How can you pitch photography stories to editors when starting your career?

2 Find your angle

Once you have a list of potential outlets, you need to find your angle. Your angle is the unique perspective or hook that makes your story stand out from the rest. It should answer the question: why should the editor care about your story and why should they publish it now? Your angle should be relevant, timely, and original, and it should showcase your photography skills and vision. You can find your angle by brainstorming different aspects of your topic, doing some background research, and looking for gaps or opportunities in the existing coverage.

3 Write your pitch

Now that you have your angle, you need to craft a pitch that will grab the editor's attention. Your pitch should be clear, concise, and catchy, and it should include a subject line summarizing your angle, a greeting that addresses the editor by name, a lead that hooks them with a compelling anecdote, statistic, or question, a body outlining the main points of your story and the sources and visuals you will provide, and a closing summarizing your credentials, linking to your portfolio or samples of your work, and expressing your enthusiasm and availability.

4 Pitch the right way

When you have written your pitch, it is important to pitch it in the right way. This means selecting the best time and method to send your pitch, following the submission guidelines, and being professional and polite. To ensure success, aim to pitch early in the week, avoiding weekends and holidays. Pitch by email unless otherwise specified, using a professional and friendly tone while avoiding spelling and grammar errors. Keep your pitch concise and organized with bullet points or subheadings to make it easy to read. Attach a low-resolution sample of your work or include a link to your portfolio. Finally, follow up with the editor after a week or two if you don't hear back.

5 Handle rejection and feedback

Finally, you need to be prepared to handle rejection and feedback. Rejection is inevitable in the pitching process, and you should not take it personally or give up. Instead, you should use it as a learning opportunity and ask for feedback on how to improve your pitch. You can also try to pitch your story to another outlet or tweak your angle and pitch it again. Feedback is valuable and can help you grow as a photographer and a writer. You should always thank the editor for their time and input, and keep in touch until you get a positive response.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?