Getting my photography in magazines

I am interested in trying to get my images published in magazines, but am not sure the proper way or who to send photos to. I was thinking of putting 12-20 images on CD's and sending to different magazines. Would this be the most appropriet way to go about getting in magazines. Are there other steps to take when submitting photos? I am an amatuer but would love to go full time one day. I still have a lot to learn and need tons more practice. Any help on getting published would be great. Thanks

You should contact the magazine and ask for their submission guidelines. Each publication is a little different. Some accept digital submissions and others don't. Some may have these guidelines posted on their web site as well.

Guy

Hi Clint

The Photographer's Market would be a book you would want to pick up & start going through. Its a huge book that lists magazines, book publishers, calendar companies, etc that accept photo submissions & their guidelines for doing so.

Also, a book by John Shaw called "The Business of Nature Photography" would give you some really good information.

Don't overlook the possibilities not in Photographers' Market or on the web- the smaller publications close to home. They need photos too, and though they might or might not pay as much as the nationals, your ratio of sales to queries will be higher along with income. It's a whole lot easier to make a sale when you can walk in the door, get acquainted with the staff, and go over photos while sipping coffee.

In the changing world we live in, don't overlook online publications and advertizing, especially for businesses close to home. These too can be a significant source of income, usually much more approachable than "the biggies."

There are lots of business models out there, but we have focused on the markets I just cited and more. No regrets whatsoever, and though we aren't national names, we sure make a comfortable living. Compared to income from local sources, it's simply not worth our time to bother with national mags. The market is simply too crowded, while smaller markets closer to home are often begging for photography and willing to pay reasonablly well.

I've found this book to be very informative.

One of the best ways to get your photos in magazines is to give the editors a reason to publish your photos. That is, write articles to go along with your images.
Take a look at some magazines that could use your kind of photography and come up with some article ideas that will fit the magazine's content. Send query letters outlining your ideas (don't send the whole article).
If you haven't done much writing, it's a good idea to take some classes or read some books about article writing.

Rod makes an outstanding point. Don't just think of photo mags, though. Your special interests and talents beyond photography almost certainly have their own publications, and this can be especially fertile ground. Combine your expertice in that area with great photos, and you're a natural for publication.

I'll second Hank and Rod's comments. I bought Photographer's Market for 2-3 years and spent an enormous amount of time sending in unsolicited submissions and made only a handful of sales. You are far better off spending your time finding out which local or regional magazines use the type of images you photograph and focus on them (or go out and photograph the subjects and styles they like). Like Rod mentioned, the chances of having your photos published are several times higher if you can write essays to go along with the photos. The monetary benefits are also much higher since you'll be paid for writing as well as several photos to go with it. While local or regional magazines pay less you'll find that you can sell many more photos since there's so much less competition.

If you do want to target national magazines I think your best bet is having a website, perhaps through a web portal like NPN. Rather than the old fashioned way of sending in unsolicited material or essay queries spend as much time as you can uploading and then writing keywords. The majority of my national sales were through clients that I had never sent anything to and had never heard of my business. They found me by simply searching the internet. Once I do make a sale or get my foot in the door I then will start a regular schedule of sending out promo mailers, essay queries, etc. Randy

I too agree with Rod. Marrying photos with writing is a more persuasive package. Magazines are may be looking for word content and not just photo content. Are you a gardener, for example? Or a hiker/camper? There are a lot of smaller, special interest publications that accept unsolicited submissions. These don't typically pay as much as larger, national publications but it's a good way to get a foot in the door and perhaps make a bit of money to support your habit, er, hobby and you're getting paid for both the copy and images.

Clint,
Did you have any luck and if so what did you do?