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Getting Published: Is it Worth It and Our Tips on Getting Your Work Featured · Luxe & Legacy Podcast

Welcome to the Lux and Legacy Podcast.
I'm Marie from Marie Elizabeth Photography.
And I am Amber from Light livin in Photography.
We created this show for photographers who are ready to run a luxury business with clarity, intention, and elevated artistry.
Each week we uncover the strategies behind high level brands from shooting and styling to client communication, to marketing, to designing heirloom products that increase your value.
If you want to attract aligned clients, produce, work with a recognizable aesthetic and build a business that supports the life you want, this podcast will guide you there.
Let's dive in.
Welcome back.
Today we're gonna talk about a really interesting topic, something that I have seen posted in multiple Facebook groups and a topic that we were messaged about wanting to learn more.
And this is getting published.
Is it worth it? And exactly how to get accepted by publications.
I am going to share my honest thoughts and real tips today.
And just a little side note, Amber is currently sick.
It seems like there is a end of winter, early spring sickness going around because I was quite sick a couple weeks ago myself.
So you are just gifted with my presence today.
Talking all about published, getting published.
Okay, so first, what does it mean to get published? Now, there are a couple different ways to get published.
The first is simply that another Instagram account shares your work on a weekly feature.
Now this is simply going to get your.
Business out there to other photographers.
It's not necessarily going to get you new clients, but it takes very little effort to tag other family and motherhood, photography, blogs on your post when you're going to post.
So I think there is no harm done there.
I would definitely continue tagging other blogs, but that's the first kind of published.
It's not.
Going to benefit your business too much, but it's very minimal effort.
Now, the main way to get published is to have your work either from a single session or a selective group of images.
Published on a website that is an online journal or a publication that is focused on family maternity or newborn photography.
And so that's what we're really going to dive into today talking about is it worth it too? But take the effort to set aside and submit your work and fill out a submission form to these blogs and exactly how I recommend doing it.
Okay.
So let's just talk about.
Is it worth it? Personally, I do not think getting published carries the weight it used to.
I don't think there's anything bad with getting published, but I also do not think it's going to necessarily move the needle in your business.
Unless you're getting published by People Magazine or Vogue, where there are tons and tons of eyes on your work and every potential client who stumbles upon your page is going to recognize those badges when they see them.
With that said, I do think getting published is helpful in a couple ways.
First, if you are submitting your work to online publications, you are likely going to get a back link to your website, and that helps with SEO or showing up on Google.
Granted, a lot of online publications might be newer and not have really high domain authority, but it certainly doesn't hurt to get a back link from a website that specializes.
In motherhood or family photography, and a backlink is essentially just a link to your website on another website and backlinks help SEO or ranking on Google because it shows Google that other websites think you are a valuable enough resource because they're linking to your website.
So getting back links, especially from.
Related websites like family or newborn publications.
They in turn help your website's overall, SEO.
Secondly, I think that when a potential client sees a badge on your website or sees that you've shared that your work has been published somewhere, it does help add to that social proof aspect of booking.
They wanna know that your work is good, and this is an affirmation.
Again, I don't think this carries the same weight as it used to when there were just less photographers and less publications, but I think there is no Ill effect.
So my overall thought on is getting published worth it.
I think it depends.
I think that as long as you're not devoting a ton of time to it, then it's fine.
I don't think that you should devote a lot of time in your business to getting published simply because I don't think it always moves the needle, but it can help.
So now let's go into.
Tips on getting published because this was what a lot of people wanna know, and the biggest and first tip that I would recommend is studying the publication style or try to find a publication that has a similar style to you.
I think this is huge because publications vary with the style of work that they share.
Just because you have a beautiful session does not mean it will be accepted by publications.
A publication like Heartful Magazine shares very different work compared with a publication like the Motherhood Anthology or the Kindred Path.
So for example.
Heartful Magazine generally features more documentary style photography that leans heavily on film with a darker punchier look.
Whereas the motherhood anthology generally features a lot of bright and airy lifestyle work.
The Kindred Path doesn't feature a particular editing style.
We publish Brain Air, true to color documentary.
The biggest aspect in your work the Kindred Path looks for is simply connection between multiple family members and it says it's on the submission page.
So it's important to study a publication to see what kind of work they typically share, so you know if your work aligns and if it's worth it to submit.
Your work may not be a good fit for a publication, no matter how quote good it is, if it's just not the typical style they share.
In that case, I just wouldn't set aside any time trying to submit to them.
I just.
You're going to waste time.
I would instead focus on publications that align with the style of work you typically shoot and edit.
So years ago when I first started Motherhood Photography, I planned a couple of styled sessions and I submitted them to The Found Collective, which is an online motherhood photography publication that is no longer around, sadly.
Anyway.
These styled sessions that I submitted were not accepted, and at the time I was heartbroken because I thought they were gorgeous sessions.
They were the first real elevated sessions that I had photographed.
Looking back, I think they would have been accepted if the editing style lined up with what they typically shared.
This was before I shot film or began using tap or archetype process profiles.
