During the weekend of June 7–8, Getty Images brought its Create by Getty Images interactive event series to Atlanta, spotlighting Getty Images and iStock’s creative talent. All this while responding to the growing demand for fresh, authentic visual content that reflects today’s evolving world, particularly the modern workplace. This intimate, hands-on event wasn’t just about making images. It was about building community, empowering creators, and producing content shaped by deep research and regional insight. It was also an opportunity for creators to connect, learn from Getty Images experts, and produce high-quality content for their portfolios and Getty Images platforms.
We caught up with Tristen Norman, Director and Head of Creative Insights and Curation for the Americas, and Renata Simoes de Aguiar, Director and Head of Creative Content for the Americas, to learn how this event—and the larger Create initiative—bridges Getty Images and iStock’s commitment to both creators and customers.
A Brief History: Evolving the “Create by Getty Images” Series
The Create series originally launched in 2005 but underwent a rebrand following the COVID-19 pandemic. Since its return, Getty Images has hosted Create events in Houston, Sydney, the Middle East (Dubai and Riyadh), Japan, Paris, and New York. Atlanta is the latest stop.
“Each event is about deepening our connection with local creator communities while producing content aligned with what our customers need—regionally and globally,” Renata explains.
“For Atlanta, our focus was the South,” adds Tristen, “It’s a region full of creative potential that has historically been under-tapped, even though many of our biggest clients are based there—Delta, Coca-Cola, and ISG. There’s incredible diversity and a distinctive Southern character that we wanted to capture.”
In comparison, the Houston event, which took place in May 2024, focused on everything from local Houstonian life and culture to everyday sustainability and life milestones. There were featured presentations, interactive workshops, portfolio reviews, and shoots that focused on capturing local Houstonian life and culture, with an emphasis on everyday sustainability, as well as family celebrations, local travel, small business shopping, coworking spaces, and more. Creators also had the opportunity to self-arrange shoots throughout the city to capture relevant local content. And like Create Atlanta, the Houston event aimed its focus on development, connection, and inspiration, resulting in unique content for Getty Images and iStock platforms.
A Collaborative Approach to Content Creation
Unlike open call events, Create by Getty Images events are an immersive experience for the company’s exclusive creators. For the Atlanta gathering, 11 selected creators attended a collaborative weekend designed to upskill, inspire, and execute their ideas.
Both Renata and Tristen explain that at Create Atlanta, “We had a mix of creators who did both still photography and video, or one or the other. We also captured video that complemented the entire Sunday shoot. This included establishing shots and immersive street POVs of people commuting to work on their bikes (one of our creators rode his skateboard while filming a model riding her bike to work). These are perspectives that are not possible when shooting only stills. We also had a scene focused on women’s leadership and a conference, where capturing people’s emotions and reactions on video complemented the key moments shot in stills.”
Demand for Video Content
The visionary team continues: “The demand for video content continues to grow rapidly across industries. Upskilling our creators in video ensures we consistently produce high-quality, relevant content that meets evolving client needs and keeps Getty Images at the forefront of visual storytelling.”
Preparation began weeks before. “We held a pre-event Zoom call where we explained the why behind the event,” Renata explains. “Tristen’s team walked everyone through the VisualGPS research and insights, helping them understand what types of imagery our customers are asking for and why. Then we shared casting choices, location previews, styling, and shot lists—plus gave the creators some homework to plan their visual approach.”
On Saturday, June 7, creators scouted the location, met with Getty Images’ creative team, and collaborated on shoot plans. By Sunday, they were ready. “We produced 22 shoots that day, all centered around the changing dynamics of the modern workplace,” says Renata. “That included hybrid meetings, flexible dress codes, intergenerational colleagues, and remote work dynamics—scenarios we see playing out in real life, every day.”
Adds Tristen, “Workplaces look so different now. Some companies are back in the office; others never returned. Zoom meetings are often hybrid—some employees are in the room while others are remote. Dress codes have relaxed, and Gen Z is well established in the workforce. We wanted to explore all of that visually.”
Not Just Business as Usual
While the focus was on workplace culture at the Atlanta event, Getty Images also produced four additional shoots that weekend on key content pillars: caregiving at home, small business ownership, and experiential travel for people aged 50 and older.
Getty Images’ team led the production efforts—scouting locations, hiring 17 models, coordinating shoots—but the main creative direction came from the collaboration between creators and Getty Images’ experts. “Our goal is to teach creators how to replicate this high-quality content at home,” says Renata. “We focused on natural light, real environments, and casting authentic people, not actors playing roles.”
Typically, once the shoots are complete, the creators select and edit their images with guidance from Getty Images’ team. Tristen’s curation team then steps in to highlight the best of those images within Getty Images’ library and customer-facing collections.
Meeting Two Needs at Once: Pre-shot and Custom Content
One unique aspect of the Atlanta event was that Getty Images’ custom content team was also on-site. “There are two main ways clients work with us,” says Tristen. “They either license pre-shot content from our library or they work with our custom content team to create bespoke visuals for their brand.”
In Atlanta, Getty Images did both. While exclusive creators shot imagery for Getty Images’ library based on existing briefs, the custom team executed a campaign for a major consumer goods brand, turning the weekend into a hybrid model of education, community, and real-time production.
Supporting Creators Year-Round
Create By Getty Images is just one way the visual media company nurtures its creative community. “We host monthly Zoom ‘Hangouts’ to present new briefs, brainstorm with creators, and talk through things like casting, styling, and production tips,” says Renata. “We’ve also built our own Learning Management System (LMS), which offers modules on everything from shooting video to using color palettes effectively. It’s about giving creators the tools to shoot authentically—and make money doing it.”
Getty Images’ commitment to authenticity extends to its work with advocacy organizations. “We’ve partnered with groups like GLAAD to develop guidelines for inclusive sets and to ensure our photographers are representing communities respectfully and accurately,” says Tristen. “This kind of investment is core to how we operate. It’s not just about what brands want to see—it’s about what people want to see. And what people deserve to see.”
What’s Next?
With Atlanta wrapped, Getty Images is now preparing for its next Create event in Mexico City—a return that was delayed in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The event is slated for the second half of this year, with two more planned in the Americas for 2026, as well as others scheduled in locations throughout Asia Pacific, Europe, and the Middle East.
As Tristen puts it, “We are not a passive marketplace. Every image in our library has a story, intention, and a real person behind it. We’re constantly asking: What does the world need to see right now? Our goal is to determine how we can help creators deliver that in the most powerful, authentic way possible.”
Below are links to several of the Getty Images collections, as well as the link to its VisualGPS research platform. This research fuels Getty Images’ content creation/development, and a few areas that help power the VisualGPS platform are proprietary search and download data from Getty Images’ platforms (Getty Images and iStock), consumer survey data and insights, the expertise and analysis of the Creative team, and image testing.
Feature Image: What’s Everyone’s Thoughts? [Woman at laptop engaging with Zoom attendees online]
(Credit: SolStock/Getty Images)
