Selling your photos to magazines – how to?

Hi guys,
For example you have made studio photos of a luxury telecommunication device that a company is planning to launch sometime in late September… how would you submit this photos to a magazines? Which magazines, do you believe, might be more interested? What do you think might be an adequate price to ask?

Thanks!
James

I think on this one, you are going to fnd that the manufacturer will be doing the press release with FREE PHOTOS (probably the ones you took too) or supplying test units to the media who can shoot their own photos. I doubt you are going to find any magazine willing to pay for the pics.

If you shot the pics for the manufacturer, you may have a problem. You should have signed a non disclosure agreement to not release the photos, or the copyright should have gone to them. If for some reason you didn't, you can do what you want with the photos. I can say the manufacturer will do their best to make your life miserable from there on out. Overnight your name will be mud.

So I think that if these pics are something you shouldn't be releasing, then you shouldn't be releasing them. If the manufacturer says you can distribute the photos, thats fine too, go for it. If you can sell them, thats good too.

If you can give us a bit more detail, I can probably give a better answer.

Mark H

I would guess the photos aren't worth much (unless they are very very special or top secret) because rather than pay you, the mag can get all the photos they want from the manufacturer who is more than happy to get the publicity.

But maybe I don't understand the context based on the limited info you provided.

Most magazines will want a story with the pictures. Just pictures with no text is pretty useless to a mag. And as stated above a lot of the product shots for the stories are taken of the review unit by the mag. Or are shots provided by the manufacture for publication.

You couldn't sell them to magazines, but maybe a review site or a rumor site will be willing to pay something for them. It won't be a lot either way.

In the UK the Bureau of Freelance Photographers release a book each year called the Freelance Photographer's Market Handbook and if you join as a member of the BFP they send a market newsletter out every month that tells you which magazines are looking for what.

Actually its not that horrible. You see, the manufacturer can either pay magazines etc. for adverting their product or they can make a free press release, yet they can also “forget” to have the photographer sign an NDA and have the photos leaked into the media. That way the manufacturer gets more free media coverage.

The idea is that the mag kinda won’t give them the photos, yet.

Well, I guess a story could be also added.

That’s a good idea! Thanks for the tip!

There is a book like that in the US as well. "Photographers Market" the book is $26.99, and no membership. It lists contact info and requirements for
publications,
stock agencies,
ad agencies,
greeting card companies,
book publishers,
galleries,
art fairs,
contests, workshops,
and general recorces.

The book is a yearly publication, but I only get it every 2-3 years as the turnover is not that great.