10 tips for getting your photography published in magazines 

 Words by Tom Quigley

Until the advent of the digital world and images stored as 0s and 1s on hard drives, photography has always been a physical thing. From glass plates and celluloid negatives to handmade darkroom prints and your 6x4s from Snappy Snaps. Your images want to be seen on paper, on gallery walls and in print. Laptop screens may be nicely backlit, but there’s nothing like getting your photography into something tangible that you can hold in your hands. 
 
Times may have changed in the last few decades, and not all publications weathered the digital storm, but one look in your local WHSmith’s magazine section will demonstrate that print definitely isn’t dead. So who makes these magazines? Where do they get their photography from? How do you get your photography printed in your favourite title? When I first picked up a camera as a kid I spent many years wondering the same, but have now also spent a little time behind the scenes of publishing magazines, so can offer a few basic tips for budding photographers looking to get their work out into the world. 

Find the right contact 

Big publications will have a team of people putting together each issue – editors, writers, designers, and even on the most modestly-staffed mags, someone will be handling photo editor duties. Namely, sourcing photography to compliment written articles, create photo features, and to draw the readers in with an eye-catching cover. If you can find this person’s contact information – an email listed in the staff section of a magazine (usually after the contents page), then you now have the best person to make your initial contact with. This will be much better than sending your work to any kind of general “info@…” email address, as you know that the person you’re contacting is specifically looking for photography. 

Take the time to write an introduction 

Despite talking about digital and print as polar opposites, the reality of today’s publishing is that most magazines operate digitally – from writing, designing, sending to print – to correspondence with contributors. Whilst it would still be an option to hand write a letter to someone, let’s assume we’re talking about emails when it comes to contacting magazines.  

Unsolicited emails are a delicate art – you're essentially landing in someone’s inbox and demanding their attention, so you need to make a good first impression. Make it clear in your subject line the reason you’re getting in touch – something like ‘Photo submissions’ should do the trick. Next, keep your email short and sweet – your intention should be to simply explain why you’re getting in touch, ask any questions, or describe what you could offer. Upon initial contact, a well thought out introduction email is the most respectful way to start a dialogue with someone who is essentially going to decide whether or not to feature your work.  

There’s nothing worse than images being sent in an email with little to no message. Remember, no matter how big the publication, there will be a real person on the other end of your email. Emailing images without even a ‘hello’ is the digital equivalent of handing photos to someone in person and staring at them blankly...and let’s face it, that would be terribly awkward. 

Find out how best to work with the magazine 

Your introduction email to your chosen publication could include telling them what you like to photograph, how you discovered their magazine and what you like about it. Then there’s the key question; what’s the best way to submit work for possible use in the magazine? This is a clear indication of your intentions and makes the photo editor’s job easier by allowing them to set the requirements. This may be something along the lines of: send only your best images, either as low-res or full-res jpegs, relevant to a certain subject or theme. Take Nottingham’s legendary LeftLion Magazine for instance – they are all about Nottingham events & culture, so images of Derby will likely have no use here!  

Another tip for making a good photo submission – you’ll be doing better than most if you avoid sending files named without any thought, such as ‘image1.jpg’ or ‘DSC_1715’. If you want to reduce the risk of your photos being lost or uncredited, sticking the basics in your filenames is going to be helpful. A format like: YourName_Subject_Location_Year_001.jpg, for example, just keeps the world slightly more organised. 

Don’t expect a reply every time 

In my capacity as photo editor for a couple of independent magazines, I always tried to respond to any emails, even if only to say submissions weren’t strong enough. However, in my experience in submitting my own work to much bigger, well-established publications, you may only get a response if something of yours takes their interest. This is likely because of the volume of submissions they’re likely to receive, and the staff’s limited time to both work on the magazine and keep up with any contact from would-be contributors. Don’t take it personally, just take a mental note of the images you sent and think about how they could be improved if you were to shoot similar again.  

