Novel tetrapyrollic water soluble photosensitizing and imaging compounds and the methods of treating and imaging hyperproliferative tissue, e.g. tumors and hypervacularized tissue such as found in macular degeneration. Broadly, the compounds are tetrapyrollic photosensitizer compounds where the tetrapyrollic compound is a chlorin, bacteriochlorin, porphyrin, pyropheophorbide, purpurinimide, or bacteriopurpurinimide having 3 to 6 —CH2CONHphenylCH2CH(N(CH2COOH)2))(CH2N(CH2COOH)(CH2CH2N(CH2COOH)2)) groups or esters thereof or complexes thereof with gadolinium(III).