"Marketing Photographer"

Job Details

Position Summary:

The Photographer plans, executes, and delivers high-quality photography for recruitment, stewardship, institutional memory, and reputation-building communications. This role owns the organization, optimization, and long-term management of the College’s digital photo archives, ensuring assets are easily discoverable, archived, and aligned with branding standards. In close association with other members of the Marketing & Communications team, the position articulates the college-wide and recruitment brands to internal and external constituent groups.

The ideal candidate is an ambitious self-starter with strong creative vision, excellent logistical and planning abilities, and the drive to work proactively with exceptional customer service. They bring organization, problem-solving skills, and the ability to balance fast-turnaround assignments as well as long-term strategic projects. This person will demonstrate the ability to thrive independently, as part of the creative team, and within the larger Marketing & Communications department. This position is on-site at the Fort Lewis College campus.

Job Description:

Major responsibilities

• Shoots high-quality, creative photography that visually represents the Fort Lewis College brand in editorial, event-based, environmental, and studio settings. Photoshoots could include regular and one-time college events, academic classes, student life activities, outdoor activities (on- and off-campus), athletics, general campus scenery, and community. Photography will also include headshots and in studio portraits. Photos will be used across recruitment, web, social media, fundraising, and advertising.
• Leads the planning, logistics, and execution of photoshoots, including scouting locations, coordinating with campus partners, building shot lists, managing equipment, and ensuring efficient on-site workflow.
• Manages and maintains the College’s digital asset management (DAM) system, including ingesting, culling, editing, tagging, and archiving assets according to naming conventions and keyword standards. Ensures photos are organized, consistently labeled, and easily accessible to campus stakeholders.
• Attends regular marketing meetings and is a strategic contributor and creative innovator within the scope of Photography, offering an elevated level of experience to benefit the department and campus-partners.
• Helps vision and manage the College’s general brand(s), in coordination with the Art Director on visual branding.
• Leads, manages, and mentors student interns in conjunction with the Art Director, Social Media Coordinator, and Videographer.
• Produces and remediates digitally accessible materials in accordance with FLC standards.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
• This position reports to the Art Director and as part of the Marketing & Communications department.

Minimum qualifications

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in Photography, Art, Journalism, Communication, or relevant experience equivalent.
• Two or more years of professional photography experience and proficiency in natural and studio lighting scenarios.
• Full literacy with photo editing suites such as Adobe Photoshop or Lightroom.
• Strong project management and organizational skills with the ability to plan photoshoots end-to-end, including scouting, scheduling, developing shot lists, and preparing equipment.
• Demonstrated professionalism while on assignment and a high level of organization.
• Experience in front line customer service.
• A demonstrated commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and student success, as well as working with broadly diverse communities.

Preferred qualifications

• Five or more years of professional photography experience.
• Video shooting and editing experience.
• Drone certification and experience.
• Experience working with a digital asset management tool and archiving.
• Understanding of and creative, fresh approach to photography and visual storytelling.
• Familiarity with Fort Lewis College and its culture.
• Ability to work with and communicate in a digital workflow environment – including email, online data storage and content exchange, multiple file formats, digital project management and reporting systems, etc.
• Experience designing and managing high-volume workflows for digital asset management systems.
• Strong production skills—including talent coordination, location scouting, and shoot logistics.
• Proven ability to pitch creative concepts and visually interpret brand messages.

Work conditions

The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that an employee can expect while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Moderate noise (i.e. business office with computers, phone, and printers, light traffic).
• Ability to work in a confined area.
• Ability to sit at a computer terminal for an extended period of time.

Physical Demands:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by the employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential function

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to, crouch, kneel, stand, walk, climb, lift, grasp, sit, talk, and use hands and fingers to operate a camera, lighting, and other shoot equipment and supplies.
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision requirements due to computer and camera work
• Moderate lifting is required

Travel

Less than 5% travel time is expected for this position.

FLSA status/position type/expected hours of work

• Exempt
• Full Time
• Permanent
• Full Year
• Typical Work hours are Monday to Friday, 8 am to 5pm

Salary

The salary range is $52,000 to $55,000, plus a comprehensive benefits package

Application Process

A complete application packet includes:

• Cover letter addressing interest and qualifications for the position
• Resume
• Names and contact information for three current, professional references

Applicant materials received by 11:59 pm on January 4, 2026, will receive full consideration.

The successful candidate will be required to submit original, official college transcripts and pass a background check.

About Fort Lewis College:

On a sage-brushed mesa overlooking downtown Durango and the La Plata Mountains, Fort Lewis College is Southwest Colorado’s premier public undergraduate research institution. With more than half of the 3,300 students identifying as people of color, FLC’s academic programming and campus life thrive on nurturing safe, diverse spaces for intellectual exploration and helping people achieve their career goals. A Native American-serving, Non-Tribal Institution, FLC is committed to promoting economic development in neighboring tribal communities and connecting students with the education they need to be the change in the world they want to see. Degree programs span the arts, business, education, health sciences, humanities, and social and natural sciences. Coursework builds on the natural, cultural, and historical resources found around the Four Corners region. Students work closely with faculty on research projects with real-world implications. Like the mountain town it resides in, FLC promotes a culture of work-life balance for students, faculty, and staff. Skyhawks enjoy unparalleled access to a healthy outdoor lifestyle thanks to 300 days of sunshine a year and more than 300 miles of hiking and biking trails in and around Durango