The Best Photography Magazines To Feature Your Work

As much of our photographic experience is increasingly through online use, when it comes to reaching out and letting the world know about your great photography, what are the best photography magazines and websites to feature your work?

The above images were taken in 1987 and have recently been published on some of the following sites.

You have a series of photographs that you are proud of and want them to reach a large audience. Where do you start? Whilst online and print magazines are a ready-made outlet for your photography, many online listings pages contain links to magazines that have eased trading.  In the active digital list I’ve put together, I’ve also included two titles that produce a conventional print version alongside an online interface.  Print publications naturally tend to favour high quality work for both singles and series.  Examples of these include LensWork and Black and White Photography.  

Below are a suggested eleven of the best photography magazines to feature your work that I’ve had direct experience with.  You can access my pages where published, (some are still in the pipeline) via the linkable name.  These are all magazines that are within reach to promote your photography.  For a comprehensive list of all other publications, visit photo.com, my recommended go to for listings of all kinds.

The Magazine Format

Petapixel

PetaPixel has a huge reach and publishes a broad spectrum of photography tips, news and features, with extensive equipment coverage.  The emphasis is on keeping a steady stream of articles to keep readers returning to the site on a daily basis. Email responses and publishing turnaround is rapid and a potential feature will connect with a large network beyond PetaPixel. For a successful pitch, photos will either need have an interesting back story or a tip or technique attached.  PetaPixel is an ideal vehicle if you are proficient in processing and techniques in camera, such as multi-exposure or ICM and have some good photos to go with it. 

The Phoblographer

As they say in their mission statement, it’s about bridging technology with creative photography.  The Phoblographer offers a broad range of topics and opinion pieces. Chris Gampat is a hands and thoughtful editor and knows what he wants. His features on photographers and their projects seek to get some sense of what’s behind picture-taking. You’ll get a series of questions when you submit for a feature. With a decent set of coherent images and an ability to express your intentions and motives, it’s a good site to be included on. It doesn’t have the same reach as PetaPixel and is possibly more niche which is no bad thing.

Story/Documentary Showcasing and Networks

Visura

Visura is a story focused documentary website that also shows personal work. There’s an annual fee to have your work shown but the design and layout is very good. The site looks professional and you can load your own images and text. Whilst there is good photography here, often what’s behind the images is equally important. Consequently a lot of writers and film makers use the platform to promote themselves through their portfolios. It’s the closest site to Linkedin in terms of its pitch. Visura regularly sends out an email with an update of the latest stories and its editors have a featured or highlights section which can bring in more page views. This site is ideal if you work in documentary and are looking to go in a more professional direction. It’s also a great vehicle for showcasing your work within a community. The layout is so good you can use it instead of creating your own separate website which saves costs.

Social Documentary Network

This is a site relatively new to me and it covers ‘visual stories and global themes’. It’s firmly positioned in the documentary and reportage camp and unlike Visura has less focus on personal non-narrative photography. The layout is trickier to navigate than Visura, but the site is free to use for the first year at least. It promotes community benefits where editors and image buyers can view work. Again it’s a platform that you can use to showcase your work which is cheaper than having your own site and one with an in-built marketplace. One of the best sites for photographers looking to promote their work featuring human stories with an international appeal.

Landscape

On landscape

One of the best magazines for showcasing landscapes in the romantic domain, covering the big views, intimate scenes and details. It offers a huge range of thoughtful content covering features on photographers and the philosophy behind making landscape pictures. Whilst a subscription service, much of the content is also free to view. There’s also a YouTube channel with great informational material including presentations and interviews. Joe Cornish and Tim Parkin also lead viewers through processing techniques using Lightroom and Capture One. Every two weeks the magazine publishes its content both online and via PDF, which includes a section for subscribers to showcase their work. This is a unique opportunity that doesn’t require a huge back story or artistic statement. Turnaround for publishing is two to three months.

Luminous Landscape

Luminous landscape is one of the oldest and most revered online outlets covering gear, tips and features on photographers. It’s a subscription site and is really best suited for photographers who have something to say or promote, or indeed have been to a captivating place and have a strong set of images to show off their photography. Josh who runs it, also writes much of the content himself.  It’s a family business and so open to establishing a lasting relationship with the brand.  The photography shown is very much in the romantic tradition. I’m due to have an article published here soon. 

Landscape Stories

A deep dive into contemporary landscapes or the new landscape movement. Using Tumblr, it’s a non-flashy format with regular updates. Landscape Stories is followed by the industry’s movers and shakers and the photographers selected have wide-ranging backgrounds from experimental image-making through to topographical and documentary approaches. Some of the very best are shown on the site. There will be lots that doesn’t appeal, but scrolling through will reap rewards. If you have a strong set of images with an artistic statement attached, it’s worth sending something in.  Turnaround for acceptance is around 6 months. They also produce an online magazine version which is published based on themes and showcases established artists.

Ideal For Writers and Photographers

Private Magazine

For work to be published, it’s the conventional route of passing the editorial standards. All genres are accepted and the submission page must be completed accurately.  The range of photography is broad including photo essays and documentary, but also personal interpretations and experimental work. They also show a lot of found still life, often missing from other magazines. There is something for everyone at Private and whilst it may not have the prestige of some other outlets it’s the best website for photographers, amongst those highlighted here, to showcase and springboard emerging talent.

PictureCorrect

Picture Correct is a big hitter online and generates a lot of page views. It’s simple in design and really delivers in terms of tips and techniques. The obvious way of showcasing your work is to have mastered an approach or set-up for which you can offer insights pointing to your successful images. Examples off the top of my head such as astro photography or street photography in wet conditions.  They also look for issues relating to photographic practice and how they affect photographers like access, copyright and social media. You can expect accepted work to be published in around six weeks.

Best Sites For Photographers Looking To Showcase a Portfolio

Dodho

Dodho is delivered both in print form and online. They accept a set of images with a project background and a biography, which can be from any genre. The best submissions are allocated to the print run. They also periodically seek theme based submissions. There is a level of quality in Dodho that can be missing from some of the news and gear magazines out there. The standard of imagery is quite high but so much that an emerging photographer cannot get published. Often the project headline and feature image is stronger than the actual sequence of images.  The page layout is really easy to sift through and you can spend hours scrolling through. The editorial response time is quick and publication for the online version is within a couple of weeks.

The Eye Of Photography

Focused on creative photography, the Eye features absolutely anything from fine-art imagery to the contemporary documentary views, mixing new photography and old masters. It’s a great outlet both for established artists and emerging photographers. There’s little guessing what they’re after and that keeps it unique. They place an emphasis on the image rather than the text or story and are strong on documentary and conceptual work. They send out regular emails and have a huge reach within the photographic art world. Producing both an online and print version, this is definitely a recommended site if your photography has some flair.

All About Photo

This really has a super photography magazine layout for showcasing the highlights of a photographer’s portfolio. Each photographer has their own page, with the top presenting a slideshow in thumbnails giving an overview of their work. Underneath is the biography, and below that links to the photographer’s personal websites. The great advantage with All About is that for the A-Z of photographers listed you could find yourself alongside a master.

Final Thoughts

Whilst there is no one best photography magazine to feature your work, it pays to find out what’s right for you. Think through if you’re a writer with insights to share or a creative with a statement and series which stands out.  All these sites offer a link back to your own so you will need an instagram, Flicker, 500px or personal website to really benefit from the showcasing venture.  There is also the option of promoting your work on Creative Camera. Good luck!