Photographer, Egyptian Art

About the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Met presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world for everyone to experience and enjoy. The Museum lives in two iconic sites in New York City—The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters. Millions of people also take part in The Met experience online.

Since its founding in 1870, The Met has always aspired to be more than a treasury of rare and beautiful objects. We are committed to fostering a collaborative and respectful work environment with a staff as diverse as the audiences we engage. Our staff members are art lovers who are passionate about working toward a common goal: creating the most dynamic and inspiring art museum in the world.

At The Met, every staff member – from security officers to researchers to scientists and beyond – lives by our core values of respect, inclusivity, collaboration, excellence, and integrity. 

Respect: Engage one another with collegiality, empathy, and kindness, always.

Inclusivity: Ensure that all are and feel welcome and valued.

Collaboration: Reach across boundaries to exchange ideas and work together toward our shared mission.

Excellence: Lead the cultural world in quality and expertise—and inspire curiosity and creativity.

Integrity: Hold ourselves to the highest moral standards, admit when we fall short, and then evolve. 

GENERAL STATEMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES:

As the Photographer, Egyptian Art you will create, maintain and organize images of the collection. You will handle artwork, configure lighting, and act as the primary resource for departmental imaging efforts. You will oversee image production, post-production, and file management based on the needs of departmental projects and initiatives including its large collection of archival and excavation photography.

Please submit a portfolio of 15-20 images, preferably depicting objects in a range of sizes, materials, and types to be considered for this role.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES & DUTIES:

• Create high quality photography of works of art in the Egyptian Art Collection.

• Advise and consult on departmental projects and initiatives involving images or photography.

• Carefully handle works of art for imaging.

• Oversee all photography requests from image capture to post-production and file management for the department. Adjust images based on stakeholder feedback.

• In accordance with Archival practices, maintain digital photographic records for the department.

• Oversee the photography, image processing and file management of archival and excavation photographs for the department.

• Prepare illustrations, layouts and designs for departmental publications.

• Collaborate with staff members across the organization including Imaging, Collections, Curatorial, Conservation, Archives, Editorial and production teams.

REQUIREMENTS & QUALIFICATIONS:

• BA or BFA in Fine Arts, Photography, or related field preferred

• 3- 5 Years experience in object photography, especially fine art or antiques. Experience in a museum, gallery, or auction house setting preferred.

• Knowledge of Egyptian art preferred

• Advanced skills in photographing 2-D, and especially 3-D objects, with attention to avoiding reflection and distortion.

• Experience in handling works of art and a willingness to acquire the skillset necessary to specifically handle ancient Egyptian works of art with Department instruction

• Ability to work collaboratively and take direction from different stakeholders in the department about desired images and to adjust photography needs when requested

• Mastery of Adobe Camera Raw and Adobe Creative Cloud, especially Photoshop and Bridge; ability to independently post-process various kinds of images using this software

• Experience with digital cameras, ink jet printers, film and flatbed scanners, including Canon One EOS 5DS and EOS R5; Godox and Bowens moonlight sets; and Apple Mac Studio

• Understanding of DAMS; knowledge of TMS and NetX preferred

COMPENSATION RANGE:

• Pay Range: $80,000.00 - $90,000.00 / Annually

The advertised pay scale reflects the good faith minimum and maximum salary range for this role. The advertised pay scale is not a promise of a particular wage for any specific employee. The specific compensation offered to a candidate may be dependent on a variety of factors including, but not limited to, the candidate’s experience, education, special licensing or qualifications, and other factors.

Location Requirements

At time of employment, employees are expected to be located within commuting distance of the Museum. “Commuting distance” means that they are located in one of following states: New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, or Pennsylvania (the “Tri-state and PA” areas), and be able to commute to and from the Museum in a single day.

Benefits Offerings

The Museum provides competitive compensation, and generous benefits and perks for all eligible employees. Note: Benefits Offering may differ based on Employee Status.

• Medical, dental, vision and life insurance
• 403(b) basic retirement plan and optional matching retirement plan with an outstanding employer match
• Considerable paid time off, including annual leave, sick leave, and 13 Museum holidays
• Long-term disability coverage
• Flexible Spending Accounts & Health Savings Account (pre-tax income for eligible health care expenses)
• Commuter benefits (pre-tax income for parking or mass transit expenses)
• Free financial-planning services
• Financial assistance for relevant coursework, seminars, and training programs
• 25% discount for staff in Museum shops
• A subsidized staff cafeteria
• Access to the Museums Council pass, which grants free admission to various museums and cultural institutions

We recognize that it is highly unlikely that someone meets 100% of the desired attributes for a role. If much of this job description describes you, then please apply for this role.

The Met is committed to the full inclusion of all qualified individuals. As part of this commitment, The Met will ensure that persons with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations. If reasonable accommodation is needed in this process, please contact benefits@metmuseum.org.  

The Metropolitan Museum of Art provides equal opportunity to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, ancestry, age, mental or physical disability, pregnancy, alienage or citizenship status, marital status or domestic partner status, genetic information, genetic predisposition or carrier status, gender identity, HIV status, military status and any other category protected by law in all employment decisions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, compensation, training and apprenticeship, promotion, upgrading, demotion, downgrading, transfer, lay-off and termination, and all other terms and conditions of employment.