Forums > General Industry > Magazine submissions

Photographer

DaveTongPhoto

Posts: 97

Santa Clara, California, US

Recently I responded to a request for submissions on MM - my shoot was accepted and published.
It's an online Print On Demand magazine so I didn't get paid, but as a semi-pro photographer I'm good with that. I submitted a second shoot to the same magazine, and I believe it's been accepted too.

Inspired by this I went looking for other magazines to submit to. I discovered a site called Kavyar.com which hosts a number of magazines - however there seems to be a 'pay to play' attitude; if you want your submission to be even considered then in most cases it'll cost you, and they'll happily sell you an 'alternative' cover for a few $00 - riiiight. (Additionally the site administrators aren't particularly responsive - I'm still waiting for my profile to be approved.)

So my question is, what's a good way to find magazines worth submitting to? Are the magazines on Kavyar worth pursuing? Are there lists of magazines, ordered by style anywhere? (I searched the forums but came up blank).

May 24 18 06:31 pm Link

Photographer

goofus

Posts: 808

Santa Barbara, California, US

POD is vanity press.. it's not a 'magazine'..it's not being 'published'

if they ask for pay..just make your own magazine with Magcloud or Blurb

however.. if it doesn't cost you anything.. it's a cool way to get your work into something physical

I've done it before and will in the future I'm sure.. but it ain't 'being published'

I also make my own 'magazines' and 'books' so I can group my work in various ways and have something physical to look at and show

May 25 18 09:29 am Link

Photographer

DaveTongPhoto

Posts: 97

Santa Clara, California, US

So nobody here submits to magazines?

May 29 18 10:49 pm Link

Photographer

G Reese

Posts: 913

Marion, Indiana, US

Welllll, I submit work to model railroad and model aircraft magazines. Most often the helpful hints but sold at least one feature to Garden Railways. ( April 2013) The $180 wasn't hard to take. Model is a model right?  :-)

Used to be a book with tons of mags and such along with contact info. Forget the name. I'm sure others here remember it.



Edit: Found it,  Photographer's Market $17+  Amazon

May 29 18 11:39 pm Link

Photographer

Expression Unlimited

Posts: 1408

Oceanside, California, US

Models have my permission to submit and they often have ...
but I don't count any of it as PUBLISHING
since they don't even send me a thank you...
or a copy!

Providing them with free content doesn't make me happy - but i do not mind
so long as they spell my name right

Jun 17 18 04:52 pm Link

Photographer

Barry Kidd Photography

Posts: 3351

Red Lion, Pennsylvania, US

Reese is right.  Look into the photographer's Market.  It is, or at least use to be a great resource. I haven't bought a copy since 2010 but I use to get one every year.

Once upon a time I'd get a decent amount of editorial work but, in my case at least, those days are pretty much over.  So many rags have gone the way to the dinosaur. Luckily my business started branching in a different direction about the same time that the rages started shutting down.  That wasn't by design and only happened by chance but it all worked out and I have been able to stay afloat.

Jun 18 18 07:55 am Link

Photographer

Leonard Gee Photography

Posts: 18096

Sacramento, California, US

DaveTong wrote:
So nobody here submits to magazines?

you are not getting the idea. you need to understand the real market. there are photographers who "submit" to magazines; but the percentage of photographers who have decent images and the number of real magazines that will accept submitted images with no story are small.

that leaves the masses of hopeful photographers with ordinary or average images or magazines with limited or virtually no circulation in the market (which is why they ask for payment to publish).

the "photographers market" does a good job, but you must realize that most of those magazines work differently than dealing with submissions. every magazine i've worked with has assigned a story to me. i've never submitted on spec (that's short for "submission on speculation"). most of the good magazines worth anything that accept submissions are arts magazines looking for new talent good enough to showcase.

news magazines will accept submissions with a newsworthy story. national geographic will accept compelling stories within their scope. sports magazines will accept important images (celeb athletes, new stars, important games) and write copy for them. arizona highways and aaa's via will accept travel images (usually with story). you need images that fit the magazine and their scheduled or planned theme or yearly story lines.

