Tipster Section: Updated Submission Guidelines
In this updated set of guidelines, we seek to explain what we are looking for in a Tipster submission. We want to encourage personal freedom but also point out what to keep in mind before you submit to this section.
Overview
A Tipster should provide great new ideas on different ways of using lomo cameras, accessories, and films to achieve unconventional and delightful results!
Filling Out the Tipster Submission Form
Title:
- Must suggest the main message of your piece.
- Must be specific.
Example:
LC-A+ Tipster ✗
Splitzer ✗
Alternative ways to use the Splitzer with your LC-A+ ✔
Tags:
- Must suggest the overall context/theme of your story.
- May include specific cameras, film types, or techniques used.
- May include relevant keywords and related interests.
Example:
light painting, multiple exposures, pinhole, scanning, sprockets
Summary:
- Must answer the basic who, where, what, why, and when questions.
- Must have 40 words maximum or 2-3 sentences.
- Must be different from the content.
Content:
- Must have 300 words but could be longer.
- Must have at least 10 photos and 1 header photo which will serve as your article’s cover photo or thumbnail. (Please see how to embed a photo below). Images must be 1216×1800 or 1216 × 2432px in size in order to be properly displayed on the new website.
- Must be well edited, clear, and concise. Try to keep your writing structured, interesting, and informative. Please observe the basics of capitalizations, grammar, and punctuations – but don’t fret, the Magazine Editors will do their best to make your article more reader-friendly.
- Try to wrap up your text by being conclusive and giving the reader something to take away. You may wish to close your piece with a thought provoking question or encourage debate in the comments section.
You need to be very clear about:
- What you need: use a bulleted list
- How to proceed: follow the chronological order
- The process: what exactly needs to be done and how
- Pearls of wisdom: suggestions to achieve better results
Keep these things in mind as you write: state clearly what accessories and materials you used, the exact name of the chemicals you need for the development process and also the best place to do it. End your Tipster stating the most important steps to learn in the process is and try to involve community members in your topic, so that readers are keen on commenting on your post.
To submit your Tipster, email your article in Word doc. or docx format to magazine.editors@lomography.com. Please include photos, captions, links and of course your username.
Formatting Your Tipster Piece
Basic Codes:
- If you want to use bold, just put the text in asterixes like *this text that will appear in bold*, which will result in this text that will appear in bold.
- For italics, just put it between underscores like _this short text_, which will result in this short text.
- To create bulleted lists, just put an asterisk before each item.
Photos:
- Embedding a photo: Use [Photo:photo-ID-number-at-the-end-of-URL] to embed a photo from your LomoHome, or [Asset:asset-number-of-photo-uploaded] to embed a photo that you uploaded via Submission Form. When using two or more photos in the segments of your article, they should be embedded as galleries.
- Embedding a gallery: Use [Photos:photo-ID-numbers-at-the-end-of-URLs] to embed photos from your LomoHome, or [Assets:asset-numbers-of-photos-uploaded] to embed photos that you uploaded via Submission Form.
- Adding captions: To place captions or subtitles under your photos or galleries, simply add the text in the very next line of the photo code. Whenever you’re using photos from other websites, make sure to include a link to the sources of these photos. (Please see how to create links below.)
Videos:
- If you want to embed a video from your LomoHome, here is the code you should use: [Movie:number-of-video]
- If you want to embed a video from your LomoHome, here is the code you should use: [Movie:URL-of-the-video-from-YouTube-or-Vimeo]
Linking:
- To include a link in your article, simply put “quotation marks” before and after the word, phrase, or sentence you would like to link, followed by a colon and the URL you would like to use.
- Example:
"Lomography":http://www.lomography.com
References:
- Whenever you use information from other websites to help you write your Tipster Posts, it is necessary to cite them as your references at the end of your article.
- Example:
_All information for this article were taken from "Website A":http://www.insertwebsiteAhere, "Website B":http://www.insertwebsiteBhere, "Website C":http://www.insertwebsiteChere._
Typical Tipster Post Section
- Regular Tipster – Home-made accessories and new ways to use your camera: this is the place where you can push beyond the analogue limits and discover a whole unexpected world!
Saran Wrapped - Quickie Tipster – Shorter than a Regular Tipster, a Quickie Tipster provides the reader with a few simple instructions and to follow it, it’s not necessary any extra accessory or particular skill. People can follow it and make everything with home-made material, then can shot and develop as usual.
Quickie Tipster: Rolls of Color - Lab Rat – Lab Rats are focused on alternative ways to develop films; usually people need some chemicals and, most important thing, a dark-room to work. A Lab Rat could help people to build a cheap and quick darkroom.
Instaxperiments_01 - Camera Modification – Only the brave: a Camera Modification Tipster asks people to modify their own camera: modifying the camera body, changing the way how it works, taking out or moving some piece.
LomoKino Fisheye Modification - In-depthTutorial – You can explain how to put film in a camera or how a new camera works, but also show more elaborate processes, such as how to shoot high-quality art portaits or how to shoot photos in low-light conditions.
Laserjet Transfer on Mixed Media Collage - Video Tipster – Tipster Posts with Video make it easier for people to follow instructions. The video illustrate the process step by step and coincide with everything you’ve written. It shouldn’t merely display the final result.
Origami Bank Notes SLR Camera
Important Notes
- Aside from adhering to the Submission Guidelines above, the Magazine Editors will base your submissions on the following criteria:
Creativity: interesting and imaginative takes on the old and usual
Originality: fresh, different, unconventional
Relevance: timely and engaging stuff that the community will enjoy (i.e. requested posts)
Overall Quality: cohesive paragraphs, grammatically sound, reader-friendly - All submissions approved for publishing will be awarded 15 piggies. If you have any questions, feel free to drop us a line at magazine.editors@lomography.com.
- It is the Magazine Editors’ right to bounce or reject submissions which do not comply to these guidelines and criteria.
Got any comments, questions or feedback? Anything to help us make the Magazine better is welcome! Hit up a comment on this post or contact Jill if you want to discuss something in detail!