| Most writers know that an eye-catching photograph | | | | (for example, Photoshop, Photo Express and |
| can enhance the chances ofacceptance but if it's | | | | Paintshop Pro). |
| submitted in the wrong format any advantage will be | | | | Pictures can be resized, cropped, rotated or touched |
| thrownaway. A glance through a selection of | | | | up to remove unwanted objectsand red eyes. Special |
| contributors' guidelines reveals editorialrequirements | | | | colour effects can be applied, including conversion to |
| ranging from 'non-matt prints at 72 dpi' to 'TIFF files split | | | | black andwhite (known as greyscale). The software |
| for | | | | also lets you save images to the requiredfile format. |
| CMYK.' The uninitiated shouldn't be daunted by such | | | | Email |
| technical jargon. This simpleguide to the more widely | | | | Digital material can be emailed to editors directly as a |
| used terms will arm you with the knowledge required | | | | file attachment. Highresolution images will result in large |
| tosubmit your pictures correctly and, critically, to keep | | | | files (measured in Bytes) and theseattachments could |
| those editors satisfied. | | | | take a long time to send. A low resolution image of |
| Black and White Prints | | | | 30kbmight take a few seconds to email but a high |
| Black and white photographs are usually submitted as | | | | quality image of 1Mb could take at least |
| prints. With nostalgia currentlyin fashion, old family | | | | 15 minutes on a slow speed connection. If you or your |
| snapshots are in demand. Don't worry if they are a | | | | recipient is on a pay-per-minute Internet connection, this |
| little worn or stained. Editors will overlook this if the | | | | could be costly. Always get permission from aneditor |
| material is suitable appealing and thesepictures often | | | | before sending files in this way. |
| look surprisingly good in print. Caption prints by applying | | | | File Format |
| sticky labelsto the backs. Never write directly onto the | | | | Every file stored on a computer has a particular |
| print as this could ruin it. | | | | format, which determines how it willbe used. Each file |
| Channel Splitting | | | | is labelled with a 3-letter extension according to its file |
| Some editors ask for digital photographs that have | | | | type. Forexample, a text document will be stored as a |
| been 'split for | | | | different sort of file (filename.doc) to acomputer |
| CMYK.' This means that the photographic image is | | | | program (filename.exe). Digital photographs can be |
| separated into individualfiles for each colour used in the | | | | saved in a number ofdifferent ways according to the |
| printing process - Cyan/Magenta/ Yellow/Black. | | | | editor's needs. The most common are: |
| This procedure is not as difficult as it sounds and most | | | | GIFF (filename.gif) - Good for line art and logos: limited |
| good photographicediting software will do it for you | | | | to 256 colours |
| with one click of the mouse. | | | | JPEG (filename.jpg) - Good for pictures: no colour |
| Coloured Prints | | | | limitations |
| These are acceptable to publications where high | | | | TIFF (filename.tif) - Used to format files for the printing |
| quality pictures are not essential. | | | | process: 2 colours only |
| Contributions for readers' letters, tips and fillers usually | | | | EPS (filename.eps) - Used to store pages containing |
| can be supplied in this way. | | | | both text and images |
| Some editors may stipulate a minimum dpi, which | | | | Resolution |
| refers to the clarity orresolution of the print. Images | | | | This is a measure of the clarity or sharpness of an |
| can be printed on matt or glossy photographicpaper, | | | | image - the higher the resolution,the better the |
| depending on the finish required. Again, label with care. | | | | photographic quality. A top-class glossy magazine will |
| Coloured Transparencies | | | | require highresolution while images for a web page can |
| The preferred format for high quality, glossy | | | | have relatively low resolution. A digitalcamera stores |
| magazines, transparencies are widelyrecognised as | | | | the image information as millions of tiny pieces (pixels) |
| the "professional" choice for coloured pictures. They | | | | and themore of these used by the camera, the better |
| are obtainedusing a traditional camera loaded with a | | | | the photographs it can produce. When the picture is |
| special transparency film. Transparenciesproduce | | | | printed or viewed on a computer screen, not all the |
| sharp images with excellent colour reproduction. As | | | | pixels can be resolved and the resulting resolution is |
| labelling isawkward, make sure you provide an | | | | often referred to in dpi (dots per inch) or ppi (pixels per |
| information sheet, outlining details of eachimage. | | | | inch). This is the number of ink dots used to print a |
| Digital Photographs | | | | linear inch of the picture or the number of pixels used |
| Photographs taken with a digital camera are stored as | | | | to display one inch of the image on screen. An editor |
| electronic files in the camera'smemory instead of on a | | | | may specify a minimum dpi or ppi for submitted |
| film. These images can be transferred to a computer | | | | pictures. |
| andmanipulated using photographic editing software. | | | | Samples |
| They can easily bedistributed on disk or by email. | | | | Editors are usually very careful with submitted material |
| Disk | | | | but if you are worried aboutyour precious snaps, send |
| This is the medium used to store and distribute digital | | | | sample copies to start with. These could be created |
| images. While floppy disksused to be common, they do | | | | byscanning the photograph. You can then choose to |
| not provide enough storage space for large | | | | print the results on ordinarycartridge paper (saving |
| photographicimages and if you want to submit digital | | | | money), to save the scanned image onto a disk or to |
| pictures by post you will probably have toput them | | | | email the file directly. Make it clear that these are only |
| onto a CD. This is called "writing" or "burning" a CD and | | | | samples and give precise details of the material that |
| your computermust be equipped with a CD rewriter to | | | | you can provide on request. |
| perform this task. Writable CDs (called CD- | | | | Scanning |
| Rs) can be expensive so buy in bulk and use the soft | | | | Traditional prints and transparencies can be copied or |
| plastic sleeves rather than thebulky cases to store | | | | stored in digital format using ascanner. Your scanning |
| them. Invest in a special CD pen so that you can label | | | | software will let you choose the file format and |
| thecontents of the CD clearly for the editor's benefit. | | | | theresolution for the subsequent image. If you plan to |
| Editing Software | | | | print your scanned image, remember that its resolution |
| Digital images can be edited using the appropriate | | | | will be limited by the dpi (dots per inch) capability of |
| software, which is often providedwith a new camera | | | | your printer. |