If you do get a response, you may even be lucky enough to receive some constructive criticism – this is more than likely going to be more valuable than you might appreciate at the time. If you’re serious about becoming a better photographer, take this with all humility – it’s advice from someone with bags of experience who was once where you are, but has advanced further through the learning curves of perfecting their craft. Trust that the images of yours that you think are your best, particularly in your first years of shooting, you will be looking back on in years to come and wondering what you were thinking. Onwards and upwards. 

Look at the type of work currently featured 

Quite an obvious one this, but read the magazines you’re trying to get your work into. Get used to the quality of images they print, and ask yourself if those you’re thinking about sending are at the same level. Does the magazine feature photos with over-the-top colour filters? If not, save those for your own use. Maybe Flickr is still a friend of the filter. 

Be persistent 

Going back to the email submission process – whether you have success or no replies, be persistent. A photo editor will receive so many submissions from so many different photographers – you'll need to do what you can to stand out to them and remain in their memory. Don’t assume that because you’ve emailed a few times that they will always remember exactly who you are, particularly if you’ve never met in person and put faces to names. Regular submissions of quality work will make you stand out and in some cases may lead to them giving you an assignment if they need a photographer with your particular style. 

“…be your harshest critic – submitting work to magazines is a great way to put yourself in this mindset”

Don’t be defeated by rejection 

It’s easy to feel like it’s not worth it once you’ve had no success with the first few images you’ve sent. Everybody starts here. Many will give up. Consider asking for that feedback I mentioned earlier, to gain some tips for improving your photography. Whether it’s from a pro photographer or just your peers, any thoughts from other eyes could be useful. Ask your mates to pick their favourite of your best 5 images.  

Go and do your research – read more magazines, look at photo books, read up on technique, figure out what you want your images to look like and do the necessary learning to get there. It can’t be done for you. Then be your harshest critic – submitting work to magazines is a great way to put yourself in this mindset – and this will do you nothing but favours as you progress. Learning how to identify the images of yours that should be cast aside and those that are strong enough to be seen is a key skill for every photographer. 

Don’t spam 

This might sound contradictory to my point about being persistent, but here I’m talking about technique of communication rather than frequency. Put simply – follow the preferred method of communication, usually email. Don’t try to use social media as your ‘shortcut’ to getting noticed. Randomly tagging established magazines in your Instagram pictures is impersonal, irrelevant, and could be downright annoying to receive notifications for. Unless the publication has invited that method of submissions process, I wouldn’t advise it. At the very least if a mag wants to see people’s work on social media, they might suggest a unique hashtag for you to use so they can browse through recent work at their leisure. Don’t demand their attention with notifications and expect to reap the rewards.  

The absolute worst show of laziness is when people tag multiple magazines at once – which may seem harmless, but in reality it says to each of them that you don’t care about their publication or giving them unique submissions, you’re just desperate to be featured somewhere, anywhere, everywhere. A few more likes and followers won’t make you a better photographer. 

Email is the real ‘DM’ 

Instagram direct messages may well get picked up if the magazine or company has a dedicated social media handler, but you shouldn’t assume that person exists, even if the organisation has a huge following. More often than not your message will disappear into the abyss of ‘hidden requests’, and again, it reeks of a lazy method of trying to get someone’s attention. Plus you’ll be living amongst all sorts of spam here. Your submission is worth more than that! 

Enjoy your photography 

Ultimately, none of the above really matters. (But well done if you read this far!) What’s important is that you satisfy your number one critic: you! If you’re happy with the images you’re creating, then maybe getting the approval of others isn’t your priority. It could be said that the process is more important than the result – so if you have something other than being published in magazines motivating you to stretch your creative muscles, then keep going with that. It’ll no doubt be good for your soul. Shoot photos of your mates, make your own zines, gift people prints, do a print swap. And if you do manage some success at getting published in magazines, relish the feeling of picking up that issue in the shop – and get an extra copy to put pages up on your walls! 

Tom Quigley has been a photo editor at LeftLion Magazine; the editor of his own publication, Varial Magazine; and is the creative director for Skate Nottingham CIC - but mostly is a photographer who enjoys working on 10 projects at once. 

Written in 2022, published in 2025.

Theo Fearon photographed for The Skateboarder’s Companion, 2022.