Submitting Work

[Ben Chase]

Does anyone have any tips on submitting work to magazines, etc without breaking the bank? I noticed that View Camera prefers either transparencies or proof prints, no digital submissions.

All of my 6x7 and 4x5 work is scanned and I typically don't send the film outside of my control except to be scanned. Proof prints would seem to be the next best option, but getting 20 prints done is a $250 project. Perhaps it's time for me to get a decent inkjet for proofs, and send all the pro stuff to the Chromira?

Any thoughts?

Ben C

[kjsphotography]

Make 8x10 proofs using www.mpix.com. 20 pints is about $40 bucks.

If they want prints I just make traditional FB prints and mount them to roughly the same size to protect them during shipping.

[Donald Qualls]

Costco (if you have one locally) will make an 8x10 C-print for even less than MPix, and do it while you wait (takes about 20 minutes, most of the time) -- take in your scan on a CD or camera media, or even upload it or e-mail it to them via costco.com. Should be just fine for a proof...

[Michael Gordon]

and if you use the Dry Creek profiles for Costco, the prints (Fuji Crystal Archive) are pretty damn nice. I'm not really fond of Fuji's cheezy-looking "Luster" finish (that only Costco seems to have); I wish they had Matte surface like the pro labs. You can't beat a 12x18 for $2.99.

[Michael Heald]

Hello! I don't submit to magazines, but I'm curious. What exactly is an 8x10 proof? Is this what the photographer considers the best final output of the negative or digital image? Best regards.

Mike

[Donald Qualls]

The way I use the word is that it's a print, on expendable media (i.e. unmounted C-print), intended to show what the final print will look like, but in a convenient size and at low enough cost to hand off. In some usages (portrait work, for instance), proofs should be watermarked to reduce the chance of their being scanned and duplicated in other sizes, but that's probably neither desirable nor necessary for a proof submitted to a competition.

If I shoot B&W and make archival silver gelatin prints, I might submit an 8x10 RC as a proof (or I might submit a C-print from a scanned file, printed at Costco), where the final print is intended for, say, 16x20. In portrait work, I'd offer a client watermarked 4x5 C-prints as proofs, even if the final was to be silver gelatin in a larger size -- they can show what the final would look like, but are too small to display and the watermark protects somewhat against unauthorized (and unpaid) duplication.

[steve simmons]

We prefer prints or slides/transparencies the first time because we can look at a group all at once rather than one at a time on a screen

The first look is also generally for content. I have looked at enough proof prints over the last 37 years that I can tell the technical quality very easily and quickly.

steve simmons
publisher, view camera magazine
www.viewcamera.com

[Ben Chase]

We prefer prints or slides/transparencies the first time because we can look at a group all at once rather than one at a time on a screen

The first look is also generally for content. I have looked at enough proof prints over the last 37 years that I can tell the technical quality very easily and quickly.

steve simmons
publisher, view camera magazine
www.viewcamera.com

Looks like proof prints it is!