How to get your photo published in JPG Magazine

  • Follow the Photo Guidelines. That's what they're there for.
  • Add informative titles and interesting descriptions. Show us that you've really thought about the theme.
  • Color correct! Make sure your blacks are really black.
  • Read, and make sure you follow, the instructions on the theme page.
  • Bigger is better! The minimum is 2200px, but the higher the resolution, the better.
  • Avoid clichés like babies, sunsets, flowers, and pets. If you've seen a million photos like the one you're uploading, how can your photo stand out?
  • Our tagline is "brave new photography" and we mean it. Be bold, be surprising, be original.
  • Fill out your profile! Add your real name, an interesting bio, and a photo. We like to know our contributors.
  • Participate in the community! Upload photos, make favorites, and vote in the themes.

Photo Guidelines

JPG is not just another photo sharing site – it's a community that's come together to create a photo magazine. And that photo magazine is not just about photography – it's about a specific kind of photography: authentic, brave, and real.

We're about mostly unmodified photos. That means we do not accept photos that have been overly Photoshopped. Adjustments to color and sharpness is just fine, of course. Just keep it real, baby. Here's a handy rule: If anything has been digitally added or removed (well, besides dust), it's probably not right for JPG.

That said, there are a few things we specifically do not allow.


1

NO Digitally-Added Text

You do not need to add a copyright statement to your photos in order to protect them. Your photos are protected under copyright law anyway, and you don't lose that protection by uploading them here.


2

NO Multiple Photos in a Single Upload

When we ask people to vote on submissions, it has to be a fair fight. It's not fair if you load your submission with more than one photo. So one photo per upload, please.


3

NO Misrotated Photos

There's no way to rotate a photo once it's been uploaded, so please rotate your photos to the correct orientation before uploading them.


4

NO Digitally-Added Borders

Your photo will automatically have a thin black border on the site. In the magazine, we don't have borders at all. So please don't add a border to your images. If your photo has a "natural" border from the film, that's okay, but we'll crop it for the magazine.


5

NO Digital Enlargements

The JPG Uploader will only accept photos that are at least 2200px wide or tall. This requirement is to make sure your photos look good in print! Please do not enlarge your photos to be larger, as it lowers the image quality dramatically.


6

NO Partial Desaturation (aka "Cutouts")

Desaturating part of an image to direct the eye to the remaining color part is a cute technique, but we'll never print it and we don't accept it on the website. It violates our "mostly unmodified" rule, and, besides, it's just annoying.


7

NO Things that Aren't Photos

The following things are not allowed in JPG: scans of things other than photos, paintings (or simple photos of paintings), illustrations, screenshots. If it didn't come out of a camera, it doesn't belong here.


8

NO Downstairs Nudity

JPG is okay with artful nudes, but we do not allow photos where the genitalia region is visible or photos that are explicitly pornographic. (That's "or"... we know the two aren't synonymous.) As a general guideline – no penises, no vaginas, and nothing in that immediate vicinity – period.


So what do we want?

We want your best photos, your favorite photos. Photos that you look at and think, you know, there's something really special about this one, and I'd like to share it with other people who have a thing for photography.

Remember, if you went out, shot some photos, didn't tweak them too much, and uploaded them here, chances are you're fine. Any questions? Check the FAQ.


Join the party!