Most magazines now accept digital images. The interrogate is will they accept mine!
I won't retort that interrogate I'll leave that to you to retort once you have finished reading this article.
Time Magazine
It's only just recently that magazines have decided to accept digital images this is due to the image quality of early digital camera were not man adequate for the job i.e. Did not produce images with adequate resolution and level of information to reproduce well in magazines. Most photograph Editors on magazines prefer whether slides or prints as this is generally at gift habit but is currently changing due to more expert photographers using digital cameras. A good infer your images may not be suitable is if you contribute your images already printed, it's Ok to do this for your Granny, house or friends it's a no no when submitting to a publication. Why, have a close look at your printed image the photograph is made up of tiny dots and lines. When scanned by the repro branch they have to blur your image to try to get rid of these dots and lines otherwise your image has a moiré corollary so you end up with an image that looks bad. Your best selection is to contribute your images to the magazine on Cd-Roms again don't use cheap ones they go wrong! You can get approx. 31 images onto a Cd of 700mbs if each image is 22mbs in size.
Increase the resolution.
Digital photography and getting your pictures into print is supplying an image to the precise pixel size and resolution in a format that can be verily opened by someone else computers operating systems. What does that mean, well not everyone uses Microsoft Windows many publishers use Apple Macs some even use Linux if your image can't be viewed It Will Not Be Used!
Many magazines now included brief facts on submitting digital photographs in the article section. Have a look at http://www.photographymonthly.com/reqs_details.cfm. To see how to submit images to Photography Monthly. If in doubt, ask. Did you observation they want your image resolution at 300dpi, your camera only takes a photograph at 72dpi, how do I know what size my image needs to be at 300dpi. Help is at hand here's a link to a puny tool, which will help with image sizes, pixels, colour depth and file size.
http://www.searchhuts.co.uk/portal/version/cpi.asp it free. Its called commercial Printing Information, there does not seem to be anyone thing like this software everywhere else on the internet! Using this software to see what size your image can go to and then you can resize your image accordingly in your general photo editing software.
Size matters!
The pictures pixel dimensions can be read with the above tool so dimensions of say 3200x2400pixels we would be seeing for a file size of about 21mbs this would be Ok for a full page. The above agenda can help you decree what size your image will be Ok up to.
Why Jpg?
Submitting work.
When submitting work remember to contain your name & address with a brief synopsis of what is on the Cd together with a high quality printout of your images and the file names of the images, this can be verily done in PhotoShop by going to File > Automate > touch sheet. Find the briefcase your images are in pick your paper size and whole of images on each sheet of paper. Please remember someone has to look at these images so small images get a thumbs down as does too many. Don't forget to stick a Do Not Bend label on the envelope as Cds don't like being bent.
New words we have learnt
Moiré corollary - A moiré pattern is the compound of two or more patterns viewed at the same time.
Dpi stands for dots per inch and is used with resolution
Jpg or Jpeg - Joint Photographic Experts Group is the name of the committee that designed the photographic image-compression standard.
Do's and Don'ts of submitting your Digital Pictures
Do's
Do Make sure your images are to the precise pixel size and resolution.
Do Make sure you send a touch sheet of the images on the Cd together with file names.
Do save in Jpg format.
Do clearly name image files on Cd-Rom.
Do use high quality ink and photo paper for touch sheets.Do turn off time/date stamp, as it's difficult to remove and takes time.
Do enclose return postage if you wish your bits back
Do e-mail if you are unsure of what is required or how files should be submitted
Don't
Don't e-mail huge unsolicited images
Don't over sharpen images
Don't send hundreds of images - be selective, send only pictures to do with that publication (*see below).
Don't send pictures of distinct field matter unless requested
Don't use cheap blank Cd-Rom's, paper or ink.
Don't send expensive storage media i.e. The card from your camera
Don't use long file names remember, not everyone uses Microsoft's Windows.
Don't use 3rd party software on your Cd's to try to display your images when viewed.
How to Submit Digital Pictures for Magazine Publication
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