Getting Photos Into Newspapers/Magazines...

Bazza

Bazza

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Brian
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Okay, so I've been browsing around the forum seeing people getting photos published in papers and stuff. Basically I'm wondering what way to put forward photos to the companies? I'm asuming also that the company pay the photographer so what sort of cash is involved? I'd love to try this a few times to see if I get any joy, but would like some tips/advice before doing so :shrug::thumbs:

Thanks all,

Bazza.
 
You can try approach them with some event photos, some kind of local event that they are probably doing a piece on. Don't bank on getting paid the first few times thou, but make sure you get credit.
 
You could always approach your local paper with photos and see what they say. Or buy a copy of 'The Freelance Photographers Market Handbook' which tells you what all the magazines/papers are interested in and what they pay ;)
 
With newspapers, it is 99% agency now.

Getty have more or less sewn the market up aside from a few 'small' agencies and it is only getting worse. They are now is dispute with the RFU and the FA as they only want one Getty snapper at either end of the pitch and a 'Club' pro is all. Also, more and more clubs are moving to video footage rather than stills. Shame.
 
If you want to get your photos published for money, it seems to me that getting paid for photos seems to be a dying art.
I am a novice who enjoys taking photos of ships.
Over the last year or two, I have had 2 approaches from companies wanting to use a couple of my shots.
The first one was from a Scandinavian subsidiary of Rolls Royce; they wanted to use one or more of my shots of a container ship in their publicity/sales brochures.
"Certainly" says I, "are you going to pay me?".
There followed a discussion with me explaining that on the one hand is me, unemployed and skint at the time, and on the other hand is a multi-national company with loads of money.
So they offered me 25 Euros!
More recently a major German marine engineering company emailed me asking if they could use a shot of a tug in their calendar.
I didn't even bother asking about money; I just said yes go ahead but make sure I get the appropriate credit.
A friend of mine who also enjoys photographing ships was once contacted by an American company for permission to use of one of his and they asked him how much does he want? He didn't have a clue so just plucked a number out of the air (£300) and they paid up without a murmur!
Cheers
Kelvin
 
which goes to show - if you undervalue your own ability you will end up being ripped off. Be confident. If you know your pictures are good and someone comes to you and asks for them make the most of it - if they didn't think it was worth a decent sum they wouldn't ask you
 
Jounalists and Editors are a lazy breed, possibly enforced to the time pressures of newpapers.

My brother races a classic F3 car in a UK motor racing championship. I'm the series photographer as the series liked the pictures I took of my brother.

I've submitted a race report after each of my brothers races and provided pictures of him and the two regional newspapers have printed all bar one.

I've yet to get paid by the newspaper, but the pictures were credited to me. I was more concerned about promoting my brother rather than a few quid in my pocket - although you have to build a relationship with those concerned.
 
There is still an enormous market for photographers who are prepared to target their pictures to the needs of a particular magazine. Local newspapers are rarely prepared to pay – so why bother with them unless you want the pleasure of seeing your picture in print?

Never give your pictures away to a company wanting to use it for publicity purposes, or anything else. They are conning you. If they want it they will pay.

There are thousands of magazines out there all needing images. Most have ‘tame’ freelances who provide what they want when they want it.

If you really want to get published, study your targeted magazine. All the answers are in that magazine about what the editor wants and what sort of style is required. You must produce appropriate images that fit these requirements. Targeting is vital.

I spend a great deal of my time teaching photographers how to sell their pictures. I always stress that it is highly unprofessional to give your pictures away. You will not be respected for it. Be patient, be professional, be focused.
Philip Dunn
www.philipdunn.blogspot.com
www.photoactive.co.uk
 
Also, with local newspapers etc. make sure you have a watermark placed clearly on the image because half the time they will say they will credit you and they wont. ;)
Harsh but true
 
chase779 said:
Also, with local newspapers etc. make sure you have a watermark placed clearly on the image because half the time they will say they will credit you and they wont. ;)
Harsh but true
Click to expand...

