If you want to get your car pictures published
Discussion
For those just starting out taking pictures of cars but have had little success, you might want to try submitting pictures to car club magazines to start with, then you will become more professional and then might even get paid. You won't ever be rich, but it can be fun.
I used to edit a monthly car club magazine: high quality A4, 64/72 pages, with just 30% given to adverts, so quite a few pages to fill. I wondered if my experiences might be useful to those photographers who are being ignored by editors.
There are some basics: you are taking the photographs for the editor, not for you, so if you want dramatic and he wants pretty then this is what you take.
Any article writer will tell you that the general rule is that a submission with lots of images stands a much greater chance of being accepted that one without. The reverse is also true: with the amount of stock images out there, it is easy to get lost in the background. If you want to get published, illustrate an article. If you don’t think you can produce the copy, most writers can produce something useful from bullet points and a bit of detail. (PM me, always looking for work.)
Relate the images to the article. If the story is about the new steering wheel, then lots of picture of the steering wheel. Basic indeed, but often missed.
The greater the choice the better. The higher the resolution the better, even if they are for on-line.
Don't embed them in Word.
Send a CD of images. Title each one. Be specific: SLK 170 white, front, static. Include the copy, even if you have already sent it by email, and also include any limitations. Don’t be precious early on.
Mix the shots. Ten images of a car all facing the same way means an unbalanced article. In the same way, don’t include all pictures where the main colour is the same. If the cars are all red, include pictures of engines and wheels, of a different colour.
Put yourself in the position of an editor looking at photographs day after day.
I got fed up with shiny cars. How about a bit of disc pad dust along the side of a car at the top, or bottom come to that, of a pass? It shows that the car has been enjoyed.
Get the picture to tell a story. Get it to do something, hopefully linked to the article in some way. If it has broken down, then open the bonnet and show the fault. If the car won a race after a long duel then we need to see both cars in the same shot.
A big one here, put people in the shot, and not just those you could not be arsed to wait to walk past. People add a bit of interest and, if they are doing something, then so much the better. Pretty girls are good of course. Draping them over the bonnet might add excitement to the photoshoot, but you can use them in other ways too. But people can’t act, so don’t ask them to look interested and, worse still, don’t get them pointing at anything.
Picture to show how like its predecessor the new C-Class, W205, is.
No one noticing. Picture courtesy of www.leaseyournextcar.com
Don’t be afraid of approaching a woman to get her in the picture. If she’s attractive then she knows it so telling her so won’t shock her. “Would you mind getting into shot for me? A person adds interest to a picture and an attractive one more so.”
Women accept compliments easier than men so be honest. However, don’t say: "You’ve got nice tits." A step too far.
Or better still, show someone who has some relevance to the car.
Experiment a bit. Do something different that will catch the attention of the editor. A viewpoint not at the head level of the photographer makes the picture unusual. However, have a purpose for each image: pretty, a sequence, instructional.
Here’s one that is intriguing.
Who wouldn’t wonder what was under the covers.
Don’t have favourites. An editor can see immediately the one that the photographer thought his/her best work. But they won’t care.
Remember you job is to please the editor and his/her job is to concentrate on the readership. Discover the demographics, the easiest way being to ask the editor.
You can’t submit too many images. After one Le Mans I sent 2,800+ images to my picture editor and he was over the moon. If the layout ends up with a bit of a gap, it is easier at a late stage to stick in an image rather than ask for copy.
And importantly, don’t sod about with the images. That’s the picture editor’s job. Leave it to them. You might have just spent £600 on Photoshop, but they the picture editor might only have essentials.
Taking pictures of cars for your own purposes is fun but if you want to sell them, or get them published, then it becomes a job. So it requires study. The best place to look for inspiration is a quality motoring magazine, like Octane.
Here are two images of someone famous. Can you see why the editor will pick the one with the name of one their biggest advertisers in the background?
Chat to an editor. They lack interpersonal skills, but that’s though lack of practice. If you get an editor who is interested in new talent then you won’t struggle for advice.
Be current. If there’s a new car out there, then you never know your luck. Some club magazines, such as Enjoying MG, published by the MG Owners Club, will pay (a little) to print an image. Also it benefits from a very helpful and professional editor. Shame about the design.
Pretty always sells.
Demand a link to your website, hotlink if online:
Unless otherwise stated, all images are copyright: see www.slkguide.co.uk
I used to edit a monthly car club magazine: high quality A4, 64/72 pages, with just 30% given to adverts, so quite a few pages to fill. I wondered if my experiences might be useful to those photographers who are being ignored by editors.
There are some basics: you are taking the photographs for the editor, not for you, so if you want dramatic and he wants pretty then this is what you take.
