What Are Publishers Looking For In Pictures That Accompany Feature Articles

Writing articles for magazines can be a very rewarding activity. It can also provide you with a great opportunity to improve your non-fiction writing skills, as you’ll find that successfully writing articles for magazines demands that you have a wide knowledge of a whole range of subject matters, that you create a writing skill that is instantly accessible to a number of different readers, and that you are able to tailor your writing to meet the differing requirements of magazine publications. In addition, being able to write strong articles can ultimately be a very fruitful source of income.
Often writers find that they are more successful in achieving a publishing contract for their non-fiction, article writing if they are able to provide strong illustrations to accompany the articles they produce. Generally the type of illustration that is requested from magazines or newspapers is photographs. Having strong photographs included within a feature article can really bring the article to life. Not only do they add a visual dimension to the written piece, which can help the article to appeal to those readers who are particularly stimulated by imagery, but photography can also add colour and vibrancy to the piece of writing. Furthermore, pictures often really do say a thousand words, and so the key messages of your article can be effectively highlighted through the inclusion of strong photos.
Publishing companies will generally always look to add some form of photographic imagery or illustration to the feature articles they produce. And so if the article author has provided this imagery for them, that’s one less job for the publishing company to have to finish…and one more reason for them to pick your article for publication! Therefore it is always a good idea to include one or two photos with your article submissions.
The quality of the photo provided is of paramount importance however. So when it comes to choosing a photo for inclusion with your article, think about the sort of things that the publisher will be looking for in the photo itself:
– Firstly make sure you have permission to use the article. Under no circumstances should you include a photo that you are not sure the publishing company will be able to publish. The best way to avoid this problem is to take the photo yourself!
– Look at the magazine or newspaper’s guidance on photo submissions. They are likely to have specifics on the quality of the photo etc that you will need to meet. Almost all publishers will ask for digital photography.
– Be sure to choose a photo that really conveys the crucial messages of your article. The photo needs to be relevant to the article content.