Getting photos published and/or in contests

I've never attempted to get any of my photos published, and I've never entered a photo contest. And although I doubt that my stuff is likely to beat out the kind of amazing photos I see posted here on Wetpixel, I sometimes find myself looking at dive magazines and thinking, "Geez, I've got better shots than THAT!"

I assume I'm not alone in the above sentiments, but I really have no idea how to get started. Is there a "Photo submission for dummies" type article anywhere that not only lists publishers/contests to whom photos might be submitted, but explains some of the do's and don'ts (e.g., protecting your copyright, when/how much to charge, etc.)?

Pix for competitions and mags are usually pretty different.

Competition pictures are stand alones - attention grabbers, and usually fill the frame. Look at previous winners of that comp and see what the judges go for.

Magazine pix are usually a set on the theme of the article. Often with negative space for running text over. Furthermore there has to be a need to publish them - i.e. a story to accompany the pix. They also tend to have a higher people count than comp pix, and there is plenty of scope for good topsides (again including people).

The most important factor is being reliable and on time. The greatest images in the world won't get published if you miss a deadline. That's why the pix you see in mags are not always the greatest. But they were there on time and were relevant to the story.

The key to both is to keep plugging away. I have had competition pictures fail in one competition, only to go on a win in a much bigger one.

Alex

Hi,

My two cents (euros?): Make sure that images rights are retained & usage limits are spelled out. Having said that, go for it! I judge in one particular contest & always look for the most unique, well exicuted images. Even common subjects (we don't all get to see pigmy sea horses mid- synronised- swimming routine) done in a fresh, technically pricise fashon, get my support.

Regards,

Joe K

I know digital is starting to be accepted more and more in the stock and print collateral but in the same breath I still see some publishers refusing to embrace it even if you had something like a 20D or D70 outputting 300ppi images. Is this just the stock company or the magazine's preference or is there any actual logic behind it? I mean obviously these cameras can hold their own and have been published before (i remember a D100 being used for a Nat'l Geo article on fighter jets awhile back) so I'm wondering what the bottleneck is here?

-Pete

In regard to SOME Stock Companies I believe its due to their setting their own baseline on quality so that all of their customers have access to a minimum standard that allows for MOST uses of the file according to industry requirements. In some cases the standard is so VERY high because a significant part of their clientelle is for advertising use rather than edititorial. I had it pointed out to me by two agencies that the "base standard" they were looking for advertising was the equiv of 11 MP and therefore that was their minimum requirement - subsequently I submitted extrapolated (D70) files to them but they never did reply.

Wow - that's setting the bar pretty high!