Submission Guidelines

* If the current call for entries dont fit your work, check back for future issue themes.

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PLEASE READ AND FOLLOW CAREFULLY THE GUIDELINES BELOW

• Please be careful not to resubmit images that have already been published in f-stop
• Please do not write your information or file names in all CAPITAL LETTERS
• Please limit your submission to 12 images, no more (unless that issue's guidelines ask for more)
  

1. Image File Specifications:

1. jpg files only
2. 700 pixels for the LONGEST edge
   • For a horizontal picture = width
   • For a vertical picture = height
3. File size under 250kbs.Please optimize your images for web
   • This is done easily using Photoshop Export > Save for Web
   • See below for detailed instructions or how to optimize for web with various software
4. No borders or watermarks - Please do not include borders or watermarks, ask if you have questions about what is acceptable
   

Instructions for saving your images for web in various software applications - here.

2. File Naming:

1. Please name the files with your first name and last initial (given name then surname initial) and a number. Use the same name that you list in your email as your name.
2. No spaces, dashes, parenthesis or other non letter/number characters. You can put an underscore or dash between first and last name if you would like.

Example for "Susan Smith" =  SusanSmith1.jpg,  SusanSmith2.jpg etc.

3. Email:

1. Subject line of your email should indicate which issue you are submitting your work to - issue # and issue name
2. Please send your images in 1 email
3. Please try to attach the image files not embed them, a zip file can be used if your application only embeds files.
   1. Embedded files do not always show up in the email when it loads, some files may be missed as a result.
   2. A zip file is fine, no .rar files please
   3. Please do not share them using Google Drive, or other file sharing applications
4. Please put all submission information as text in your email not as attached documents.
5. Please do not send PDFs or other text files.

4. Please Include With Your Entry:

1. Name - not in all capital letters please. First (given) name, then Last (surname) name.
2. Location - where you live currently
3. Titles for your photographs in a numbered list.
4. Email address in the text of the email (if you don't want an email listed on the contributors page if included in the issue, say so and leave blank.)
5. URL for your portfolio website if you have one - preferrably your own portfolio site not flickr or facebook, in the text of the email.

Submissions Email: fstopmagazine@gmail.com

If you have any questions or have difficulty sending your images please email.

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COPYRIGHT INFO:

By submitting photos for publication in F-Stop Magazine you are stipulating to us that you own copyright to these photographs or have permission from the copyright holder to submit these photographs. You are granting F-Stop Magazine a non-exclusive license to use the photograph in its submitted form, subject to re-sizing to fit the magazine format, for publication on the F-Stop website for as long as the website exists. Please note that back issues of F-Stop may remain available in the archive for as long as the website exists.

None of the photographs may be downloaded, stored, printed, manipulated, distributed, or used in any form without prior written permission from the copyright holder. Works published on this website are protected under domestic and international copyright laws and are not considered to be public domain.

Should you, for any reason, wish your photographs to be removed from the website, we will make every effort to do so. However, please note also that third parties such as educational institutions, search engines or individuals may download, save, store or archive this (or any other) website with or without our knowledge. F-Stop Magazine will have no control over such downloading and subsequent use and therefore cannot accept responsibility for any such use.

PROMOTE YOUR PROJECT

Do you have a body of work or current project you would like more people to see? You can have an image and text based link to your site or your project on the F-Stop site. In exchange we ask for a donation of any amount to our humble no profit cause of putting out the magazine. Here is what to do, send an email with your name and a description/artist statement of your project and a link to the work. We will review each submission and choose 3 for each issue. Once you are accepted you will have the choice of creating your text/image link in accordance with our specifications or you can submit your information and a few images and we will create one for you. If you have questions email: fstopmagazine@gmail.com

OPTIMIZING IMAGES FOR THE WEB:

The goal of optimizing your image files for the web is to have images that load quickly, look great and are not so large that someone could download and print your photograph.

The easiest way I have found to do this is to first re-size the image to have a resolution of 72ppi and set the longest edge of the image at 700 pixels. Then, save as a JPG with quality of around 8 depending on the image. You want to end up with a file size around 250k.

To do this in Photoshop

1. Go to Image > Image Size and you will get a pop up box.
2. In this box first uncheck “Resample Image” at the bottom of the box. Then change Resolution to 72.
3. Next recheck the “Resample Image” box and then set the longest edge in “Pixel Dimensions” to 700 pixels.

After you have sized your image you next want to optimize the file size. In Photoshop you can do this with the “Save for Web” option.

1. File > Save for Web & Devices
   In the dialogue box that opens you want to make sure JPEG is chosen for the file type and then set the Quality to 70. If your file is larger (1024px for the longest edge) you may want to go as low as 60 but keep an eye on the image quality in the preview, you don’t want to lose quality.
   Optimized, Embed Color Profile and Convert to sRGB should already be checked.
   Click Save and it will ask you where to save this optimized version of your file.

To do this in other image software….

Lightroom

1. Go to File > Export
2. Under File Settings choose Image Format JPEG, Color Space sRGB, Quality 70 – alternatively to using Quality you can check the box next to Limit File Size To and put in 250k and it will optimize it to that file size or lower.
3. Under Image Sizing check Resize to Fit and choose “Long Edge” and check Don’t Enlarge. Put in 1024 pixels or smaller for the first box then next to Resolution put in 72 pixels per inch
4. Click Export

Preview (mac)

1. Open the file in Preview
2. Go to Tools > Adjust Size
3. Uncheck Resample Image
4. Set Resolution to 72 pixels/inch
5. Recheck Resample Image
6. Change the dimensions measurement to pixels (the default is inches)
7. Make the longest edge (width or height) 1024 pixels or smaller.

Next you want to save it as a JPG with the quality low enough to make the file size around 250k but not so low that the image looks bad -  you may have to experiment.

1. Go to File > Save as
2. Choose where to save the image then where it says Format choose JPEG
3. Set the Quality slider to the 7th or 8th | mark and save
4. To verfiy the file size go to the Finder and Command + I to see the file info.

Picasa

1. Find the image you want to use and double click it to edit it.
2. Go to File Export to Folder
3. Choose the location to export the file to and name the folder to put the file in
4. Next to Image size click “Resize to:” and in the box below put in the length of the longest edge – 1024 or smaller
5. Set Image quality to “Normal”   and click Export

Gimp

1. Go to Image > Scale Image
2. Set X and Y resolution to 72
3. Make the longest edge 1024 pixels or smaller
4. Click Scale
5. Go to File > Export
6. Choose where you want to save it and what to call it
7. Click Export
8. In the Export Image as JPEG popup choose Quality 70
9. Click Export