I know a little bit about media and photos, having done my time at
several trade mags, so I offer this in response to your question…
If you ask them, most trade magazines will tell you they prefer
slides for one simple reason: it cuts down on the number of unusable
digital images they receive. However, digital images are fine, as
long as they are of sufficient size and sufficient resolution to be
usable to the magazine. Most magazines are digital all the way to the
printer these days, so a good digital image will actually save a
step. An inadequate digital image causes mucho headaches, though,
which is why many designers prefer slides: they know what they’re
getting, and that it’ll be usable. There’s no danger of last minute
frantic calls to the submitter, who may or may not know what you’re
talking about.
So if you opt to go digital, you must be sure to give 'em what they
want, which is usually a minimum 300 dpi resolution in a 5x7 size in
a TIF format … and if in doubt, go larger and higher res. That’s a
BIG file, so you may want to invest in a CD burner, if your iMac
didn’t come equipped. Blank CDs are cheap these days though: about a
buck apiece. You should be able to fit several images on each CD.
(And learn Photoshop, so if there is a question or a problem, you can
respond quickly and with confidence.)
To make life easy for the editor, send your CD with a printed
version of the image for quick reference. Don’t use itty bitty
thumbnails, either – you can’t tell what the photo is of that way.
3x5 or 4x6 is probably adequate. Photo paper will give you the best
results for this printed image, but it isn’t necessary. The printed
image is NOT usable to the magazine for reproduction purposes, but it
lets the editor see your pix immediately, without having to start
Photoshop, etc. It also makes it easier for the editor and the
designer to look at your photos while they’re discussing article
layout. Anything that makes the editor’s job easier moves you one
step closer to publication.
Please be sure to label the CD with your name, and write the
filename of the image on the bottom or back of the printed photo. Try
for a unique name… perhaps adding your initials at the beginning of
the file name.(You’d be amazed how many image files I get labled
simply “necklace 1” “necklace 2” It makes it tough to find the right
photo later, especially if I have submissions from several sources.)
This just makes it easy for the editor and designer to find the image
they want to use on your CD.
Slides are still acceptable everywhere, since most magazines have
in-house digitizing capability. There’s no fussing with file formats
and resolutions. The slides are a bit more expensive to dupe, but
you’ll save the time spent on burning CDs and printing photos, which
will allow you to save on color ink cartridges and photo paper. And
if you want jury slides, they’ll be right there ready to go. … If
you go digitial, ask at your local photo lab about how
easy/hard/expensive it will be to convert a digital image to a slide
at a later date.
You can also digitize slides with a film scanner (not a flatbed, but
a scanner designed for scanning negatives, slides, etc.) These are a
couple hundred bucks, and you can also use them to digitize any past
slides, as well. These digitize at very high resolutions, and should
easily produce an image of magazine quality.
Note: you will not get magazine quality prints with an inexpensive
digital camera. The resolution on most $100 cameras is something like
72 dpi, not anywhere near the quality you’re looking for. (Although
they are just fine for websites and other on-screen presentations.)
You’re probably looking at cameras in the $500 and up range for this
use.
BTW, five years ago I would have absolutely agreed with your slide
photographer that film was the only way to go. Now… maybe yes,
maybe no. Depends on the equipment. The really high end professional
digital equipment is amazing. I’m still not sure it competes with
medium format film, but for slides, it’s darn close, if not already
there.
One last point in choosing a photographer: Make sure he/she is
experienced photographing jewelry. No matter what the medium, a bad
photo is still a bad photo, and jewelry photography is one of the
most challenging areas of photography there is. I have seen more bad
photos than I can count: poorly lit, reflecting the camera, and/or
with poor depth of field. (Meaning that the front of the piece is in
focus, but the back is out of focus. With jewelry, you really want to
see the whole thing. If I understand correctly, with my somewhat
sketchy grasp of photographic principles, the problem is caused by
using a low F-stop, like F2 or whatever. You want an F-stop of F22 or
something, which is, of course, a small aperture and requires more
light and/or a slower shutter speed. You can see why I leave this to
the professionals!)
You can fix many faults digitally, but I think it’s easier, and
cleaner, to get a good photo to begin with. And that’s still an art.
Ask to see the photographer’s portfolio, and if he hasn’t done
jewelry photography before, pass him by. If your work includes
make sure he’s familiar with the special challenges
associated with lighting gems. You’re paying too much to provide an
education. If he wants to get into jewelry photography, negotiate a
sweetheart price, and understand that there will be a learning curve,
no matter how experienced the photographer is. A good jewelry
photographer can make even a boring piece sing. An inexperienced one
can make even an exciting piece boring.
Also, be sure to discuss copyright issues up front. You may hold the
copyright on the jewelry, but the photographer will hold the
copyright on the photo. Will the photographer sign over copyright to
you? If not, is he going to expect additional payment every time the
image is published? Having been burnt in the past, most magazines
will send you a copyright release form before they publish anything,
asking you to state that you hold copyright and that you give
permission for publication. If you don’t hold copyright, you’ll have
to have the photographer sign it… which is not the time you want to
be negotiating fair payment for the use. Discuss this up front, and
get it in writing. Don’t expect that the magazines will pay the fee:
they might, but they might also just use someone else’s (free)
photos. Be sure to include the photographer’s credit in the caption
info you send with the photos.
Well, that’s my two cents worth. If you have any other questions I
can answer, don’t hesitate to ask!
Suzanne