“Old media” in the context of this article refers to print publications that have little to no connection to the online world (i.e. the internet) whatsoever.
Many of you out there have got the camera bug, so to speak, and would appreciate some ways to make a few extra bucks from the photos you take.
In this article we’ll discuss how to get noticed and then how to use that status to make some bucks afterwards.
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Examples of Old Media
There are basically only two types.
- The newspaper
- A “Buyer’s Guide”
An explanation of each:
Everybody knows what a newspaper is. For every town in America there are daily papers available just about anywhere. What you want to do is concentrate on the smaller papers. I’ll speak more on that in a moment.
A “Buyer’s Guide” is that thing you get for free in your mailbox once weekly, bi-weekly or monthly.
In Tampa Florida, an example of this is TheFlyer; this is a freebie weekly publication.
Some buyer’s guides do run local stories while others do not. What you want are the ones that actually do run stories – even if on an infrequent basis.
To note, there is a third type of publication, that being magazines. However it’s a fool’s errand to try to get your photos in there as 99% of the time you’ll get a “thanks but no thanks” for any attempt you make.
Take photos of local events
Definition of a “local event”: Something that is considered news-worthy where you live.
Some examples:
- An old building gets torn down
- A new building gets erected
- Something gets knocked down and/or damaged due to inclement weather (phone pole falls over, antenna gets bent, barn collapses, etc.)
- A local sports game (be it kids or adults)
- The local police and/or fire department gets new trucks
- Town beautification (tree planting, landscaping, etc.)
You get the idea. This is all stuff that is news-worthy in a local publication.
Submit photos to the editor of local-only publications for free
You purposely want to target local-only publications because your chances of having your photos published are much greater.
You want to make sure that you do not ask for any money when you do this, because the publication simply won’t pay you.
Instead, what you want to do is have your photo credit include your web site or blog (read below for how to do that).
How to submit photos to the editor
1. Physically burn the photos to CD, go to the office of the publication and drop it off.
Local publications are always happy to receive resident-contributed content. Burn your photos to disc, and drop them off at the office with a small printed letter that states something like this:
These are photos of [insert local even here]. I thought they might be nice for a story. Feel free to use them. If you do use them, just let me know, thanks!
Your Name
Your Phone Number
Your Email Address
2. Send an email directly to the editor.
For most publications the editor’s email address is listed in plain sight on the “contact” page for the publication’s web site.
It is suggested you post your photos to Flickr and post event photos in a set for easy viewing.
The email can be something like this:
These are photos of [insert event here]. I thought they might be nice for a story. Free free to use them.
The photos are all here: [insert Flickr link to photo set here]
If you do use them, just let me know, thanks!
Your Name
Your Phone Number
Your Email Address
What to do when the editor returns contact
What should occur is that the editor will return contact and say “Thanks, we’ll use them”, if interested. Hopefully he or she will contact by phone.
AT THIS POINT – what you should do is that per your photo credit (which will be listed under your published photos), request your WEB SITE be listed along with your name.
If you need a web site, just use a freebie WordPress blog. If your name is Jane Doe, list the blog as “Jane Doe Photography”. Your web site address will be something like JaneDoePhoto.wordpress.com.
The goal here is to have your photo credit tell people where to find you on the internet; many of them will act on it and go to your site.
What to do with your web site
Make a bunch of prints available for sale. Make some photo-calendars too while you’re at it. Just head over to CafePress or Lulu and create a few.
On your WordPress blog, make some articles stating you have photos for sale with links to your products.
And that’s basically it.
Will the publication ever pay you for your photos?
If you establish a relationship with the publication and provide them with good news-worthy photos on a routine basis, then yes the publication should eventually start paying you. It might not be a lot, but hey, better than nothing, right?
Just remember the goal is to not get paid by the publication but rather to establish sales via your web site. If you can get sales and get paid by the publication, that’s great.
Do you need super-high-quality photos to make any of this happen?
No. Any digital camera will work as long as it can produce an image of at least 3000-pixel-wide resolution or greater. Almost all digital cameras new right now under $200 can accomplish this easily.
Tips for photos that print publications like
Action shots
If it’s something in motion, this gives “life” to an otherwise static format.
Evokes emotion
If it can crack a smile, be adorable, make someone cry, surprise, shock, etc. – then the photo is doing its job.
A litter of kittens evokes emotion. A broken building evokes emotion. A person “frozen in motion” evokes emotion. You get the idea.
Faces
You will notice that human faces make appearances in photos in print publications more than any other. There’s a reason for this – the human face is arguably the most interesting thing to look at in a photo.
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