One of the most frustrating things for a beauty editor is when they select a product they love, write it up, provide an image to their publication’s art team (as supplied by you, the brand or PR), and then have the product dropped from the page because the image wasn’t suitable.
It happens all the time, often without your knowledge. We spoke to magazine art directors to compile an essential checklist of what and what not to do.
• Firstly, the image needs to be high resolution (hi-res). What does that mean? For the print medium, that’s a minimum of 300 dpi. Standard minimum size for an image to be run at in a magazine is 10cm x 10cm, but if possible have it shot to be run at full A4 size, which is 21cm x 29.7cm.
• In most cases, if a magazine is going to devote an entire page to a product, they’ll call it in and photograph it themselves. However, it never hurts to be prepared. The last thing you want is for a magazine to say they’d like to run your product full page, and for you to be unable to meet the image requirements and miss out on the opportunity.
• Quality counts. Don’t just enlarge a 5cm x 5cm image to full page size in Photoshop and send it through. Images lose their quality when they are pushed beyond their original size capabilities, and are therefore unsuitable for print. Also don’t just scan an image from a magazine or from the packaging, or send through an animated mock-up of the packaging. It doesn’t work.
• Send your images in the correct format. Jpeg files are the standard, but TIFF files are even better.
• Get your images in on time. Print publications have very strict deadlines, especially weekly magazines. If a beauty editor at weekly tells you they’re on deadline and need a high-res image urgently, that means within the hour, at the very latest. Unfortunately, if you can’t get it in on time it’s likely your product will be switched for another brand’s.
• Keep hi-res images of every single product on file, where they can be accessed at any moment. Having to send requests for images to head offices overseas only adds unnecessary delay – and the opportunity for a publication to replace your product while you’re stuck dealing with international time differences.
• Pay a professional photographer to take your photos. An office employee with a fancy camera just won’t do. The end result will look amateurish. When your product shots are being compared to professional ones from a competitor brand, guess whose product is going to make the cut? Theirs.
• Unless you have a professional on board, don’t try and alter the images in Photoshop to get a different finish. Leave the deep-etching, colour levels, filters, shadows and all that jazz to people who know what they’re doing. Art directors work with digital specialists who they can brief to get the image exactly how they want it.
• When getting your products photographed, ensure that they’re shot straight on, that each is shot individually, and that all branding is clearly visible. Shoot items both in and out of the packaging. Publications will usually use items out of their boxes, but it’s best to provide options. Shooting on a white background is ideal.
• Check before you submit an image that you actually own the rights to it, not the photographer. Also ensure you know whether there are any costs associated with its use.
So, in summary: make sure the image is hi-res, good quality, and in the correct format. Get your products photographed professionally, make sure you own the rights to your images and, for the love of God, get them in on time!