101 QUICK AND EASY SECRETS FOR USING YOUR DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHS- P34 potx
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Getting Published ■ 151
Figure 10.1 Image before tweaking Levels sliders.
Figure 10.2 Image after tweaking Levels sliders.
If the photo is going to be displayed small, then your quality can be low (and thus your file size
can be small). If you’re going to display it large, then you’ll want your quality high.
Making Your Photos Magazine Ready
In the “Resizing Your Photos for Different Uses” section in Chapter 1, there is a description of
how to resize photos. In the “Selling Photos to Regional Magazines” section in Chapter 8, the
requirements for magazine submissions are listed. Arizona Highways requires a 12×18-inch
digital photo with 300 ppi resolution. That’s one big photo. Most magazines don’t require the
resolutions to be that great. In order to meet that image resolution requirement, you’d need a
camera on the order of the new Canon 21 MP EOS 5D Mark II. For a great megapixel/print
dimension chart, check out />No matter what the resolution of your photos is, you’d best be sure that when you view the
photos you are going to be submitting at 100-percent resolution on your computer screen
(in Photoshop, type 100 into the lower-left corner of the window in which your picture is
displayed), they are sharp in every detail. If not, don’t bother sending them, because magazines
won’t accept them.
Okay, so what if you don’t have a 21-MP camera for taking photos fit for Arizona Highways?
You can try other magazines, such as Dog Fancy (if you take pictures of dogs), most of which
require a minimum of 300 dpi for a 5×7 photo.
To check how big your images are, you need to open an image (one taken with your camera
set at its highest resolution, which would be the Raw setting on most dSLRs) and navigate
to Image > Image Size. A dialog box will come up (see Figure 10.3). Uncheck the box next to
where it says Resample Image. When Resample Image isn’t checked, you can change the values of
Width, Height, or Resolution, and Photoshop/Elements will proportion the photo accordingly
without changing the file size. Now, delete the value that’s for Resolution and type in 300.
I find that for my 12.8-MP Canon 5D, the values that come up are 11.52 inches for the width
and 7.68 inches for the height. I also find out that this size of image has a file size of 22.8 MB.
Sadly, my image doesn’t have enough resolution to submit to Arizona Highways. But it is big
enough (greater than 5×7 at 300 dpi) for other magazines.
152 ■ Getting Published
Writing a How-To Photo Book
With the popularity of digital photography increasing daily, more people than ever are purchas-
ing digital cameras. Many of those people would like to learn how to use all of the options and
settings these cameras offer. To meet the needs of digital camera owners who have an interest in
going beyond auto mode, publishers have to put out a certain number of how-to photography
books a year that teach people how to do so.
To write a how-to photography book, such as the one shown in Figure 10.4, you not only have
to be an adept writer, you also have to have an eclectic collection of images. These days, how-to
photography books not only teach readers how to use their cameras, but they also give readers
a rich collection of sample images for them to learn the different skills needed to be a good
photographer.
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Figure 10.3 The largest resolution a 12.8-MP camera will shoot at is 7.68×11.52 inches at 300 dpi.
Probably two of the most important things
publishers look for in a potential author are the
ideas he has for a photography how-to book and
the platform (public life) upon which he works.
Publishers want novel ideas and good photographs
to go with them. They also want a potential
author to have the ability to reach the readers
for whom a book is targeted. This platform
should include that the author has a good
presence on the Internet (blogs, websites,
Twitter, Facebook) and that he is able to reach
potential book buyers on the ground (through
seminars, classes, and/or published articles).
So how does one go about beginning the
process of pitching a book to a publisher?
The first thing you should do if you have a
good idea for any type of photography book
is to get an agent. There are some agents who
specifically handle photography books. Some
handle only coffee table books, others handle
only how-to books, and there are some who handle both. There are some agencies that deal
specifically with technology books—a category that includes digital photography. Off the top of
my head, there are two literary agencies that have gotten book deals for authors of books about
digital photography. They are watersidesyndication.com and fresh-books.com.
Many large publishing companies—Wiley, for example—only accept submissions from agents.
That means it’s best to get an agent if you want to get a book deal. Agents don’t usually cost
anything (if they do, I’d be suspicious). They make their money from the money their client
makes—15 percent of it, usually.
These two agencies accept query letters by e-mail for initial contact. (Watersidesyndication.com
has a Query an Agent form, which you fill out online.) In your communication, you can
introduce yourself and describe your idea. If any of the agents likes your idea, they’ll probably
have you write a proposal. Most proposals include a description of the audience, competing or
related books, marketing, a description of the book, an outline or TOC (table of contents), and
an author bio.
154 ■ Getting Published
Figure 10.4 If you’re a good writer and you have
a diverse collection of images, you can try your
hand at writing a how-to photography book.
Entering a Photography Competition
There are a couple of big-name magazines that sponsor photography competitions in which part
of the prize (aside from money and/or travel) is getting your photos published on their pages.
Popular Photography Photo Contest
Enter at www.popphotocontest.com
America’s biggest photo magazine has a big contest. The winning images are published both in
the magazine and on the website. The categories include action/sports, candid/humor, nature,
architecture, people, and travel/places.
American PHOTO
Enter at www.iotycontest.com
The annual American PHOTO Images of the Year Competition is another biggie. The winning
images are published in an issue of American PHOTO magazine and at popphoto.com. The
categories for entries are photojournalism/documentary, commercial work: advertising/editorial,
personal work, student work, portraiture, nature, and extreme.
National Wildlife
Enter at www.nwf.org/photozone/enterphotocontest.cfm
National Wildlife, the magazine of the National Wildlife Federation, sponsors a photo contest
for wildlife photographers. Winners of the contest are published in one of their issues. There are
seven categories in three different divisions (Pro, Amateur, and Youth). The categories are global
warming, wildlife, mammals, birds, other wildlife, backyard habitats, connecting people and
nature, landscapes, and plant life.
Smithsonian Magazine
Enter at
Every year, Smithsonian magazine sponsors a contest. There are five categories in which you
can enter: natural world, Americana, altered images, travel, and people. Ten finalists from each
category are chosen. The finalists’ photos get published on the Smithsonian website.
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