submission guidelines

ISSUE #124: Cities 2024 - April/May

Issue #124 will explore cities  (open to interpretation). 


DEADLINE: March 15, 2024

Submit up to 12 photographs following the guidelines below.
Issue #124 will have an expected publication date of April 1, 2024.
Only one submission per person for an issue.

ISSUE #125: Open Theme 2024 - June/July

Issue #124 will have no theme.


DEADLINE: May 15, 2024

Submit up to 12 photographs following the guidelines below.
Issue #125 will have an expected publication date of June 1, 2024.
Only one submission per person for an issue.


* If the current theme/s do not fit your work check back for future issues.


PLEASE READ AND FOLLOW CAREFULLY THE GUIDELINES BELOW (scroll down)


  • 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. 1200 pixels for the LONGEST edge
    • For a horizontal picture = width
    • For a vertical picture = height
  3. File size around 500kbs or smaller, 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 name (given name then surname) 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.
  3. Please check that you did not put an extra .jpg in your file name, if your computer hides file extensions try checking the file name after you attach it to your email.     name.jpg NOT name.jpg.jpg

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. Only images should be attached.
  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.
    • Please write out EACH title as you would want it to appear. If they all have the same title write out each one.
    • Please have the list numbers match your file numbers.
    • You can include a series or project name with each title.
    • Keep in mind titles can be a great way to provide context for your work if it is part of the group exhibition.
  4. URL for your portfolio website if you have one.
    • We dont include social media, blogs or non portfolio sites at this time.
    • Please spell out the URL
  5. Contact information - If you do not have a portfolio site URL you can provide an email address OR instagram handle This will be used on the contributors page if your work is included.
  6. If the issue you are submitting to has the theme "Portfolio" you will also need to include a project statement for your work. For other issues it is optional.

Submissions Email: fstopmagazine@gmail.com

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


COPYRIGHT INFORMATION:

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. If an image is used as a cover to the magazine you are granting F-Stop Magazine permission to use it for promotion on sites such as facebook.com and to put the f-stop logo on it.

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.

Take-down (unpublish) requests

As a matter of editorial policy, we do not unpublish content from past issues. Please do not submit photographs you do not want published online. See Copyright information above. F-Stop's past issues continue to be online indefinitely.

OPTIMIZING IMAGES FOR THE WEB:

The goal of optimizing your image files for the web is to have images that load quickly and look great. For our purposes, your image files should be 1200px for the longest edge and then saved as a compressed JPG with the resulting filesize typically around 400 or 500kb (an image with a lot of fine detail may be larger).


To do this in Photoshop

  1. Go to Image > Image Size and you will get a pop up box.
  2. In this box first make sure “Resample Image” at the bottom of the box is checked. Then set the longest edge in “Pixel Dimensions” to 1200 pixels.

After you have sized your image you next want to optimize the file size. In current versions of Photoshop you can do this using "Export"

  1. File > Export > Export As
  2. In the dialog that opens choose
    1. Format: JPG
    2. Quality: 70
    3. Image Size: set the longest edge to 1200px if you have not already done this.
    4. Color Space: Convert to sRGB
  3. Click Export

In older versions of Photoshop you can do this with the “Save for Web” option.

  1. File > Export > Save for Web (or in older versions it is File > Save for Web & Devices)
  2. In the dialogue box that opens you want to make sure JPEG is chosen for the file type
  3. Then set the Quality to 70.
  4. Optimized, Embed Color Profile and Convert to sRGB should already be checked.
  5. Click Save and it will ask you where to save this optimized version of your file.

Optimizing in other image software….

Lightroom

  1. Go to File > Export
  2. Under File Settings choose Image Format JPEG, Color Space sRGB, Quality 70
  3. Under Image Sizing check Resize to Fit
  4. Choose “Long Edge”
  5. Check Don’t Enlarge.
  6. Put in 1200 pixels for the first box
  7. then next to Resolution put in 72 pixels per inch
  8. Click Export


Preview (mac)

  1. Open the file in Preview
  2. Go to Tools > Adjust Size
  3. Change the dimensions measurement to pixels (the default is inches)
  4. Make the longest edge 1200 pixels.

Next you want to save it as a JPG with the quality low enough to make the file size around 800k or smaller 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 verifiy the file size go to the Finder and Command + I to see the file info.


Gimp

Gimp is an open source image editing application

  1. Go to Image > Scale Image
  2. Set the longest edge 1200 pixels
  3. Click Scale
  4. Go to File > Export
  5. Choose where you want to save it and what to call it
  6. Click Export
  7. In the Export Image as JPEG popup choose Quality 70
  8. Click Export


Other options

ImageOptim open source image optimization app that you can use to compress files that have been sized to the 1200px for the long edge dimension or to further compress a file.

  1. Go to the settings under the "Quality" tab and check "Enable lossy minification"
  2. Move the JPG Quality slider to about 3/4 of the way to the right
  3. Then, just drag the file to the app and it will optimizes it saving it in the same place

Squoosh.app in browser image otpimization app that allows you to size the file dimensions and compress using quality 70. A note for using this: if you resize the dimensions in the app the preview of the file will appear distorted, but if you download the optimized file and view it you will see it is not distorted.