Senior Photographer

The Senior Photographer is responsible for visually illustrating the University of Arizona experience by conceiving, directing, and executing high-quality photography across marketing, communications, and storytelling contexts, and by stewarding the resulting assets through the U of A digital asset library. Reporting to the Executive Director of Video and Photography, the Senior Photographer exercises considerable creative and technical latitude with a high degree of independence to advance the U of A's strategic imperatives. This position collaborates across the University Marketing and Communications division and with campus partners to influence visual standards and deliver versatile, high-quality photography that serves a wide range of internal and external audiences and platforms.

This position regularly works on location across campus. Productions may occur after hours or on weekends depending on project needs.

Visa sponsorship is not available for this position.

Outstanding U of A benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance plans; life insurance and disability programs; paid vacation, sick leave, and holidays; U of A/ASU/NAU tuition reduction for the employee and qualified family members; retirement plans; access to U of A recreation and cultural activities; and more!

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Visual Content Creation and Creative Direction:

• Conceptualize, plan, and lead photography projects across a variety of styles and contexts, exercising independent creative judgment to determine the overall concept, look, and feel of each project across print and digital media.
• Evaluate project briefs and stakeholder needs to determine the appropriate photographic approach, style, and creative strategy before production begins.
• Collaborate with external stakeholders, including third-party agency partners supporting brand initiatives, advertising campaigns, and media placements, as well as news and media organizations seeking photography to support campus events, institutional storytelling, and news releases; provides creative guidance to ensure imagery aligns with brand standards, messaging objectives, and editorial needs.
• Compose and photograph a wide range of subject matter, from portraiture and lifestyle to environments and objects, applying lighting, composition, and camera settings to achieve the intended outcome.
• Capture images with intentionality across multiple aspect ratios and framing considerations, delivering assets sized and composed for web, social, and print use cases from a single production.
• Operate and maintain cameras, lenses, tripods, professional lighting, and other photography equipment across studio, location, and outdoor shooting environments.

Digital Asset Management:

• Lead digital asset management activities for photo and video content, including uploading and organizing files, applying metadata and tagging standards, maintaining folder structures, and ensuring assets are easily searchable and accessible across the division.
• Develop and implement DAM workflows and taxonomy standards that serve the long-term findability and reuse of the university's visual asset library.
• Collaborate with campus partners and MarCom colleagues to ensure assets are cleared, rights-managed, and published appropriately following each production.

Post-Production and Editing:

• Edit, retouch, and optimize photos in preparation for distribution across a variety of platforms, ensuring consistency with U of A brand standards.
• Apply advanced post-production techniques, including color correction, compositing, and image restoration, to achieve the intended effect and comprehension.
• Manage delivery specifications across platforms, ensuring assets meet technical requirements for web, social, and print distribution.

Visual Identity and Photography Standards:

• In collaboration with University Marketing and Communications leadership, develop and implement a recognizable university photography style that advances and reinforces the U of A's brand identity across all channels and audiences.
• Serve as a subject matter expert and advocate for photographic best practices within the division and across campus, influencing visual standards and contributing to the creative consistency and quality of the team's output.

Campus Partnership and Collaboration:

• Partner with colleges, units, and campus stakeholders on collaborative photography projects, communicating with management and leadership to ensure project goals are met.
• Communicate effectively with non-creative stakeholders, including administrators, researchers, faculty, and clinical staff, to translate project needs into production plans and deliver assets that serve multiple downstream use cases.
• Contribute creative and production insight during planning and development phases, attending meetings and offering strategic perspective on how photography can advance project objectives.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities (KSAs):

• Proficiency across a variety of photography styles and contexts.
• Proficiency in professional photo editing and cataloging software, such as Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop, with advanced retouching and compositing skills.
• Proficiency with studio and location lighting across flash, continuous, and natural light environments.
• Organization and technical skills needed to support management of a photo and video library, including familiarity with metadata standards, taxonomy, and digital rights management.
• Ability to communicate effectively with non-creative stakeholders, including researchers, faculty, and clinical staff, to translate project needs into production plans and deliver assets that serve multiple downstream use cases.

Physical Requirements:

• Work is occasionally performed outdoors and may require exposure to varying weather conditions, including prolonged periods of high heat.
• Ability to lift, move, transport up to 35 lbs.

This job posting reflects the general nature and level of work expected of the selected candidate(s). It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties and responsibilities. The institution reserves the right to amend or update this description as organizational priorities and institutional needs evolve.

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent advanced learning attained through professional level experience required.
• Minimum of 8 years of relevant work experience, or equivalent combination of education and work experience.

• Experience capturing photography content in an academic research and/or clinical environment.
• Experience with video production and post-production.