Pixiq

Striking and innovative images will sell on their own merit, but magazine editors love a text and photo package because they don't have to spend time finding a writer who knows something about the subject.

 Some of you may be thinking 'I am a photographer not a writer'. Sure, but you will shift more photos if you can combine them with copy. One way would be to get someone who was with you out in the field – your partner or a friend – to write the copy.

Way back in the 1960's, whilst I was having a boring day doing marine research, I wrote my first article – on sea anemones. Wild Life (no longer published) accepted it and paid me what I thought then was the princely sum of 20 guineas (a guinea is the equivalent of GBP 1.05). I did not relish writing then; but the more I did the more I enjoyed it and after other articles appeared, this gave me the confidence to write many more for natural history, wildlife and photo magazines in the UK, the States, Italy, Germany, Japan and China.

Jot down ideas

Even if you don't have enough images at the moment, jot down ideas for future articles. This will fuel how you see and take additional images when you are out shooting. My list is on a notice board by the door of my office, so I see it every time I leave and it is constantly updated. When I have no pressing deadlines I pick up the phone or fire off an email to sell an idea – although most of articles I now write are commissioned.

 The length of an illustrated article and number of images is highly variable and depends on the style and readership of the magazine. I do a regular piece for Nikon Owner Magazine, which is around 600 words linked to a single image. Most often I write 1000 –15000 words with six to ten images.

The range of magazine titles is huge and while each will have regular columnists, there is always scope for freelancers with good ideas and some great images. Then once you get into print, you will have tear sheets to show other clients you are bona fide.

Where and how to write

My output increased dramatically after I met the writer Natalie Goldberg (author of Writing Down the Bones) in 1989 on a whale-watching trip to Baja California. She told me she never left home without a pen and pad so she could write in a café or on a train. Realizing all the downtime wasted at airports and on planes, I began to write on long haul flights and at airports – especially in China where flights maybe delayed for many hours. Now I prefer to travel to lecture venues by train so I can work en route instead of seething whilst sitting in a traffic jam. Because I can write much more speedily than I can input from a keyboard, I still prefer to compose in longhand and get someone else to type it up for me. Then I do the edits on a computer. 

Know your market

Before I put pen to paper, I research the market by scanning through magazines at a newsagent, jotting down the title, the Features Editor and the approximate ratio of text to photos (50:50 or 75:25). Nowadays, many magazines supply downloadable contributors' guidelines on their website. Check with the Features Editor that they have not covered the topic recently. If they express interest, send an outline synopsis with low res images to clinch the deal.

Style and length

Then before starting a feature, check whether the copy should be in the first or third person. Remember some monthly magazines have a lead-time of several months, so if an article ties in with a specific date, it needs to be pitched way before then. Typically, images for seasonal articles need to be shot a year beforehand, for publication the next. Write the article to the preferred length, producing more won't impress. It could be the main reason it is not accepted. It is far better to get someone else to read it suggesting where passages could be cut and then do a tight edit.

Some technical articles require captions of a specific word length; but fortunately I have never been asked to provide triangular captions like one author I know!

Tips for a photo story

• think of a snappy title (no pun intended)
• jot down sub heads – these are the skeleton to which flesh is added later
• select possible images – best to have plenty and prune down
• wide shot to open if it is about a location
• vary the pace of images with a mix of verticals and horizontals; wide telephoto and macro shots.
• images need to be eye-catching
• before submitting digital images, complete the metadata with your name copyright
• before sending copy and images state you are only selling one-time rights – not the copyright of the images
• copy needs to be informative
• facts – especially place names – need to be correct

 Opening shots

These set the scene for what follows; they may be a full single page with the title and copy opposite or a double page spread (dps) with a striking subject on one side and plenty of negative space on the other for the title and some introductory copy.

 Covers

Cover shots have to stand out on a crowded newsstand enough to make a casual passer-by want to pick it up. You would be very lucky to get a cover shot selected early on, but it is worth looking at magazines to see just how much negative space is required on some for the masthead, tasters about inside content and sometimes the dreaded bar code. By this time, any simple image is looking decidedly cluttered!

Finally, make sure you know your subject and don't try to bite off more than you can chew at first. To avoid rejection slips, stick to the brief and produce lively copy with eye-catching photos.