Hi Guys! Welcome back. I'm Joy, I own Joy Michelle Photography, and
today we're going to be talking about getting published and featured as a photographer. So tip #1 for getting your work published
is to do your research on blog publications and magazine subscriptions. So you need to know what these editors are
looking for, and what kind of work they tend to feature.
So you may start to notice patterns that your
work would fit really well on a certain blog, or this magazine looks a lot like work that
you do, so you want to find one that fits stylistically into your genre of work. That way you're not wasting your time submitting
to everybody where they might not be interested in darker moody images, or lighter airy images. Tip number two is to know and read all of
the submission publication rules before you submit and abide by all of them. Every single blog or magazine will have publication
guidelines.
They will have requirements on their website
- and they will tell you how big they want the images, whether or not they like to see
collages, watermarks, certain things, and they will be very very clear, and this is
one area where you do not want to skip or be lazy about in any way. Editors and publishers do not want to have
5 more steps in order to make your images fit into their blog. They have so many submission to begin with
that you want to make sure that you don't get passed over for such a simple and avoidable
reason like a submission guideline requirement. So read those guidelines and take them seriously.
The third tip I have for you today is to shoot
with getting featured in mind. Now, the big part to remember with features
is 70-80% of a feature is detail shots. So your detail shots need to be top notch
and maybe that means you give yourself an extra few minutes at your next wedding. You arrive a little bit early.
Or you practice styling at home. Or you bring some styling aids to the wedding. So like ribbons, vintage stamps, a special
hanger, that kind of thing. I bring a styling kit and I also arrive early
to every wedding so that I know that I can get these detail shots no matter how crazy
the wedding day is.
Because I know that these detail shots are
super important and necessary if I'm going to get featured. So make sure that you keep those detail shots
in mind. Alright- so the next tip that I have for you
guys is to build genuine vendor relationships. Now if you curate your submission, and send
an email to an editor using their first name and putting some genuine comments inside of
that email so that it doesn't look like a template email that you sent 50 other blogs,
I really believe that this helps make your submission stand out from the rest.
Honestly, many times, even when I haven't
been accepted by a blog, the editor will write me back, because they know I'm a real person. They will explain to my why the publication
passed on a submission and they can tell me what they did like and what they didnt like. That gives me so much insight as to what to
do next time. So, be a real person, treat these editors
and bloggers like real people, and be personal with them and build those relationships.
I would not have gotten this magazine cover
or any photos inside of this magazine, if I didn't reach out to the editor and talk
to this person, and say "what can I do for your publication I know you're working on
this magazine"so really be tenacious and get after it but also be personable and realize
that these are people behind desks - just like you. When you send an email, don't put "to whom
it may concern" - write To editor so and so. You know?Really do the research. Go on linkedin.
Go on the website. You can find these people's first names and
figure out who is going to be receiving your submission. IT really makes you sand out from the rest
of the crowd. So two little bonus tips or thoughts that
I want to leave you with is # 1 - features and blogs are a little bit like fashion in
that they're always thinking a season ahead.
So, if you have maybe a winter wedding that
you're hoping to get featured, you want to make sure that you submit that in the fall
so that they have time to get it on their submission calendar and their feature calendar
by the time it really is the winter. So submissions do take a fair bit of time
and I do take a lot of time curating submissions. I really think of this as an investment into
the marketing of my business to have all of these links and you know magazines, linking
back to my work and attributing the work to me, it really has grown my business and helped
me take my business to the next level. So now it's time for YOU to go submit your
work! To help you out, I actually created a submission
checklist for you! You can grab it for free down in the information section.
And it's just a tool to help you keep track
of all the different submissions, when you can expect to hear back from publications,
and make sure that you don't forget any of the little details in between. Be sure to grab that! Give this video a like! Be sure to subscribe! And I'll see you guys next time! Bye!:).
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