Jun 18 18 09:26 am Link

Photographer

Barry Kidd Photography

Posts: 3351

Red Lion, Pennsylvania, US

Leonard Gee Photography wrote:
every magazine i've worked with has assigned a story to me. i've never submitted on spec (That's short for "submission on speculation").

Back in the day when there was more editorial work available I'd agree.  I have never submitted any image to a rag.  I have however submitted a stock list and gotten further inquiry  to see examples.

They will also, on rare occasions, bite on a pitch. They aren't going look at your photos then call you up and say "oooh, aaah" and start forking over cash but they will bite a good pitch from time to time.  If it's approved then you go out and shoot the gig.  Not before.  Though this didn't happen often my experience is that you'll get the best response from a good pitch with trade publications.  Hell, trade publications will sometimes even accept submitted photos.  Not mine as I never bothered with submitting actual photos, just a stock list but they occasionally will.

The abridged version: Think of a fantastic story line.  Then pitch it to the editor of the aproprate trade publication.  The worst they can do is tell you to go to hell. If they do, try another.

Examples of trade publications.  "Fire Chief Magazine", "Leatherneck", "Boy's Life", "Progressive Farmer" and hundreds more.

Business also need photos for quarterly and annual reports.  Nope, your name will not be lit up in neon if thats your goal but annual reports pay very well for what they are.  They typically pay much better than editorial, which happens to be one of the lowest paying types of commercial photography by the way.  (When pitching for this type of work don't think DuPont. Think local rescue squad.)

Jun 19 18 05:34 am Link

Photographer

ASPEN CREATIVE

Posts: 13

Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Learn how to get your photos published in magazines

https://www.fordhamedia.com/

Nov 14 18 09:54 am Link

Photographer

Abbitt Photography

Posts: 13559

Washington, Utah, US

goofus  wrote:
POD is vanity press.. it's not a 'magazine'..it's not being 'published'

if they ask for pay..just make your own magazine with Magcloud or Blurb

however.. if it doesn't cost you anything.. it's a cool way to get your work into something physical

I've done it before and will in the future I'm sure.. but it ain't 'being published'

I also make my own 'magazines' and 'books' so I can group my work in various ways and have something physical to look at and show

A vanity press is when the author pays to have a work published.  Print on Demand means something is printed on demand, not as a large run.   One is a payment method, the other is printing process.  They are not one and the same.   A vanity press does not necessarily print on demand and things printed on demand are not necessarily done so by a vanity press.

Nov 16 18 01:44 pm Link

Photographer

goofus

Posts: 808

Santa Barbara, California, US

Abbitt Photography wrote:

A vanity press is when the author pays to have a work published.  Print on Demand means something is printed on demand, not as a large run.   One is a payment method, the other is printing process.  They are not one and the same.   A vanity press does not necessarily print on demand and things printed on demand are not necessarily done so by a vanity press.

do you get a copy for yourself for free?? or do you have to go to blurb or magcloud and buy one??

vanity press

Nov 17 18 10:17 am Link

Photographer

DaveZ Studio

Posts: 21

Saint George, Utah, US

Nov 18 18 11:44 am Link

Photographer

Abbitt Photography

Posts: 13559

Washington, Utah, US

goofus  wrote:
do you get a copy for yourself for free?? or do you have to go to blurb or magcloud and buy one??

vanity press

If I buy a print on demand book, I pay for it just as a would a book with a large offset print run.   Regardless of the printing method, printing has costs and the printer will want to be paid for their printing services.   Similarly what one pays or is paid when published is not inherently linked to the printing process.

Vanity presses charge the author to edit their work, print it and bring it to market regardless of the printing method.   Vanity press books are not all POD, they can be offset printed books as well.  When I self published my books, I didn’t pay a vanity press or anyone else anything. I make a commission off each book sold.  I’ve had articles published in traditionally (offset) printed magazines or journals and been paid nothing, I’ve had photos published and received $250 each in usage fees.   The pay one receives (or has to pay)  is not tied to the printing method as you suggest. 

Printing methods and vanity presses art two completely different things.  One is a method of printing, one is a pay for publishing service.  I don’t understand why you conflate the two.  They are not one and the same thing.

