Professional photojournalists send in a story proposal together with a detailed budget estimate.

A board of advisors consisting of photography and journalism experts reviews the work and judges the photojournalist's capacity to accomplish the project and checks the validity of the budget. They will have a set list of criteria.

Individuals can make a contribution towards a project via Paypal.
Contributions start at $10. For this you get full access to the ‘making-of zone' where photojournalists communicate with their backers. Photojournalists may offer extra rewards for bigger contributions.
Photojournalists and their backers are encouraged to use all available social media tools to gather additional support for the project. A widget is available for this purpose.

A project has to reach 100% or more funding by the end of a set deadline.
If a project fails to reach 100% before the deadline all contributions are returned to the backers' accounts.
When a project is fully funded the money is transferred to the photojournalist; 15% goes to Emphasis for operational costs.

The project is then moved to the ‘making-of zone,' which is only available to backers of the project. Photojournalists will keep their backers updated about the progress of the story through blogging, video and pictures. Direct communication is also possible.

Interested media can acquire first publication rights in their market by funding up to 50% of a project. The money raised on Emphas.is is meant for expenses only; it is up to the photojournalist to negotiate a publication fee.
Backers will have the first, exclusive viewing of a finished project for 4 days before the photographer can show the work elsewhere.
Photographers whose projects are funded through Emphas.is keep the full rights and control over their images.

Emphas.is may display finished projects on its homepage.