The Benefits of Being A Published Photographer

 

Cover Image Carla Coulson for Qantas Magazine

Have you ever wondered what would happen to your profile or career if you had your images published in  prestigious magazines locally and Internationally?

I have the great fortune throughout the past twelve years to have had my images published over and over again in magazines and books but the thrill of seeing those pages and the ‘atomic reaction’ that comes soon after never ceases to astonish me.

What ‘reaction’ I can hear you saying?

Photo Carla Coulson for Qantas Magazine

Now I worked closely with the gorgeous folks at Qantas magazine for almost 9 years and I knew what readership power this magazine has so when I heard they were publishing an excerpt of my new book I was doing double star jumps.

Yep, 1,000,000 people read this magazine which is on every flight in the world for a month. Now if you have ever flown from Paris to Sydney, Sydney to China and run out of reading material you will be scouring those Qantas pages in minute detail, each story a little lifesaver that will get you painlessly to touchdown.

Photos Carla Coulson for Qantas Magazine

There were hundreds of times when I had shot a story for Qantas, a hotel in Florence, a boutique in Milan, a market in Sicily and faithfully gone back with the magazine sometime later.

Nine times out ten I had been beaten to the cause by an enthusiastic traveller who had jumped off the plane, ripped out the pages of the magazine and so excited to go to one of the destinations that had been photographed, had presented themselves long at the said place before I could even get there with my copy!

Photo Carla Coulson for Qantas Magazine

So I was skipping and hugging myself with happiness when the wonderful folks at Qantas said they were going to publish an excerpt of my latest book Naples A Way Of Love cause I knew what was going to happen. An avalanche of people calling, snapping the magazine and sending me a pic, friends husbands reporting in that they had seen me (the story and my name) on the flight home and lots of Google Juice to my website (keep it coming I am loving it!).

Photos Carla Coulson for Qantas Magazine

So if you dream of being published photographer here are some of the benefits of having your photographs published in magazines:

Instant credibility as a ‘working’ photographer.

Marketing ‘a go go’! Having your name published in a magazine is like having a private publicity campaign done on your behalf for your work as a photographer and depending on the distribution of the magazine your name and photos reach a wide audience that we can only dream of.

You get an instant profile. I call it the ‘now I exist syndrome’. There are two Carla’s the one before she had anything published and the one after.

Having your photos and name published in a magazine is marketing not only to the public but to every art director in the industry and gives you more credibility in their eyes. It also makes it easier to approach other magazines with whom you want to work.

The published pages of the magazine with your work are known as ‘tear sheets’. These pages are gold and can translate into big advertising contracts or commercial work if that is the direction you want to go in.

Having a book published was made easier when I presented my portfolio of magazine work, the publisher immediately knew I had a profile and was a reliable professional photographer (why?.. because magazines were booking me and they wouldn’t be working with me if I didn’t deliver).

I hope you enjoyed this little insight into a couple of benefits of what can happen if you have your photos published.

My Favourite Gear

Canon EOS 5D Mark III 

Canon EF 24-70mm 

Canon EF 35mm 

Manfrotto Lightweight Tripod

“Even after I’d published three books and had been writing full-time for twenty years, my father continued to urge me to go to law school.” Susan Orlean

 

 

Please share if you know a photographer who would love to have their work published.