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Capt. Matt C

Photos for magazine articles

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Hi Guys,

 

Quick question....

 

When taking shots for magazine articles what camera settings are necessary?

 

What type of file should the imgages be downloaded in?

 

How should the images be sent?

 

Thanks in advance.

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Matt, what you could do is drop a line to the magazines you're interested in and ask them what their requirements for submissions are. Just check the mastheads and find out who the art directors or photo editors are. You can probably do it by email.

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Every magazine is different. I, for example, prefer email for all my communications. I know others that still do everything by mail.

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Every magazine is different. I, for example, prefer email for all my communications. I know others that still do everything by mail.

 

Grab The Photographers Market 2009. It has a list of all kinds of magazines that are looking for photos. You can find how to submit, what type of photos they take, what they pay and what they need. THey also have a few quick little articles about how to request guidelines and things like that.

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Thanks for the replies. Let me rephrase. I recently had an article I wrote accepted by a major magazine.

 

the photos were unusable becasue they were resized???? I scanned the photos from my comp after downloaded them from my camera and never touched them other than to scan.

 

Now its not that big of a deal, the article is still running but with illustrations instead of photos.

 

My question is mainly, how can I prevent resizing etc... When downloaded my pics. In addition, I know that JPEG Files do not work well to save the pics. What is the best way to save the files?

 

Thanks Again Guys.

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Its depends on the magazine.

 

Some prefer JPEG, some prefer RAW, some prefer you send slides so they can scan them with their slide scanner. Its a very vague question thats probably best directed to the magazine running your article. Duane

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I am certainly no expert, but enjoyed the very good fortune to work with six different editors last year – and each has his own preferences for image files. As others have noted, submission requirements can be remarkably different from one publisher to another. What did I learn?

 

  • Get a copy of the publisher’s submission guidelines and follow them to the letter.
  • You have much more flexibility with your images if you can shoot in a RAW format and process/save to an uncompressed TIF file. Save the RAW (some editors only accept RAW) and backup as a digital negative (DNG), embedding the original RAW if you have these options available to you.
  • Editors need the ability to crop/size your work, alter the color management scheme, adjust settings, and maximize the image for their specific application.
  • You, and your pictures, need to be as editor-friendly as possible, especially if you want to work with that editor again.
  • There is nothing inherently wrong with JPG files, although they have some significant limitations. Two magazines I worked with recently accepted high resolution JPG files – although each preferred TIF.
  • Always allow the editor the greatest freedom possible to use your images.

Check your camera manual and see what options you have for file formats and image quality. I like the RAW-TIF approach, but it is an individual preference.

 

Good luck, hope I did not miss your point entirely.

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I am certainly no expert, but enjoyed the very good fortune to work with six different editors last year – and each has his own preferences for image files. As others have noted, submission requirements can be remarkably different from one publisher to another. What did I learn?

 

  • Get a copy of the publisher’s submission guidelines and follow them to the letter.
  • You have much more flexibility with your images if you can shoot in a RAW format and process/save to an uncompressed TIF file. Save the RAW (some editors only accept RAW) and backup as a digital negative (DNG), embedding the original RAW if you have these options available to you.
  • Editors need the ability to crop/size your work, alter the color management scheme, adjust settings, and maximize the image for their specific application.
  • You, and your pictures, need to be as editor-friendly as possible, especially if you want to work with that editor again.
  • There is nothing inherently wrong with JPG files, although they have some significant limitations. Two magazines I worked with recently accepted high resolution JPG files – although each preferred TIF.
  • Always allow the editor the greatest freedom possible to use your images.

Check your camera manual and see what options you have for file formats and image quality. I like the RAW-TIF approach, but it is an individual preference.

 

Good luck, hope I did not miss your point entirely.

 

Thats what I was looking for. I plan on asking the editor as well but thought Id check here as well. I only have a cannon power shot, it takes great pics but Im not sure ho to set to RAW if I can at all. I have to look into it. thanks again guys.

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You're getting some great advice here Matt. The only thing I'd add is that if you think you'll be doing this on a regular basis, you may want to consider upgrading to an SLR at some point. It's an investment, but there's absolutely no need to spend thousands on one of the top-of-the-line models. Plus, you can most likely write it off as a business expense.

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Hi Matt,

 

I see you have some great answers so the thing I will re-suggest is to get the Writer's & Photographer's Guideline for the publication in question. Also, ask for their Stylesheet (some call it their dictionary) to learn how they expect words to be spelled; most of them have some-type of document they go by. And if you don't have one, you need an AP Stylebook (available in print format or online). It's a publication that provides direction to authors who write in English how the AP wants their articles structure/words spelled, etc. and is used as a standard (for the most part) here in the US. EX: One change in the 2008 version over previous years is the proper way to write a telephone number. The old way = (208) 555-1213 and the new way = 208-555-1213. The book is about 2-inches thick so it can be a challenge finding the information you need. You will also need to know the spelling on a bunch of unique things you won't find in an AP Stylebook or dictionary. I find Bob Marriott's catalog a help on fly-fishing/fly-tying products. Take care & ...

 

Tight Lines - Al Beatty

www.btsflyfishing.com

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