Photo Production Manager

Pulse Trading Cards; Neptune City (NJ); Remote; USD 80,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

Pulse Trading Cards in the United States is seeking a Photo Production Manager to own the photography pipeline—from sourcing images to coordinating athlete shoots and delivering final files to our creative team.

You will build a reliable network of photographers and image providers, manage budgets and usage rights, and collaborate with partnerships, product, and design teams to support every card release.

Qualifications

• Experience in photo production, photo research or editing, art buying, or related production roles.
• Experience working directly with photographers, photo agencies, or image providers.
• Experience coordinating photo shoots, including schedules, briefs, vendors, budgets, and deliverables.
• Practical understanding of photography usage rights and the documentation needed to manage them.
• Strong visual judgment, including the ability to assess composition, resolution, image quality, and crop flexibility.
• Familiarity with retouching and post-production workflows.
• Confidence negotiating fees, communicating expectations, and following through with outside partners.

Responsibilities

• Source and select photography, translating upcoming releases into image needs by athlete, subject, style, and deadline.
• Organize multi-athlete sessions by identifying events and coordinating access, space, and session times.
• Build photographer and image-provider relationships across markets; maintain rosters with locations, rates, and usage terms.
• Manage image rights and documentation, including permissions, restrictions, credits, expiration dates, and reporting obligations.
• Oversee outsourced retouching by preparing briefs, prioritizing feedback, and coordinating approvals.
• Maintain our image library and production workflow with consistent naming, metadata, and version control.

Skills

Photo production

Photo research

Agency/vendor coordination

Image rights management

Shoot scheduling

Budget management

Retouching coordination

Vendor negotiations

File organization

Team collaboration

Tools

Job description

Photo Production Manager — Sports & Trading Cards

Pulse Trading Cards
Location: Remote — United States
Employment Type: Full-time
Travel: Occasional travel for athlete photo shoots and events

About Pulse Trading Cards

Pulse Trading Cards creates sports, entertainment, and licensed trading card products for collectors. As our athlete roster, brand partnerships, and release calendar expand, we're building the team and processes behind our next stage of growth.

We're looking for a Photo Production Manager to own our photography pipeline—from finding the right images to coordinating athlete shoots and delivering approved files to our creative team.

About the Role

You'll source photography from image companies, agencies, and independent photographers, secure appropriate usage rights, and build a reliable network of photography partners.

When new photography is needed, you'll make it happen: find a local photographer, coordinate with the athlete and their representatives, develop the brief with our creative team, and manage the shoot through final delivery.

You'll also organize opportunities to photograph multiple athletes at one location, particularly around tournaments, showcases, camps, signing events, and other gatherings where players are already present.

This is a hands-on role with ownership of sourcing, scheduling, budgets, outside partners, retouching coordination, and our image library. You'll work closely with our creative, athlete partnerships, and product teams to ensure photography supports every release.

Key Responsibilities

Source and select photography

• Translate upcoming releases into clear image needs by athlete, subject, style, and deadline.
• Research and obtain images from photo agencies, image companies, photographer archives, athlete representatives, and other approved sources.
• Partner with the creative team to select images with strong composition, appropriate resolution, and suitability for trading card layouts.
• Identify missing imagery early and determine whether to source existing photography or commission a new shoot.
• Work with our athlete partnerships team, agents, and player representatives to arrange access and availability.
• Find, hire, and coordinate local photographers near athletes, reducing unnecessary travel and making sessions easier to schedule.
• Develop briefs and shot lists with the creative team, including portraits, action poses, expressions, and compositions suited to different card designs.
• Manage locations, schedules, wardrobe requirements, equipment needs, budgets, and deliverables.
• Confirm required agreements and permissions are in place and ensure images are delivered accurately and on time.

Organize multi-athlete sessions

• Identify events and gatherings where multiple athletes can be photographed efficiently.
• Coordinate with event organizers and athlete representatives to arrange authorized access, suitable space, and session times.
• Build schedules that accommodate player availability and keep sessions moving.
• Organize photographers, lighting, backdrops, staffing, and file-delivery requirements.
• Establish a consistent process for identifying each athlete's files and checking that required shots are captured before the session ends.

Build photographer and image-provider relationships

• Develop a dependable network of photographers across key markets and sports.
• Build ongoing relationships with agencies and image companies to expand access to relevant photography.
• Maintain a roster of partners, including locations, specialties, rates, availability, and usage arrangements.
• Negotiate project scope, pricing, turnaround times, and deliverables within approved budgets.

Manage image rights and documentation

• Obtain and track usage permissions for photography used in our cards and supporting creative projects.
• Confirm that agreements cover intended uses and document restrictions, credit requirements, expiration dates, and reporting obligations.
• Maintain organized agreements and connect licensing records to the corresponding images.
• Flag unclear rights or additional permissions for leadership and legal review before production.

Oversee outsourced retouching

• Prepare source files and clear briefs for our external retouching partners.
• Set priorities, communicate deadlines, consolidate feedback, and manage revisions.
• Review returned assets for completeness, image quality, and alignment with creative and technical requirements.
• Coordinate final approvals and deliver production-ready files to the design team.

Maintain our image library and production workflow

• Establish consistent file naming, athlete identification, metadata, folder structures, and version control.
• Keep original images, working files, approved assets, and associated rights records organized and searchable.
• Track image usage across products and prepare required reports for photographers and licensing partners.
• Maintain visibility into deadlines, costs, missing images, and outstanding approvals.
• Identify and resolve delays before they affect design or production schedules.

Qualifications

• Relevant experience in photo production, photo research or editing, art buying, image acquisition, or a related creative-production role.
• Experience working directly with photographers, photo agencies, or other image providers.
• Experience coordinating photo shoots, including schedules, briefs, vendors, budgets, and deliverables.
• Practical understanding of photography usage rights and the documentation needed to manage them.
• Strong visual judgment, including the ability to assess composition, resolution, image quality, and crop flexibility.
• Familiarity with retouching and post-production workflows.
• Confidence negotiating fees, communicating expectations, and following through with outside partners.