6 Tips for Magazine Submissions

From Megan Breukelman, Editor-in-Chief, at meganbreukelman.com

Ready to submit your fashion editorial to a magazine? Before you do, consider these factors in your fashion magazine submission. It’s super important when planning your shoot to keep these six things in mind. Your editorial may be right for one magazine, but is it right for the one you’re sending to?

Lighting

Good lighting is the number one essential factor to a good photograph. In the case of editorial photography, it’s absolutely crucial to have consistent, skillful lighting. There are many different styles of lighting, and you need to find a style that works for both you and your editorial. Make sure the mood you’re setting with light matches the tone of the overall concept.

Hair & Makeup

The quality of hair and makeup styling can make or break a shoot. If this does not flow with the rest of the styling of a fashion editorial, the shoot isn’t going to work. Make sure that your makeup artist and hair stylist are on the same page as everyone else. You can even put together a specific mood board if you want to get extra specific. Also make sure that the makeup they’re doing is going to photograph well in your lighting style; think about heavy makeup with hard lighting. It’s not always going to work.

Wardrobe

If you’re submitting to a fashion magazine, it’s likely that there’s going to be an emphasis on the actual fashion in the editorial. Find a good stylist that you’re comfortable working with, and brainstorm together on the shoot concept. Come prepared with inspiration and mood boards so that the stylist knows exactly what they’re getting into. Also a good tip: ask the magazine if they will provide a pull letter for your stylist. This will ensure that your stylist gets quality pieces to give you an even stronger editorial.

Posing

Warm up your models and make sure that they’re comfortable during the shoot. There is nothing more disheartening than a wellstyled shoot with an uncomfortable model. I’m not talking about avant-garde fashion poses that may look difficult; I’m talking about models that are uncomfortable. Make sure everybody is feeling good vibes on set for best results.

Aesthetic

You may have created a wonderful editorial, but that’s not the only thing that needs to be taken into consideration. Look at the aesthetic of the fashion magazine that takes submissions before you hit send. Hopefully, you’ve done this before the shoot. If your style is super dark and grungy and the fashion magazine is a very clean and contemporary, it’s likely that the editor is going to pass on your submission. Make sure you’ve paid attention to what the magazine markets itself as.

Quality

Did you take the time to put your submission into a nicely formatted email? Did you package it well in a PDF, or submit exactly as the magazine specified? The editor looking at your work is going to be looking for a quality submission. Send a pleasant email–– not too long, but something cordial to introduce yourself and your work. Are your credits formatted properly? Make sure that the quality of your submission matches the quality of your work.