of scenic calendars are most keen to hear from photographers who have extensive collections of landscapes covering a certain area or country. That is because they prefer, whenever possible, to illustrate a whole calendar, or most of it, with the work of one individual. The benefits are twofold: the calendar has a common style running through it, independent of the different locations, and the logistics are much easier – the picture buyer doesn’t have to liaise with 12 different photographers, produce 12 purchase orders, and so forth.
However, don’t be put off making a submission if you don’t have national coverage. Providing that you have plenty of pictures of a particular region or a particular city, it’s worth sending them in – because they may be used for a calendar with a narrower focus. Most publishers are not interested, though, in seeing ‘bitty’ collections of photographs, no matter how good they are.
GONE FISHIN’
Calendars feature a wide range of subject matter to reflect popular hobbies and interests.
One thing you have to be careful about when photographing landscapes with calendars in mind is that the locations appear unspoilt. Make sure you avoid cars, people, telegraph poles, road signs, rubbish bins and anything else that could prevent the scene from looking idyllic. Generally, you’ll be using wide-angle lenses to open up the perspective and create a sense of drama, but always check when doing so that stray elements of this kind don’t get included. Choose your vantage point carefully, and if necessary use a telephoto lens to exclude anything problematic.
Another thematic approach to the landscape calendar is to choose 12 images that are tranquil or restful in nature – such as sunsets and isolated beaches, waterfalls, ocean scenes, dramatic lighthouses with crashing waves, or calm or moody seascapes. This kind of series might be given a name to point up its theme, such as ‘Golden Thoughts’.
Once you get started in the calendar market, it is reasonably easy to make further sales. But getting your foot in the door can be tricky when it comes to scenics. That’s because it is such a popular subject area – what could be more enjoyable than taking pictures in a delightful and photogenic location? – so many other photographers are submitting high quality work.
When it comes to other subjects, the competition isn’t so fierce, and publishers are generally delighted to receive material that meets their needs. Animals are probably the second biggest market for calendar images. Domestic pets such as cats, dogs, rabbits and horses are especially popular. As well as ‘generic’ cat and dog calendars, which include a mixture of breeds, there are also calendars for individual breeds. As with greetings cards, pets need to look cute and appealing for their pictures to be used in a calendar. That means that you can’t just take any old snap and send it in hoping it will be published. While there are fewer people submitting photographs of animals, some specialize in the area. Study carefully the pictures that are currently being published in calendars and take the same approach. As with landscapes, you will need to build up a reasonable collection of quality images before making a submission – and it’s better to focus on just one animal than to take a more random approach.
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