustration. Preferred number of keywords 15-25;
  • - Violation or possible violation of Copyright/trademarks;
  • - Content for adults only, insulting, pornographic, racist content;
  • - Indecent or brutal images.
• 2. Recommendations:
  • a) Focus:
    - Adequate elements should be in focus;
    - Using tripod for images with long exposure.
  • b)Compression and noise:
    - Images should be saved in original format. Editing and modifying images always on original images;
    - When working with JPEG files, save them always with 100% or possibly highest compression level;
    - Reducing noise for ready photos used only in areas where necessary and not for the whole image;
    - Careful noise reduction, without losing important image data.
  • c) Skans:
    - Precise setting of scanner, depending on scanned material, so as to achieve higher scan quality;
    - Regular cleaning scanner;
    - Using correct resolution for scanning;
    - Editing images after scanning.
  • d) Filters:
    Use artistic filters sparingly.
  • e) Composition and cropping:
    - Noticeable separating colours of the object and background;
    - Well lit object to eliminate shadows.

If you want your image, illustration or clip to be selected by the customer, you need to carefully add keywords and metadata to your image (illustration, clip). General rules

• a) Keywords may consist of one or more words e.g. "truck"; "delivery truck". Keywords should be separated with a comma. Keywords should not include semicolons, commas, question marks or special characters (except for special characters which are integral part of the text, e.g. &). Multiword keywords should reflect really used lexical structures, such as "bathing suit". You should not create multiword keywords by inserting additional words to the keyword, such as "red bathing suit" – here you should use two keywords: "bathing suit"; "red".
• b)tags should be created using the top-down approach, trying to create links of words starting with general concepts, through concepts defining details, for example:
  • - Image of a polar bear should be tagged with the following keywords: fauna; animal; mammal; bear; polar bear
  • - Image of a geographic location (Wawel Cathedral) should be tagged with the following keywords: Europe, Poland, Malopolska region; Cracow; Wawel; Wawel Cathedral
  
  This approach allows for images to be included both in general, as well as in specific search results, which increases selling potential.
  
  
• c) Homonyms should be tagged with explanations enclosed in angle brackets, e.g orange ‹fruit› orange ‹colour›. This way it is possible to classify the keyword and proper display of the image in search results, when a given option is selected by the search user. Frequent examples of homonyms are food names eg. fish ‹animal› or fish ‹meal›.
• d) cohesion in descriptions for all images, illustrations or videos should be maintained, e.g. defining age of models you should always use ranges that have been already selected, e.g. 20-25 years of age; 25-30 years of age etc., instead of using 21-24 years of age for selected images.
• e) Tagging each image (illustration, video) you should include the following keywords:
  • - describing people, objects, or designs in the image, e.g. table, cloud, man, apple, forest, etc. You should not tag objects which are not visible or very small objects that are not in the centre, depending on the content depicted.
  • - describing events, situations, e.g. wedding, parade, sports game, meeting, accident, class test, etc.
  • - abstract notions describing feelings, moods, or emotions that might potentially be aroused with the image content, such as joy, sadness, anger, content, etc.
  • -abstract notions describing association, concepts, such as "time" for image of a clock, or "emptiness" for image of a desert, etc.
• f) Suggested number of keywords tagging an image (illustration, clip), according to rules as described in this document (without inflected forms) is about 20-30, depending on the image content. The minimum number of keywords is 5. In case of images with many details, it might be necessary to tag them with 40-50 keywords (bigger number is usually not necessary). You should not add too many keywords to an image, especially keywords which are not describing precisely the image, or do not refer to its content directly. Precise description of an image content increases its selling potential.