Yup - I know this from experience!!! I send my local rugby team match shots off every week, sometimes they credit, sometimes they don't :shrug:
 
One think to remember is to time your submissions to a magazine.

If its for a reader portfolio, then time doesn't matter, you may have to wait (if selected), but magazines will be planning the bulk of their magazine several issues in advance, (news, comment and letters pages excepted)

So take photos of winter pictures now, and submit to a magazine summer next year.

Watermarks - newspaper schedules may prevent the pictures being considered due to the extra time needed to get hold of the original.
 
chase779 said:
Also, with local newspapers etc. make sure you have a watermark placed clearly on the image because half the time they will say they will credit you and they wont. ;)
Harsh but true
Click to expand...

A much better idea is to submit the photo for publication without charge under the condition that you are credited and that publication without credit invokes your usual rates. If they publish without crediting you, you can simply send them an invoice which they obliged to pay.
 
If your photo is good enough to be published, it's worth something. Having said that, local papers do seem to rely on those photographers that just want a credit. I submit my photos through agencies, including getty. I know some photographers that still go direct to the nationals and get pictures published, at the going rate, so just avoid the agency commissions. If your picture is newsworthy and tell a story, send it in or call the picture desk first, the worst that can happen is they will say no. Contact details are in the BFP book which you have.
 
Try to go for established weeklies/monthlies, that already have standard fees in place.
 
I supply a small town once a week paper who use my football pictures for free and dont have a budget no matter what anyone says. they will use old stock or swap with other regional once a week papers.. So why do I do free? well I am club photographer and I would rather see half decent pics in my local paper. Small town mentality and all that :) Plus they get leftovers anyway.

But other papers pay well:) I consider the local more a charity thing.. I now make a decent amount from newspapers on a regular basis but it took a lot of getting into.. years in fact .. sports is a hard area to get published in.

If my club where still non league I would probably not have got my foot in the door. Now in there I supply cricket, rugby, ice hockey and womens football.
 
Editors receive many photos every day and very few ever get published. You can save them and yourself some time by following these simple tips. If you have taken photographs that you think may be of interest to a newspaper or similar publication.

First of all you need to assess if the picture is of national or local importance. An armed robbery with bodies lying all over the place and crashed police cars etc. would be of national importance but a photograph of a bus having smashed through somebody's garden wall will probably only be of interest to your local paper. If in any doubt phone the picture desk and ask if they would be interested in the image.

Pictures of celebrities, depending on what they are doing are probably best sent to somewhere like Splashnews (http://www.splashnews.com) or again depending on what they are up to call the picture desk and ask.

As for what to do to an image, Make sure that you have filled in all the meta data fields in the file info section so that the publication knows who to pay/credit and how to get in touch.

Send high quality .jpgs of around 2mb at 300dpi. Don't send more than 2-3 images in 1 e-mail attachment. And remember to include keywords etc in the file info. In the body of the e-mail put a very brief description of what the photos are of. Be very judgmental of your own work and only send the best images with different views. i.e. scene setting shot, close up, human interaction.

The speed of turnaround here is paramount. Newspapers go to print at a certain time and it doesn't matter how good your photos are, if they are too late they will not get used.

Do not just limit yourself to newspapers either, photos of a very expensive crashed car may be of interest to motoring magazines and photos of tractors ploughing fields may be of interest to some agriculture and farming magazines.

One last thing if you do get photos published do not expect a chq the following day. It can take from 14 days to 90 days to get paid. If you think that you have an exclusive then call a picture desk straight away, they may offer you a large sum for exclusive rights but do not take the 1st offer, call another desk and see what they are willing to offer you.

For newspaper, other magazines and publisher's telephone numbers and contact details buy a copy of the freelance photographer's market handbook, a manual that is worth its weight in gold.
 
Bazza, try joining the BFP thebfp.co.uk or simply purchase the Market Handbook which lists all kinds of markets and contact details including national newspapers.
 
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