RSS
 

Posts Tagged ‘Travels’

How to Sell a Travel Story to a Magazine and Help Fund Your Travels

10 Sep

The post How to Sell a Travel Story to a Magazine and Help Fund Your Travels appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kav Dadfar.

There is nothing quite like when you sell a travel story to a magazine. Seeing all your hard work in print gives you a great sense of satisfaction. Editorial work has changed a lot over the past few years, and you must prepare yourself for some rejection. However, if you follow this simple process of selling a story, and don’t give up, you will reap the rewards.

Also note, once you have built up a few relationships with editors, things get simpler. Once editors know and trust you, they will be far more receptive to your pitch for a story.

How-to-Sell-a-Travel-Story

Publication research

Once you have an article idea, it’s always a good idea to research the type of magazines that may be interested in printing your story. Magazines differ significantly from one another. To give your story the best possible chance of publication, aim to pitch it to the right place.

For example, if your story is about walking, then pitch it to magazines that specialize in hiking or outdoor activities. Go to your local shop and flick through the magazine you intend to pitch to and see if it would be the right fit.

Also, research their submission process. Many publications have clear guidelines on how to submit work.

Image: An example of a travel article in 360ºMagazine by Jennifer Bell.

An example of a travel article in 360ºMagazine by Jennifer Bell.

Find a fresh angle

When you have your list of possible publications, ensure your story is fresh and unique. You don’t want to pitch ideas that are the same or similar to articles already recently published.

Most publications publish their articles on their website too, so check that what you are pitching is different. Also, remember to check upcoming articles as well. It may be that your article idea is set to feature in the next few issues.

The publication’s media pack is usually a good place to search for this sort of thing.

How to Sell a Travel Story to a Magazine and Help Fund Your Travels

Destination research

Now that you have your angle and a list of preferred publications, it is time to research your topic. Researching your topic is one of the most important aspects of any shoot, and one rarely mentioned when discussing selling a story to a magazine. Many photographers will have you believe everything just comes together out in the field. But the reality is very different.

If your story is on the best museums in a certain city, then make sure you have a list of the museums you plan to visit. Write down everything from the best times to be there to the most important exhibits. If your angle is about hiking, then plan your walk to factor in the best times at viewpoints for photography.

The more you research, the better your shoot will be.

How-to-Sell-a-Travel-Story

Prepare for rejection

If you want to be successful in any industry, you have to accept rejection along the way. Even as a pro with years of experience behind you, not every pitch will be successful. If only it was…

The key is not to take rejection personally. Don’t let it discourage you from pitching a different story to the same publication. If you are lucky and the editor gives you some feedback, take note of their suggestions, and work on these areas. Never get angry or burn your bridges with anyone as you will have an impossible task to win them round again.

How-to-Sell-a-Travel-Story

Shoot plan

Once you’ve got your angle and completed your research, its time to start putting a shoot plan together. Your shoot plan should be more than just a list of locations – think of your shoot plan like an encyclopedia of your shoot. Include anything relevant like opening times, best times to shoot (sunset/sunrise), and logistics of getting to your required shoot locations.

Make a note of other potential locations you can visit. It’s also worth putting together some contingency ideas in the case of bad weather or unforeseen closures. The key to a good shoot plan is to make it as easy as possible to capture the shots you want to take.

The last thing that you want to be doing is rushing around, wasting valuable shooting time.

How to Sell a Travel Story to a Magazine and Help Fund Your Travels

Image variation

The reason that a shot list is so important is it ensures you cover the shots that you need to capture, and will also give you variety. Your images should include a range of details, people, buildings, landscapes/cityscapes, food, and anything else that would be relevant to your story.

The more variation and options you can provide an editor, the more chance you will have of selling your story.

How-to-Sell-a-Travel-Story

Tell a story

The big difference between a story and just documenting a place is the story you are trying to tell. You want to try to make sure your piece isn’t just a photographic list of places. The key is to take the viewer on a journey with you. It is also important to take notes of all the necessary information that accompanies your story. People’s names, places, names of food dishes – you never know what might be needed.

The final piece should be a coherent story that has a variety in the shots.

