fRoots Photographers Guidelines

Please contact us first before submitting anything. We do not accept responsibility for any unsolicited materials.

The bad news:

We do not buy photographs, and we very rarely commission. We already have a couple of key freelances who get priority on assignments for covers and the occasional festival photo spreads, (which we only usually do maybe twice a year), so there are rarely opportunities for this kind of work.

We do not arrange for photo passes for freelances at live events, and expressly do not give permission for freelances to claim to be working for fRoots.

The good news!:

We do regularly use work from a wide range of reliable freelances who supply us with photos for file. From time to time, they provide us with new publishable photos of artists who are currently newsworthy or are likely to crop up regularly in our news or reviews columns. We can't guarantee use, but we do get through a lot of photos!

We welcome photos for file on the basis that:

Photos supplied for file are non-returnable, but copyright remains with the photographer.
Clearance for publication at our rates is granted.
Photos are replaceable non-originals. We do not accept responsibility for loss or damage.
Useage is at our discretion.
We pay on photographers' invoice for use after any publication.
We do not pass on file copies to third parties, but put any enquirers directly in touch with the photographer to arrange their own deals.

These days, all of our images are supplied digitally. These should be minimum 300 ppi TIFF or JPEG files on Mac-readable CDR. Guide size is minimum 150mm wide for landscape or 70mm wide for portrait, but the bigger the better. Only send by email if specifically requested to do, against an imminent deadline.

Quite often what ends up getting used is one we can most easily find and/or needs the least done to it rather than what might be the best and previously unused, simply because others we have on file need a lot of extra time to identify. So it really helps us when sending us digital images for our library if you can follow these guidelines:

1) The single most important thing: In your Photoshop preferences before saving images out for us: > File handling > File Saving Options > Check: Icon, Full Size and Macintosh Thumbnail. That way we can easily do a quick assess of the images without having to open them in Photoshop or iPhoto.

2) Whatever resolution your images were taken at, please save out for us at 300 ppi without resampling ( i.e. Image menu > Image Size : uncheck "Resample Image" option and change to 300 pixels/inch in Resolution dialogue)

3) Be selective. When confronted with a file containing 50 or 60 images from one set at a festival, none of them with icons to view, we immediately go looking elsewhere! Please select just a handful of the best, including both portrait and landscape alternatives if available, unless it's a specially commissioned shoot for a feature.

4) Give each image a file name which includes some clue as to who it is and who took it! e.g.: Joe Bloggs 1234 (A Smith).jpg

Enquire for our current pathetic rates of pay.

This month's issue

Subscribe!

Shop

Home

Come Write Me Down