The Bob Adelman Photograph Archive is comprised of over 541,000 items encompassing an extensive variety of photographic material across his career as a documentary photographer and photojournalist. Predominantly 8x10 black-and-white photographic prints and 35mm black-and-white negatives and contact sheets, the collection reflects some of the most iconic and historic moments associated with the civil rights movement which is a main focal point of the collection. These scenes include some of the most well-known images of Martin Luther King, Jr. speaking to the massive crowd during the March on Washington, Malcom X addressing audiences in New York City, activities and leaders of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), and civil rights marches in Selma, Birmingham, and Montgomery, Ala.

Adelman was a member of Magnum Photos and worked for several news outlets, including Vanity Fair and Life , as a photojournalist and documentarian of people. His work includes behind-the-scenes and intimate looks at the lives of a number of people including athletes from the Pittsburgh Pirates and writers Raymond Carver, James Baldwin, and Ann Beattie. He also photographed many artists such as Roy Lichtenstein and James Rosenquist, capturing their processes and studios in great detail. Additional subjects include celebrities such as Sidney Poitier, capturing both their professional lives performing and personal lives in their homes surrounded by friends and family.

In addition to people, Adelman photographed various destinations and locales. New York City is a popular subject and featured heavily in the collection. Adelman photographed in great detail the five boroughs and a number of neighborhoods in New York City such as Bed-Stuy (Bedford-Stuyvesant) and Harlem. Adelman also traveled abroad, visiting France, Israel, Jamaica, and the Mariana Islands documenting visits to hotels and tourism activities.

His photo essays and published books with author Susan Hall are also well documented throughout the collection. Jobs associated with his publications often include book proofs and edited photographs with annotations and captions, giving an in-depth look at the process and inner workings involved in compiling large bodies of photographs for publishing. Publications such as The Next America , Gentlemen of Leisure , and Down Home give detailed views into daily American life and include themes such as adult entertainment and nightlife, eroticism, sexuality, poverty, racism, and voting rights.

Another significant portion of the collection includes black-and-white photographic prints and color slides related to Adelman's personal life. These groups of images include collections of some of his earliest work as a student and early career as a photographer. Subjects include Adelman's friends and family as well as his weight loss journey.