Any article writer will tell you that the general rule is that a submission with lots of images stands a much greater chance of being accepted that one without. The reverse is also true: with the amount of stock images out there, it is easy to get lost in the background. If you want to get published, illustrate an article. If you don’t think you can produce the copy, most writers can produce something useful from bullet points and a bit of detail. (PM me, always looking for work.)
Relate the images to the article. If the story is about the new steering wheel, then lots of picture of the steering wheel. Basic indeed, but often missed.
The greater the choice the better. The higher the resolution the better, even if they are for on-line.
Don't embed them in Word.
Send a CD of images. Title each one. Be specific: SLK 170 white, front, static. Include the copy, even if you have already sent it by email, and also include any limitations. Don’t be precious early on.
Mix the shots. Ten images of a car all facing the same way means an unbalanced article. In the same way, don’t include all pictures where the main colour is the same. If the cars are all red, include pictures of engines and wheels, of a different colour.
Put yourself in the position of an editor looking at photographs day after day.
I got fed up with shiny cars. How about a bit of disc pad dust along the side of a car at the top, or bottom come to that, of a pass? It shows that the car has been enjoyed.
Get the picture to tell a story. Get it to do something, hopefully linked to the article in some way. If it has broken down, then open the bonnet and show the fault. If the car won a race after a long duel then we need to see both cars in the same shot.
A big one here, put people in the shot, and not just those you could not be arsed to wait to walk past. People add a bit of interest and, if they are doing something, then so much the better. Pretty girls are good of course. Draping them over the bonnet might add excitement to the photoshoot, but you can use them in other ways too. But people can’t act, so don’t ask them to look interested and, worse still, don’t get them pointing at anything.
Picture to show how like its predecessor the new C-Class, W205, is.
No one noticing. Picture courtesy of www.leaseyournextcar.com
Don’t be afraid of approaching a woman to get her in the picture. If she’s attractive then she knows it so telling her so won’t shock her. “Would you mind getting into shot for me? A person adds interest to a picture and an attractive one more so.”
Women accept compliments easier than men so be honest. However, don’t say: "You’ve got nice tits." A step too far.
Or better still, show someone who has some relevance to the car.
Experiment a bit. Do something different that will catch the attention of the editor. A viewpoint not at the head level of the photographer makes the picture unusual. However, have a purpose for each image: pretty, a sequence, instructional.
Here’s one that is intriguing.
Who wouldn’t wonder what was under the covers.
Don’t have favourites. An editor can see immediately the one that the photographer thought his/her best work. But they won’t care.
Remember you job is to please the editor and his/her job is to concentrate on the readership. Discover the demographics, the easiest way being to ask the editor.
You can’t submit too many images. After one Le Mans I sent 2,800+ images to my picture editor and he was over the moon. If the layout ends up with a bit of a gap, it is easier at a late stage to stick in an image rather than ask for copy.
And importantly, don’t sod about with the images. That’s the picture editor’s job. Leave it to them. You might have just spent £600 on Photoshop, but they the picture editor might only have essentials.
Taking pictures of cars for your own purposes is fun but if you want to sell them, or get them published, then it becomes a job. So it requires study. The best place to look for inspiration is a quality motoring magazine, like Octane.
Here are two images of someone famous. Can you see why the editor will pick the one with the name of one their biggest advertisers in the background?
Chat to an editor. They lack interpersonal skills, but that’s though lack of practice. If you get an editor who is interested in new talent then you won’t struggle for advice.
Be current. If there’s a new car out there, then you never know your luck. Some club magazines, such as Enjoying MG, published by the MG Owners Club, will pay (a little) to print an image. Also it benefits from a very helpful and professional editor. Shame about the design.
Pretty always sells.
Demand a link to your website, hotlink if online:
Unless otherwise stated, all images are copyright: see www.slkguide.co.uk
Edited by Derek Smith on Sunday 1st June 15:35
For a minute there I thought you were doing a photo grab for Sprint, the TVRCC magazine...
All good stuff but:
All good stuff but:
Derek Smith said:
Unless otherwise stated, all images are copyright: see www.slkguide.co.uk
- is this just an example of copy or do you mean all the photos you posted are copyright of a Mercedes site?Simpo Two said:
For a minute there I thought you were doing a photo grab for Sprint, the TVRCC magazine...
All good stuff but:
A bit of both. I was going to give a spoof example but that would have been creative and as no one is paying me . . .All good stuff but:
Derek Smith said:
Unless otherwise stated, all images are copyright: see www.slkguide.co.uk
- is this just an example of copy or do you mean all the photos you posted are copyright of a Mercedes site?Gassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff