Commercial Photography – Shooting For Magazines
Digital photography has caused a massive surge in the popularity of this once mysterious art. Secrets of the darkroom, once accessible only through years of study and practice, are now widely available in digital photo editing suites. Film which would cost a professional photographer hundreds of dollars over time has been replaced by memory cards with infinite reshoot possibilities, and the low cost of entry for digital has allowed thousands of new users to jump into the fray with minimal financial risk. This explosion of new photographers has helped to broaden the market for both publications and photographers themselves, creating new sources of images and new places to sell them. So how do you get started as a professional photographer? It’s not as hard as you might think so let’s take a look at the world of print media.
What Do Magazines Want?
Although there are lots of magazines covering celebrity gossip and trendy news, there are also thousands of other magazines on just about every subject from celebrities like Brad Pitt to well known doctors like James Bicher MD. There are magazines on cars, dogs, computers, fitness, home decor, cooking and so many others. Magazines like these are always on the look out for relevant and useful images for their audiences.
Think about it this way: a photograph of a celebrity is certainly valuable, but normal magazines need normal photographs every single month. For example, dog magazines, will never stop needing dog photos so why not focus on a specific niche?
How Do I Get Started?
The best thing to do is find a niche that you like. No matter what you love to take pictures of, there is probably a market for it somewhere. Once you’ve decided on a market, swing by your local bookstore and grab a few magazines off the rack. Be looking for the kind of photos that they use and think about if those are the kinds of pictures you could take. Make sure that you’re really honest with yourself at this stage because if you can’t shoot the kind of quality pictures that they’re using then you need to keep practicing before you start.
Look through each magazine and find contact information for the photo editor, or information on how to go about making submissions. It is important to figure these guidelines out before sending anything, as submissions that do not meet the guidelines will likely not be accepted. Once you know where and how to send your photo, send it in. It’s always good to accompany the photo with a brief note – this is a good place to link your portfolio.
The Waiting Game
When you submit a photo to a magazine, be prepared to wait a few weeks for a response. Magazines are a print media, and even if accepted your photographs will not show up for a few months. Additionally, it’s always best to only submit each photo to one publication at a time, this way you don’t run the risk of having to decline an offer because another editor has chosen to use your image.
Most magazines will note their usual wait time for a response, which can be anywhere between two and eight weeks. If you haven’t heard anything after this time has expired it’s okay to send a follow-up note reminding the editor of your submission. Just keep it polite! And if you’re really daring you could always send them one of your photos framed in a picture frame.
What’s so suprising about selling pictures to magazines is that the process is so easy. All you have to do is find it, shoot it and mail (plus a little waiting). Selling your first photo to a magazine may sound like a crazy dream, but once you get into the habit of making submissions you’ll be amazed you didn’t try it sooner!
December 4, 2010
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Posted by Jam Man
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