How-to-Sell-a-Travel-Story

The pitch

Some people prefer to pitch their idea before embarking on their journey. While this is a safe option in regards to knowing you wouldn’t be wasting money unnecessarily unless you already have a relationship with an editor, it can be difficult. Even if an editor does like your idea, it is very unlikely they will offer you a commission straightaway. Any agreement will usually be on a speculative basis so they will not be under any obligation to buy your article afterward.

I personally believe you are best to pitch a finished piece that’s ready to go to press. Whatever approach you decide to take, the pitch is the most crucial part of the process. You’ve put in all that hard work and investment, so it’s important to get your pitch just right so you make a great first impression.

Your email should be direct and well thought out, showing off your knowledge of your subject. It should be backed up with the credibility required to give the editor confidence in you and your work. Take your time composing your pitch email and run it by friends and family for feedback. It’s okay to send a follow-up email a couple of weeks later but don’t keep pestering the editor. If you haven’t heard back after a couple of emails, assume it hasn’t been successful.

How to Sell a Travel Story to a Magazine and Help Fund Your Travels

Submission

If you do get that great bit of news that your story has been accepted, make sure to follow all submission guidelines. Otherwise, your piece will more than likely be rejected. Your text should be proofread to avoid any spelling or grammatical mistakes. Even if you are just providing images, typos make you look unprofessional.

The majority of publications will also have strict guidelines for images, so be sure to follow these. It’s a good idea to read these before you start your edit as there will usually be guidelines on color space, sharpening and even cropping. Many publications prefer to do this in-house.

How to Sell a Travel Story to a Magazine and Help Fund Your Travels

What next?

So you’ve sent your pitch and nothing even after the follow-up. You can either try another publication or go back to the drawing board with a different story. However, even if your story has been successful, be sure to go back with other ideas. Even if it takes time, going back to the same editor might be a little easier now that they have seen your work.

How to Sell a Travel Story to a Magazine and Help Fund Your Travels

Publications have limited space for freelance photographers to pitch stories. Inevitably there is also a huge amount of competition for any available space. The best way to give yourself a chance is to really research the publication and pitch something that would be too good for them to turn down.

Do you have any other tips about how to sell a travel story to a magazine? If so, share with us in the comments below!

 

How-to-Sell-a-Travel-Story

The post How to Sell a Travel Story to a Magazine and Help Fund Your Travels appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kav Dadfar.


Digital Photography School

 
Comments Off on How to Sell a Travel Story to a Magazine and Help Fund Your Travels

Posted in Photography

 

Photographer travels around the globe to photograph all her Facebook friends

09 Aug
Ahna Anomaly, San Francisco, California

Social networks have changed the meaning of friendship. They might be called Facebook ‘friends,’ but we might not have seen some of these people in a long time, or even met them in person. With this paradigm in mind, photographer Tanja Alexia Hollander decided to take friendship back out of the virtual and into the real world, by visiting and photographing all of her 626 Facebook friends.

Since 2011 she has been traveling around the USA and to countries as far as the UK, Belgium, France, Greece, and Malaysia to meet her friends in their homes, take their portrait and share real-life experiences with them.

Shannon Lam and Maury Browning, Sungai Long, Malaysia

According to MASS MoCA in North Adams, MA, where Hollander’s Are you really my friend? is currently on display, the project turned from a personal documentary on friendship into,

“…an exploration of contemporary culture, relationships, generosity and compassion, family structure, community-building, storytelling, meal-sharing, the economy and class, the relationship between technology and travel in the 21st century, social networking, memory, and the history of the portrait.”

Mary Bok with Surely and Honey the dogs, Camden, Maine

You can see all the images and learn more about Are you really my friend? on the project website. You can also follow Tanja Alexia Hollander on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to find out about her ongoing work.


All images courtesy of Tanja Hollander and MASS MoCA, used with permission

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Photographer travels around the globe to photograph all her Facebook friends

Posted in Uncategorized

 

Travels in China: Photographing the landscapes and people of Guilin and XiaPu

16 Apr

$ (document).ready(function() { SampleGalleryV2({“containerId”:”embeddedSampleGallery_0533137695″,”galleryId”:”0533137695″,”isEmbeddedWidget”:true,”standalone”:false,”selectedImageIndex”:0,”startInCommentsView”:false,”isMobile”:false}) });

A seasoned travel photographer knows that there’s hard work involved in getting the best photos from a trip. So when Ken Koskela arrived in China on a 17-day trip, he wasn’t exactly planning on a relaxing vacation. He rose at 4 AM each day to get himself into position to photograph sunrise over the rivers, rice terraces and mountains of Guilin and XiaPu. Then, spending his afternoons with a guide, he interacted and photographed residents of the villages in the region, and spent evenings capturing sunset.

