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How to contribute photos to BBC Wildlife
This section includes advice on how to contribute images to the following areas of the magazine:
General photography
BBC Wildlife welcomes photographic submissions, but please bear in mind that we do work with a large number of photographic agencies, as well as more than 100 professional wildlife photographers worldwide.
To illustrate regular sections of the magazine, such as Wild, Agenda, Q&A, etc, we contact the most appropriate agencies and professionals. This allows us to view a vast selection of pictures with great efficiency and minimal administration.
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If you would like to submit your images for our consideration, please make sure that you have first familiarised yourself with the magazine and the quality and type of photography we use.
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If yours are of a comparable standard then email your 10 best shots as low res jpgs (under 1MB) to BBC Wildlife’s picture researcher Wanda Sowry along with your full contact details.
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Please title the jpgs with the species common name first, then the Latin name for insects and rare species, and then your name last.
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Unfortunately, due to the volume of correspondence she receives, Wanda will not be able to acknowledge your submission, but she will view your images, assess their appropriateness for publication and keep them on file.
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Then, if an opportunity to publish them arises, she will contact you to request the high res and discuss terms of usage.
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I’m sorry but we only send out our regular ‘wants’ list to a limited number of professional photographers.
If you have any further enquiries about use of images in BBC Wildlife, please email Wanda Sowry (10am–6pm, Monday–Wednesday) or call 0117 314 8371.
Q&A photos
If you have one or two pictures that show really interesting or unusual behaviour (even if the quality is not faultless), why not think of a question to go with your picture and send it in to the Q&A editor?
Q&A is one of the main sections of the magazine to which we encourage readers to send their own shots.
Simply email details about when and where you observed the behaviour, what you saw, what happened next and your question to Sarah McPherson and attach your image as a medium res jpg (about 3MB).
Exposure photos
The Exposure section is always looking for extraordinary shots that are both beautiful and show unusual, extreme or unique behaviour. Please look back through some past issues to see the sort of image we are looking for.
The Exposure section covers a double page spread, so the image must be high quality.
If you are successful, you will also be asked to write 150 words about your experience.
If you have any one-off images that are totally amazing and show exciting, rare or striking animal behaviour, please email a maximum of 10 low res jpgs to BBC Wildlife’s picture researcher Wanda Sowry along with your full contact details and an outline of the story.
Unfortunately, due to the volume of correspondence she receives, Wanda will only be able to respond to successful pitches.
Photo stories
If you have considered all of the above, and have not just individual photos, but a large body of work making up a photo story that you would like to pitch, then here is some useful advice.
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Before you submit your idea, read BBC Wildlife and familiarise yourself with our usual photographic content and type of feature.
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Make sure your idea has not been covered recently by browsing our back issues.
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Ask yourself – which section of the magazine would your idea be most suitable for? What would the angle be? How would it surprise and delight our readers? When should we run it and why? If you can answer these questions, then your pitch has a greater chance of success.
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Then ask yourself – who would write the copy to go with your images? Remember that BBC Wildlife requires not just stunning photography, but a compelling story, written by a skilled writer or expert in the field, who can share exciting new insights into the subject. Though you may know a lot about your chosen subject, are you really the best possible writer? Have you written for our kind of audience before?
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If you have worked with a scientist, researcher or charity on your photo story, could they write the copy? If so, simply provide their contact details with your pitch. If not, you can provide just the photos and leave it to us to find a suitable author, though – if we accept your images - this will delay their publication significantly.
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Then send an email, outlining your story idea in no more than one or two paragraphs (150 words), and covering the points above, to features editor Ben Hoare and cc Wanda Sowry
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Attach 15-20 of your best shots that illustrate your story to the email as low res jpgs (no more than 1MB).
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Do not send high res images unless requested as these take too long to load and as a result may not be viewed.
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We do accept CDs of images, but email is preferred.
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Unfortunately, due to the volume of correspondence he receives, Ben is not able to acknowledge or give feedback on unsolicited photo story pitches unless they are successful.
- If they are successful, you will be contacted to discuss the development of your idea and asked to send more photos.
Portfolio
BBC Wildlife is always looking for spectacular photography and groundbreaking new ways of seeing the natural world to showcase in its prestigious Portfolio section.
Do you have images that show a species as its never been seen before, new behaviour, unprecedented intimacy, or showcase a new photographic technique? It goes without saying that images should be technically perfect as well as taking the art of photography to the next level.
If you have a unique body of work, then email 15-20 of your best shots to editor Sophie Stafford.
Unfortunately, due to the volume of photos she receives, Sophie is not able to acknowledge or give feedback on unsolicited portfolio pitches unless they are successful.
However, she will view all the images she received, assess their appropriateness and, if possible, redirect them to another section of the magazine, such as the photo story section or Exposure.
