I want every photographer reading this to understand something: you need to be looking at print magazines.

If you’re not studying print, you’re missing out on one of the most refined, curated, and high-level visual experiences available to photographers

Think about it—how many people have to approve an image before it gets published in a magazine like Vogue?

The answer? A lot.

Now think about how many people need to approve an image before it goes on the internet.

Zero.

That’s why photographers need to study print—it’s the difference between curated, high-standard work and the endless, unfiltered flood of digital imagery.

If you want to elevate your work, print is where real photography still holds value.

Top 5 Reasons You Need to Be Buying Magazines

1. The Best Work Goes Through the Toughest Curation

Print photography isn’t just thrown online for clicks. It goes through multiple levels of approval—photo editors, creative directors, and sometimes even the editor-in-chief.

That means every image is carefully selected and refined. When you study print, you’re learning from the highest level of visual storytelling.

Look at the composition, lighting, and mood of published images. Notice how every frame is intentional, every detail meticulously placed.

Unlike social media posts, which can be uploaded in seconds, these images have gone through weeks—sometimes months—of fine-tuning.

This is where the bar is set.

If you want your work to stand out, study the work that has already made it past the toughest gatekeepers.

2. Print Photography Has Permanence

Digital images disappear in a scroll.

Social media moves at lightning speed.

What’s viral today is forgotten tomorrow.

Print, on the other hand, is designed to last.

Whether it’s a billboard, magazine, or subway ad, print images are created to be seen for weeks, months, or even years.

If you want to create work that stands the test of time, learn from the images that do.

Pick up a magazine, hold it in your hands, flip through the pages, and notice the impact that a well-printed photograph can have.

Digital screens unrealistically backlight colours and textures, but print brings images to life.

This is where photography holds real weight.

Pick up a magazine, hold it in your hands, flip through the pages, and notice the impact that a well-printed photograph can have.

Digital screens backlight colours and textures, but print brings images to life.

This is where photography holds real weight.

3. Print Is Everywhere. You Just Haven’t Noticed

Photographers often think that print is dead because they’re not paying attention. It’s not dead. You’re just not looking for it.

Magazines. Billboards. Store displays. Restaurant menus. Corporate brochures. Print is all around you, and people get paid to make those pictures.

The problem?

Too many photographers are obsessed with social media validation instead of paying attention to where photography has real commercial value.

Walk through any city and you’ll see massive advertising campaigns in print. Someone was hired to shoot that. Someone was paid well to create that image.

The budgets for print campaigns are way higher than anything you’ll see on social media.

Instead of chasing likes, start looking at where photography still commands real money.

4. Editorial Photography Teaches You How to Tell a Story

A lot of photographers don’t even understand what editorial photography is.

It’s not just about making a pretty picture. It’s about making an image that tells a story.

Editorial images work within a narrative.

They complement a feature, fashion spread, or profile.

Unlike commercial photography, which is built to sell a product, editorial photography is about evoking emotion, creating a mood, and telling a bigger story.

It’s about images that make you feel something.

Flip through the pages of National Geographic, GQ, or Vogue, and you’ll see that the best editorial images don’t just show a subject.

They say something about them.

They make you want to know more.

If you want to learn how to make pictures with meaning, you need to study editorial photography.

5. Print Forces You to Think Beyond Trends

Digital photography is driven by short-lived trends. One day, a certain editing style is in. The next, it’s out. Social media rewards fast content, not deep content.

Print, on the other hand, demands a level of vision and quality that goes beyond quick trends. The images in magazines aren’t designed to be disposable. They’re designed to fit into a larger editorial vision. They require a photographer who understands composition, narrative, and how to create a timeless image.

If you want to build a career in photography, you need to understand how to create work that holds value beyond social media hype. That means developing your own vision—not just copying whatever is trending on Instagram.

Printing Your Own Work Will Make You a Better Photographer

Studying images in print is one thing, but printing your own work is equally important.

When you print your work, you see every detail.

The sharpness, the colors, the contrast, and the texture. It forces you to confront the true quality of your photography in a way that screens never will.

Is your work actually worth the paper it’s printed on?

That’s a question every photographer should ask themselves.

Printing validates you.

It makes your work feel real. Holding a physical print in your hands is a completely different experience from seeing it on a screen.

When you put ink on paper, you’re committing to your work in a way that digital never demands.

You’re no longer just taking up pixels. You’re creating something tangible.

Being hired to shoot for print does the same thing.

The expectations are higher. The level of detail needs to be greater.

The scrutiny is much sharper.

If you’re only seeing your work on screens, your entire perspective will change the moment you see your photographs in print.

The Takeaway

Good for you for getting to the end. Here’s some key takeaways.

If you want to get amazing at photography… (really amazing), you need to study the highest level of image curation available. Which means:

👉🏾 Buy print magazines and study how the images are composed, lit, and selected.
👉🏾 Look at where photography still has value outside of Instagram.
👉🏾 Understand editorial storytelling. Making a great image isn’t enough if it doesn’t connect to a larger narrative.
👉🏾 Start thinking beyond trends and develop a vision that lasts.
👉🏾 Print your own work. Seeing it in your hands will change the way you shoot.

If you’re only looking at digital, you’re training yourself in a world with no gatekeepers. That might feel like freedom, but it also means you’re not learning from the best.

If you need help with developing your work, that’s something I can for sure help you with. See if you’re right for Portfolio Lab.

Print forces discipline. Print demands vision.

Print is not dead. It’s just waiting for photographers who are serious enough to use it.

Thanks for reading me this week. I hope this brings you value.

I’ll see you next Saturday.

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