Size of photos-sending them to a magazine

[ContessaPhoto]

I need a little help with this. Soon I'll get the hang of it. I'm sending photos to a magazine. Are any of these sizes too big? (218k) (969k)(474k)(203k) (626k)? Thank you.

[tedtim]

I suggest that you look through the magazine, or on the associated website for the specifications for photo submissions. It is not the file size that is the issue, but the format and quality of the photo.

One magazine I sent some photos to wanted only .tif format, minimum of 300 dpi, and 8 x 10 for digital or print. The file size was quite big. Same for a few photo contests, they specified the file format, image size, and dpi.

[KennyG]

Some of the publications that take my work insist on file sizes in excess of 20mb (30mb for one) and a 300dpi tag. Shooting RAW and converting to TIF and changing the tag to 300dpi meets their needs and I have never had an image refused on the basis it does not meet their standards. A lot of magazine standards for images are hang-overs from the scanned slides days and the publishers still have not moved into the real world.

May I suggest you call them and ask instead of trying to guess what they want.

[robertwgross]

A lot of magazine standards for images are hang-overs from the scanned slides days and the publishers still have not moved into the real world.

That has certainly been the case up to and including a year or two ago. However, I have to think that the old dinosaurs will be pulled into the 21st century someday.

And then there is the National Geographic...

---Bob Gross---

[ricphoto]

You should always try and speak to the art director at the publisher involved - not the editor.

I work for several of Australia's leading after market car magazines and most editors either don't know or don't care about digital Vs tranny - they want the photos, but how to take them and on what format isn't what they know about, let alone what size, DPI, resolution, Hue, saturation, Adobe RGB, SRBG, Mac tagged ....

The art department or art director is always on the ball with this area and should be able to guide you in the right direction.

I also syndicate a lot of features to the UK and several European countries ... across the board, TIFFs are preferred as Ken G has indicated and yes, also as Ken indicates up to 20 / 30Mb.
There is a growing acceptance of JPEGs though as the main opening shot - that is the 2-page opening spread, although medium format is still in use here.

Oh dear, now I've started a whole new argument, eh :)

But talk to the art director.