General concept categories

• a) Image type in general, e.g. "studio shot" "landscape image", "outdoor image", "satellite view", "macrophotography", "microphotogrphy", "editorial image", "Artwork image" "photomontage", "still nature", "nude", etc.
• b) Defining image colours.
  Basic categories (colour, B/W, mono) are included in the metadata. Keywords should describe dominant colours, background colours, distinctive colours or colour accents in the centre of attention, if any, e.g. red, blue, etc.
• c) Specifying image tonality.
  asic categories (light tones, dark tones, maximum tonal range) are included in the metadata. Keywords should describe general notions, such as light, dark, dim, low contrast, high contrast, etc.
• d) Describing people. The following terms should be included:
  • a. gender: male – female
  • b. age in general: baby, child, teenager, young woman, senior, etc.;
  • c. general categories of age by the following keywords: baby, child, teenager, adult, senior;
  • d. specific age categories, by the following ranges: 0-6 months old; 6-12 months old; 13 years old; 3-5 years old; 5-10 years old; 15-19 years old; 20-30 years old; 30-40 years old; 40 – 50 years old; 50-60 years old; 60-70 years old; 70-80 years old; over 80;
  • e. ethnicity / skin colour: e.g. Caucasian, Hispanic, African American, Asian, Hindu, etc.
  • f. defining number of people on the image by the following keywords:
    No people; 1person; 2 people; 3 people; 4 people; 5 people; group of people; crowd
  • g. defining body posture, such as: standing, lying, leaning, sitting
  • h. defining direction of the model’s look, such as "looking into camera", "looking up", "looking down", etc.
  • i. in case of a portrait, beside the "portrait" keyword, you should use the following keywords "full length" (whole body portrait), "three quarter length" (knees up), "waist up"; "portrait" (head and shoulders); "profile" (head and shoulders profile).
• e) Defining profession.
  Use appropriate gender form, male or female, e.g. tagging an image of a waiter use properly "waiter" for a male model, or "waitress" for a female model. n case of professions where no gender forms exist, add explanation in angle brackets, such as paediatrician eg. paediatrician ‹female› or paediatrician ‹male›
  
  
• f) Defining location.
  • a. inside; outside
  • b. geographic location: continent – country – administrative division – town/city – quarter (if relevant) – property (e.g. name of building)
  • c. defining untypical location (if relevant), e.g. on the roof, in basement; city centre, suburbs, etc.
• g) Geographical names
  • a. Roman alphabet only, conversion from other alphabets should be done by transliteration.
  • b. Recommendations:
    - Original names should be used (in the local language of the object’s location, using diacritics), e.g. "München"
    - Original name without diacritics of the local language, e.g. Munchen
    - English name (if exists), e.g. Munich
  • c. Historic name should be added, if known (even if not used contemporarily) such as Taiwan – Formosa
  • d. Geographic name should always completed with information on the type of location in the following format Name (location type, country), e.g. Munich (city, Germany)
• h) Names of people, proper nouns
  • a. Only Roman alphabet, conversion from other alphabets by transliteration.
  • b. Recommendations:
    - Original names should be used (in the local language of the object or model location, with diacritics)
    - Original name without diacritics of the local language
    - English name (if exists)
• i) Flora and Fauna
  Species names of fauna and flora should be given in English and Latin. If possible, taxonomic rank should be given, e.g. genus, family, order.
  
  
• j)season, day time
  In case of landscape images or outdoor images, it is essential to define the time of shooting, as follows:
  • a.eason of a year (e.g. spring, summer, autumn, winter, rainy season, dry season, etc.)
  • b. time of the day (e.g. night, day, morning, twilight, afternoon, etc.)
• k) Photo techniques used
  There is a wide variety of techniques. Defining the techniques often lets the photo editors find material they are looking for. Examples of photo techniques used:
  • a. Photo lens: "wide angle lens" "fisheye lens" "macro" "zoom" "tilt", etc.
  • b. Lighting: "uplight" "downlight", "backlight""contre-jour" itp.
  • c. Exposure time: "long exposure"; "short exposure".
  • d. Used filters: e.g. "infrared filter" "graduated filter", etc.
  • e. Composition: e.g. "detail", "wide angle", "horizon line", "classic composition" "nonstandard composition", etc.
  • f. background: e.g. "mono background" if background in one colour (the colour of the background should be a separate keyword);If the object may be easily isolated from its background, add a keyword "making".

