Photographer Job at Smithsonian Institution in Washington

Example: Non-sensitive (NS)/Low Risk

Trust Fund positions are unique to the Smithsonian. They are paid for from a variety of sources, including the Smithsonian endowment, revenue from our business activities, donations, grants, and contracts. Trust employees are not part of the civil service, nor does trust fund employment lead to Federal status. The salary ranges for trust positions are generally the same as for federal positions and in many cases trust and federal employees work side by side. Trust employees have their own benefit program, which may include Health, Dental & Vision Insurance, Life Insurance, Transit/Commuter Benefits, Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance, Annual and Sick Leave, Family Friendly Leave, 403b Retirement Plan, Discounts for Smithsonian Memberships, Museum Stores and Restaurants, Credit Union, Smithsonian Early Enrichment Center (Child Care), Flexible Spending Account (Health & Dependent Care).

This position is located within the Registrar’s Office, Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM), Under Secretary for Museums and Culture, Smithsonian Institution (SI). The Smithsonian American Art Museum is dedicated to collecting, understanding, and enjoying American art. The Museum celebrates the extraordinary creativity of artists whose works reflect the American experience and global connections.

The purpose of this position is to photograph a variety of two- and three-dimensional art objects including but not limited to paintings, sculptures, decorative arts, and graphic arts. Photographs are used for object documentation, scholarly publications, exhibition catalogues, research projects, reproductions, publicity, commercial merchandise, and social media.

· Photographs a variety of two- and three-dimensional objects—paintings, sculpture, decorative objects, graphic artworks, etc.—in color with various digital technology.

· Contributes to the digital photography needs of the museum, including photography of SAAM’s ever-growing collection and robust exhibition program.

· Photographs hundreds of artworks per year with various medium format digital cameras including those that are fragile, light-sensitive, and often extremely valuable works of art from miniature size to contemporary over life-size objects which belong to the museum or are on loan from other institutions or private individuals.

· Responsible for selecting appropriate equipment, cameras, lenses, lights, filters, studio props and views to capture aesthetic quality of the object and to achieve desired objectives of the assignment.

· Plans assignments; selecting appropriate cameras, props, backgrounds, and views; and consults with Senior Photographer and curatorial professionals to communicate technical problems and to develop solutions to achieve objectives of photographic assignments.

· Exercises artistic ability, technical accuracy, and aesthetic judgment in planning and composing photographs to achieve desired result.

· Retouches, edits, color corrects, and composites photographs as required.

· Manages digital files, digital archiving, and metadata embedding as required by the needs of the staff and external clients. Coordinates digital asset management with Senior Photographer and other SAAM staff.

· Responsible for communicating and scheduling with staff; planning the photography assignment; communicating technical limitations, modifications or improvements to requestor and supervisor; and improvising with available equipment, space or props to achieve objectives or special effects within technical limitations.

· Responsible for coordinating arrangements for movement of objects to and from the various photo studios with appropriate Collections Managers, their supervisor, and other photographers in the studios.

· Keeps cameras, lenses, studio equipment, computers, monitors, external hard drives, printers, etc. protected, calibrated, updated with the latest software and hardware, and performs and/or informs of necessary technical calibrations and upgrades as needed.

· Keeps abreast of constantly changing digital technology and communicates need for equipment updates and materials for the Victor Building (VB) photo studio with supervisor as needed, and within budgetary restrictions.

Education (if positive education is required) and Experience: To qualify for this position, applicants must possess a bachelor’s degree (B.A.) from an accredited four-year college or university and 3-5 years of related experience (described below); or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Experience required for this position is as follows:

· Specialized knowledge and experience in documentary photography for art reproduction and/or studio photography, including knowledge of a variety of cameras, lenses, software/hardware, lighting techniques, color management, and calibration and profiling.

· Specialized knowledge of techniques used for art reproduction and documentation in order to plan creative shots, to manage specialized set-ups, to overcome special handling problems, to problem solve with a creative team.

· Knowledge of digital imaging and digital asset storage technologies as they apply to photographic image archiving and active image files.

· Knowledge of the methods, materials, and platforms necessary to achieve digital archival permanence for photographic materials.

· Skill in the use of photography software available on computer operating systems in order to edit photography and/or graphics (e.g., Macintosh and Windows operating systems).

· Skill in the use of a wide range of photography tools to take pictures for a wide range of objects and art subjects, such as medium format camera systems (Hasselblad and/or Phase One camera systems), camera/software tethering (Phocus and/or Capture One Pro/Cultural Heritage software are a plus), Nikon DSLR cameras, color measurement and profiling products and software, FileMaker Pro, QuickTime, digital asset management systems, Canon and Epson printers.

· Skill in communicating information to others, both verbally and in writing, in a clear and concise manner.

· Skill to work as part of a photography team and ability to work independently on projects.

· Ability to keep up with advances in digital technology and cultural heritage standards due to rapidly changing nature of the cultural heritage imaging and museum fields.

· Knowledge of art documentary photography and art in order to understand objectives of assignment, to balance technical limitations against art historical concepts to be conveyed, to plan special props and background set-ups, and to achieve photographic effects as required.

· Skill to handle rare and fragile works of art in order to place objects for photography, plan desirable views, improvise props or set-ups, etc.

· Artistic ability in order to arrange aesthetically pleasing compositions, illustrate art historical points or concepts, and to produce publication-quality photographs for long-term digital preservation of museum collections.

Education completed outside the United States must be deemed equivalent to higher education programs of U.S. Institutions by an organization that specializes in the interpretation of foreign educational credentials. This documentation is the responsibility of the applicant and should be included as part of your application package.

Any false statement in your application may result in rejection of your application and may also result in termination after employment begins.

Join us in "Inspiring Generations through Knowledge and Discovery."

Resumes should include a description of your paid and non-paid work experience that is related to this job; starting and ending dates of job (month and year); and average number of hours worked per week.

What To Expect Next: Once the vacancy announcement closes, a review of your resume will be compared against the qualification and experience requirements related to this job. After review of applicant resumes is complete, qualified candidates will be referred to the hiring manager.

Relocation expenses are not paid.

The Smithsonian Institution provides reasonable accommodation to applicants with disabilities where appropriate. Applicants requiring reasonable accommodation should contact [weinwurmd@si.edu]. Determinations on requests for reasonable accommodation will be made on a case-by-case basis. To learn more, please review the Smithsonian’s Accommodation Procedures.

The Smithsonian Institution is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We believe that a workforce comprising a variety of educational, cultural, and experiential backgrounds support and enhance our daily work life and contribute to the richness of our exhibitions and programs. See Smithsonian EEO program information: https://www.si.edu/oeesd.