Nov 18 18 11:47 am Link

Photographer

goofus

Posts: 808

Santa Barbara, California, US

Abbitt Photography wrote:

If I buy a print on demand book, I pay for it just as a would a book with a large offset print run.   Regardless of the printing method, printing has costs and the printer will want to be paid for their printing services.   Similarly what one pays or is paid when published is not inherently linked to the printing process.

Vanity presses charge the author to edit their work, print it and bring it to market regardless of the printing method.   Vanity press books are not all POD, they can be offset printed books as well.  When I self published my books, I didn’t pay a vanity press or anyone else anything. I make a commission off each book sold.  I’ve had articles published in traditionally (offset) printed magazines or journals and been paid nothing, I’ve had photos published and received $250 each in usage fees.   The pay one receives (or has to pay)  is not tied to the printing method as you suggest. 

Printing methods and vanity presses art two completely different things.  One is a method of printing, one is a pay for publishing service.  I don’t understand why you conflate the two.  They are not one and the same thing.

technically you are correct - yes

but.. practically??  it's the same dang thing... you don't get paid and infact have to actually buy the magazine to see your work . . .so..you end up paying to see your own photos in print... I guess the real difference is that one can theoretically make money with a vanity press option.. and there is no way one can with the POD 'magazines' (and I cringe every time I type 'magazine' )

Nov 18 18 04:26 pm Link

Photographer

Camera Buff

Posts: 924

Maryborough, Queensland, Australia

Nov 20 18 08:42 am Link

Photographer

Sal W Hanna

Posts: 6686

Huntington Beach, California, US

I think many people are missing a critical point with any magazine, whether POD or Store Shelf, reach/volume of distribution. Most POD's have horrible distribution, yet there are some that have amazing online reach. As someone who founded and ran one of the largest online magazine I can tell you we had a following of over 420k on Instagram with a reach of over 1.5 Million. Our website received near 1 Million visits per year, but our POD distribution was mostly to those that were in the edition. This is why I chose to stop print. (The new owner has rekindled print)

As for where/how to submit, find magazines that fit your style. If you just want something printed in your hand, there are plenty of those around. If you want a quality, reputable, selective magazine then do your research. You'll need to find the ones that fit your style and submit based on what fits for them. If your images do not match what they are currently publishing, move on.

Nov 20 18 08:55 am Link

Photographer

Gary Davis

Posts: 1829

San Diego, California, US

I was just looking at one of those online/POD magazines last night and honestly I don't think I get it.

Is there really any value in submitting and getting "published" other than the ego stroke?  Are submitters providing free content for the magazine producers to make money from?

Nov 21 18 04:23 pm Link

Photographer

Red Sky Photography

Posts: 3893

Germantown, Maryland, US

Gary Davis wrote:
I was just looking at one of those online/POD magazines last night and honestly I don't think I get it.

Is there really any value in submitting and getting "published" other than the ego stroke?  Are submitters providing free content for the magazine producers to make money from?

When I was shooting more often, I used to submit to several  POD magazines. The value I received was that more people saw my work, and more people were interested in shooting with me. I had several models who traveled from the West Coast who altered their travel plans to shoot with me.

Most POD magazines don't make very much money for the owners/publishers, they do it because they like to.

Nov 21 18 07:55 pm Link

Model

Nachtzehren

Posts: 69

Durham, England, United Kingdom

As a model, being published [even in print-on-demand magazines] allows for my name and work to be circulated out to a potentially wider audience than my portfolio sites and social media alone. I have never paid to be published in a magazine, and dislike the idea of doing so. I have only ever put images or sets forward for publication with full permission from the photographer.

I tend to look for alternative fashion, alternative or goth-focused magazines for publication, given how that is what I predominantly model genre-wise.

Nov 22 18 06:00 am Link

Photographer

WB Photography

Posts: 22

San Antonio, Texas, US

I'm trying something with a magazine I started where models and photographers submit to my magazine and once the magazine reaches 3000 in sales (hopefully) whoever submitted the set gets $500. Models seem to love the idea however the only issue that models are running into is getting the photographer of the set they wanna submit to give them the 300dpi files.

Nov 23 18 09:30 pm Link