Word classes for keywords

• a) Nouns should be in singular form.
• b) Verbs in infinitive form.
• c) Numerals should be given in words.
• d) Add as many synonyms as possible.
• e) If two spellings of a keyword is possible (e.g. eighties, 80s) add both forms.
• f) Names should be given in English, except for those which might not have English equivalents (leave them in original version).
• g) Abbreviations – use both, full words and widely accepted abbreviations, e.g. "kilogram", and "kg", "USA" and "The United States".

Metadata Metadata should be submitted as a separate file (e.g. in Excel sheet, Open Office, .csv). Metadata should contain the following information for each image, coded as shown below:

Field name	Data description	Options	Example
Image number	Image number assigned by the author, e.i. uploaded file name	Name defined by the author	DCS12335.jpg
Image title	Short image title, describing its content	Name defined by the author	Children on the beach
Session number	Session number assigned by the author (assigning the same number to all images taken during one session will make easier searching other images from the same session)	5 digit number defined by the author	55673
Creation date	Date of creating the image	Date defined by the author in yyyy-mm-dd format	2010-06-20
Format	Image orientation	1 - horizontal 2 - vertical 3 - square 4 - panoramic	1
Type	Content type	1 - photography 2 - illustration 3 - vectors 4 - footage	1
Angle	Shooting angle	1 - close-up 2 - above 3 - horizontal 4 - below 5 - aerial 6 - from space	2
Portrait	Portrait type	1 – portrait (head and shoulders) 2 - portrait 1/2 3 - portrait 3/4 4 - full length	2
Colour	Defining basic colours of the image	1 - colour 2 - black and white 3 - monochrome	1
Tonality	Defining image tonality (most images hace medium tones (03).	1 - low key 2 - high key 3 - medium 4 - extreme	3
Topic category	Image should be assigned to ONE topic category from the list below (some of the images may fit into several categories, still only one, best fitting category must be selected	1 - Abstract 2 - Architecture 3 - Business 4 - Education 5 - Concepts 6 - Landscapes 7 - People 8 - Maps 9 - Medicine 10 - Fashion 11 - Travels 12 - Objects 13 - Industry 14 - Nature 15 - Recreation 16 - Farming 17 - Entertainment 18 - Sport 19 - Lifestyle 20 - Environment 21 - Technology 22 - Texture 23 - Transport 24 - Beauty 25 - Animals 26 - Food 27 - Other	3
Usage	Creative images are offered for commercial use (must have model and property release). Editorial images do not need to have model and property release but should present real situations or events.	1 - creative 2 - editorial 3 - both	1
Model release	Information if model release has been obtained for the particular image (scans of these documents must be submitted. "Yes" should be selected only when model releases are available for all presented people in the image.	1 - yes 2 - no data available 3 - not applicable	1
Property release	Information if property release has been obtain for the particular image (scans of these documents must be submitted). "Yes" should be selected only when property releases are available for all presented properties in the image	1 - yes 2 - no data available 3 - not applicable	1
Code for Model	Number of particular model assigned by the author (assigning the same number to a model will make easier searching other images with the same model). 6-digit number should be assigned to a particular model, and then assign it to each image presenting the same model.	Number defined by the author in 6-digit format (codes separated with a space)	505033 505032
Restrictions	Any restrictions regarding image usage known to the author	Text entered by the author	Not to be licensed to tobacco companies.
Description	Image description. fotografii. 2-3 sentences describing briefly the image content. Information to be used in case of editorial images	Text entered by the author	In 1995 there was a car race near Olsztyn, participating drivers were: x, y, z. The image shows the winning team with x,y
Keywords	Each image should be tagged with at least 5 keywords; the preferred number of keywords according to this document is 20-30, depending on the image content	Keywords should be entered in one field (e.g. in one cell of a spreadsheet) and should be separated by commas (no spaces)	Woman,20-30  years old,beach,bathing suit,  sunbathe,read, suntan,sky,yellow, blue,water,sea,relax20-30,