He operated on an average of four hours of sleep per night, but his hard work paid of in memorable images that capture the beauty of the region and its people. Take a look at a few images here and head to Resource Travel for the full story. Do you sacrifice sleep for great shots when you’re traveling? Let us know in the comments.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Travels in China: Photographing the landscapes and people of Guilin and XiaPu

Posted in Uncategorized

 

Hotel on Wheels: Portable Room Travels the World With You

30 Mar

[ By Delana in Boutique & Art Hotels & Global. ]

hotello portable hotel room

Cities all around the world have vast, empty spaces just going to waste – abandoned buildings, empty lots, decommissioned military barracks – but the Hotello wants to put those spaces to use. The Hotello is a tiny, portable hotel room that can go anywhere and provide a comfortable sleeping space no matter where you are.

hotel room on wheels

Designed by Antonio Scarponi and Robert de Luca for the Swiss firm daskonzept, the Hotello starts out as a rather nondescript wheeled trunk. It does the seemingly impossible by packing an entire 4 square meters room into a surprisingly small area – bed, desk, wardrobe and all.

hotello portable hotel room

Thanks to its wheels, the Hotello can be taken almost anywhere. You can set up the room in a matter of minutes by folding out the bed and setting up the metal structure that supports the sound absorbent privacy curtain. A small work space and stool let you catch up on work before bedtime, and the trunk itself acts as a storage area for clothing or other objects.

hotello

Several Hotellos could be placed together to create unique configurations if desired, but a single unit is perfect for the business traveler who simply needs a place to lie down for several hours before work starts again in the morning. Since the portable hotel room doesn’t come with a bathroom, though, it would be wise to plunk the Hotello down in a place near some public facilities.

hotel room in a trunk

Looking beyond the most obvious uses of the Hotello, though, it is clear that a solution like this would be ideal for housing victims of natural disaster. Similar, though hopefully more modest and cost-effective, solutions could be used to house homeless populations in otherwise-abandoned buildings. But of course, part of the project’s appeal is the idea that you can travel around the world with nothing  but a suitcase and a red trunk on wheels and always have a comfortable place to sleep at night.

Share on Facebook



[ By Delana in Boutique & Art Hotels & Global. ]

[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]


WebUrbanist

 
Comments Off on Hotel on Wheels: Portable Room Travels the World With You

Posted in Creativity

 

16 October, 2010 – Art Wolfe’s Travels To The Edge – Season 1 Now Online

16 Oct

We have now completed publication of all thirteen episodes of Season 1 of Art Wolfe’s Travels to The Edge series.

Individual episodes are just .95 each. The complete 13 episode series is also available at a special discount price of US . These programs are presented exclusively here as 720P High Definition downloads.

Find Out More And Download

 


The Luminous Landscape – What’s New

 
Comments Off on 16 October, 2010 – Art Wolfe’s Travels To The Edge – Season 1 Now Online

Posted in News

 

11 October, 2010 – Art Wolfe’s Travels To The Edge

15 Oct

 

View Free HD Preview Video

 

Master photographer Art Wolfe needs little introduction. Over the course of his 30-year career, Art has worked on every continent and in hundreds exotic of locations worldwide. Through his public television series, Art Wolfe’s Travels To The Edge, Art has been taking us on fascinating visual journeys to visit and photograph far flung lands, people and creatures. His love and respect for our planet’s beauty, and talents as a photographer continue to inspire viewers.

Now, through a joint publishing effort between Art and The Luminous Landscape, we are excited to provide you with all 26 episodes of his award winning television series Art Wolfe’s Travels To The Edge as immediate HD video downloads Each episode shows Art working in one of the most remote and photographically challenging locations on earth.

Going into its third season,  Art Wolfe’s Travels To The Edge is recurrently airing worldwide. Now, for the first time and only available on the Luminous Landscape, is the downloadable version in HD!

Find Out More And Download

 


The Luminous Landscape – What’s New

 
Comments Off on 11 October, 2010 – Art Wolfe’s Travels To The Edge

Posted in News