So although my edits were supposed to be like quote film base, they really didn't look like film to someone who actually shot film and at the time the F heavily favored film work.
I think they even want to know what percentage of the session was shot on film and what percentage was just digital.
So the sessions I submitted just didn't fit the style.
It was the editing style of the sessions.
They featured my first session that I incorporated film and tap.
That got accepted by the Found Collective because I was finally using the style they featured on their blog.
And I wanna be clear, I wasn't changing my style to be accepted.
That was the style I was trying to go towards all along.
It just took me some time to make my way there.
And that session that was accepted by the foun, I think it was equally as beautiful in terms of just.
The session itself and the location, the posing, all of that, the work, the photography I thought was as beautiful as the sessions that were denied.
But the difference was the second session fit their style because the edits were more film-like.
So that's the biggest thing, making sure that a session you are interested in submitting fits the style of the publication.
Next, and I'm not gonna go into too much detail with this one.
We've talked about it a lot, but.
It's pretty straightforward, and that's making sure your work is strong and consistent, making sure that there is a variety, opposing angles, composition, good lighting in your gallery, your skin tones should be consistent and as true to life as possible.
So you wanna definitely ensure that your work is refined.
So when you're going to submit a session or images to an online blog or publication, you wanna choose the best of the best.
So let's say you're going to submit a session that you really loved.
Ensure that when you're going through to choose images, to upload, to submit that you're choosing a variety or what that particular blog or publication wants to see in your work.
So ensure that.
You're uploading images from a variety of different compositions.
Maybe you're getting some really closed up crop details.
Maybe you're getting some holds back, setting the scene images.
Maybe you're getting some really natural interaction between dad and kids and mom and kids, but you wanna ensure there's a variety there, and you wanna make sure that all of the images have good lighting.
You can have different kinds of lighting in one session.
You could have a couple images with dappled lights and with back lighting, maybe even some direct sun, that's fine, but you want to ensure that it looks intentional and not by accident.
If you're going to be using backlighting for most of the session, that's great.
And if you're going to throw in, let's say a full sun or dappled light image or two, make sure that it's on a really.
Intense moment that's happening because the different kind of lighting is going to draw attention to the moment.
So that's going to allow it to seem intentional.
And then of course, your skin tones, you want them to be true to life as possible especially skin tones of varying colors.
You want to make sure that people are represented the right way.
And we've talked about how to make your work strong and on a luxury level before, so check out our episodes on that.
But having.
Strong and consistent work is definitely a prerequisite for submitting a session to be published.
Then the third thing I was gonna recommend is also very important and.
It's easy to get overlooked, and that is review the submission guidelines, because every publication is gonna have a slightly different process for submissions and many publications are just overflowing with.
Submission.
So if your submission doesn't meet some of the requirements such as the image sizes, or maybe you submitted a gallery link instead of a Dropbox folder, or maybe your gallery has a password and it's not supposed to, an editor isn't likely to waste their time reaching out to you, asking you to resubmit in the right format if they have a lot of other submissions waiting to be gone through.
I know the Kindred path requires a background description on the session and what you loved about it, so that kind of information can help set your session apart too.
So pay attention to what the publication wants to know about the session or maybe about you as a photographer or about the equipment you use for the session.
Another requirement that a lot of publications have is that the work you submit can't be from a workshop or styled session planned by another photographer.
This isn't.
Always the case.
It's the case.
Oftentimes, I know the Kindra path occasionally will accept some sessions that are from a styled session if you have permission from the host.
But a lot of the time, publications want your original work and planning because of styled session, incorporates the creative process of at least one other photographer.
So even though they didn't photograph.
You know your work, they are part of that overall story since they plans the wardrobe, location, colors, like all of the details.
And then my last piece of advice is to simply follow up with the editor.
It doesn't hurt to send a quick email to the editor to let them know that you submitted a session and are super excited about it.
A lot of time publications will say on their submission page when to expect to hear back, or if you don't hear back within a certain timeframe, it usually means their submission was just not accepted.
However, some publications receive tons and tons of submissions, so sending a short and sweet follow up, ensuring they receive the submission doesn't hurt as long as you're not badgering the editor.
So that was.
A lot of information.
Hopefully nothing too overwhelming, but it really comes down to ensuring that your work aligns with the particular online blog or publication, making sure that a session or images you are sharing our comprised of good lighting and posing composition.
And then making sure that you are meeting all submission requirements when it comes to the file sizes.
Maybe their images need to be, a thousand pixels on the long side.
Look at the red tape there.
Make sure that what you're submitting meets that.
And then send in a quick follow up to ensure that your submission was received.
Okay.
That's a wrap.
This episode was short and sweet, but I hope it was helpful.
So now go and pitch yourself because your work deserves to be seen and shared.
I.
Thank you so much for spending time with us today on the Luxe and Legacy Podcast.
We love being part of your journey as you build a luxury photography business that feels aligned and elevated.
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Like you discover the show and join this community.
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We have another conversation that's going to inspire and give you even more tools to grow your brand with confidence.
We can't wait to see you then.
Bye.