You are finally ready.
You have moved furniture styled the mantel, adjusted lampshades and angled chairs just so.
And you have primped and tweaked and then primped again.
And brought in fresh flowers to mingle with that stack of books on the coffee table
and added a chunky knit throw on the sofa.
And you are ready to photograph every little detail and capture that inviting feeling in hopes that a magazine will decide they MUST have it and include it among their glossy pages.
You snap away capturing the big picture and all the little details to tell the story.
And you take at least 100 photos of literally one space in hopes for a dozen that will make the cut.
Once you have that dozen, and they are edited and the show all the details in all that amazing glory- you smile and enjoy them and then you ponder… how in the world to get them in front of an editor for consideration.
Back before I was blogging, when I would play with vignettes and snap photos of them in hopes of sending them to my favorite magazines- I had no idea how in the world I would ever reach those magazines to show them what I had worked on. Until that first time that an editor emailed me, I wasn’t sure how to go about sharing anything with them.
And I will be honest. I don’t have all the contacts and answers and magic wands to make those magazine dreams happen. But I can share with you what I have done and what I have learned along the way. And with so many of you asking questions about How to submit photos- where to find the info and where to start with finding the editors information- I am taking a break in the styling and photography tips to share a sprinkle of what I have learned.
Submissions Email
Thankfully, it is easier than ever in todays digital world to find the contact info for the regional editors of magazines. You can go to the magazine website and look for ‘inquiry’ or contact request information. Sometimes they will even have the correct contact person or submission emails listed.
If you aren’t sure where to find the contact info or are having trouble finding it- a good place to start is on the magazines FB page. You can look at their ‘About’ page and find links. And if you don’t see what you are looking for- you can send a message to request the correct persons contact info.
You find the email address- now what?
The first step would then be to draft an email describing your project and include one or two (email size) photos for consideration.
You don’t want to send a ton of photos over- you run the risk of clogging their inbox or getting caught in a spam filter. Just send something to give them a taste of what you have- and they will ask for more if they are interested in seeing more.
Tip: Start a dropbox file
A good idea is to create a file with all the ‘preview’ photos (meaning low-res) at Dropbox that you can share upon request. An editor will want to get an idea of which photos they would like to use to craft the story and see how they lay out on the pages. They don’t need hi-res photos for that and will request the photos they would like to use after previewing.
And then you can place the hi-res photos into a separate folder and share that when they are requested for print.
Editorial Calendar
Something to note is that magazines follow editorial calendars- which means right about now in April- they are looking for things to include in the June + edition.
Though some are a little more last minute- most magazines are working far ahead.
When I sent Christmas photos over for consideration- I am doing that by June for that years November/December issues.
You don’t want to send a spring tablesetting in March- think December.
And summer content such as a summer home- think February.
So it would be a good thing to take note of the calendar and know just what types of projects and photos they are looking for to up your chances of being the best fit and being included.
Here is an example of a content calendar at Country Living
And I know- it isn’t always easy to plan that far ahead with things- but it is something to take note of
since that is how the magazine world (and retail world) works.
I hope that helps with some of your questions!
Such great info! Thanks for sharing. That is sooo exciting, but can't say I am surprised. Your work is stunning!
Thanks, Courtney. I'm enjoying this series. Great information. I'm not one pursuing publication, but it's great to know all of this information. Of course it would be an honor to be published, but I'm not in that category.
Your photos are always so beautiful, it's like looking at a high-end decorating magazine!
I'm enjoying learning about what you do. It's very interesting.
Thank you so much, Courtney for sharing these tips – they make sense – You're the best!
Kathy
Thanks Courtney!
Thanks for all the great tips, in styling a photos. I love to hear what and how you work.
Courtney your work is stunning and your blog is as well. I always so enjoy each and every post. I always save it until I have time to read and enjoy every word and photo. Thanks for all you do and share with others – wonderful inspiration !