Welcome to our round-up of the best photography magazines for you to read in 2024! This list includes an exciting selection of magazines offering a range of content; purely visual, photo stories, fine art photography, experimental emerging photographers, reportage, portraits, essays and articles, interviews, and loads more!
Here in Manchester’s Northern Quarter, the film photography revival is in full swing with a new generation of street photographers capturing images from the heart of the city. Photography magazines are a great place to find practical advice to improve and expand your photography practice, to hear from well-established photographers, and to find inspiration in the new work of some of the most exciting and innovative contemporary photographers capturing images today.
Whether you’re a seasoned photographer or someone who has just picked up their first point-and-shoot, maybe you simply enjoy looking at great photos, we’re confident you’ll find something to suit your tastes amongst these photography publications!
1. Hotshoe
Opening each issue of Hotshoe is like stepping into another world, you find yourself immersed in the subject matter, deeply in touch with the people and places you encounter in its pages, and totally absorbed into the imaginations and obsessions of the photographers themselves. There is a delicacy to this magazine, a sensitivity to layout and subject, and a clear commitment to handling their content with deep care. This clarity of vision and strong aesthetic comes with many years of experience; Hotshoe has been the UK’s leading photography magazine since 1977, remaining truly independent and culturally relevant. Hotshoe #210 is dedicated to the work of Todd Hido, well known for his atmospheric nighttime photographs of suburban America that tap into our collective memory, and communicate human experience. Previous issues have focused on Emotional Landscapes, Martin Parr, A West African Portrait, and more. A lovely little magazine with a big impact!
2. Aperture
Based in New York but with a distinctly global outlook, Aperture magazine is a nonprofit publisher that has been supporting a diverse roster of photographers since 1952. Placing care, curiosity, diversity, and opportunity as core values in their work, Aperture believes in the power of stories shared through photographs to encourage “a more just, tolerant society”. These aims are reflected in each themed issue of the magazine, which is published quarterly. Their ‘Accra’ Issue was exceptional; “Nii Obodai, considers the Ghanaian capital as a site of dynamic photographic voices and histories that connect visual culture in West Africa to the world.”, and their latest Issue, ‘Desire’ is shaping up to be equally powerful.
3. Toiletpaper
This dreamlike and flamboyant magazine is created and produced by photographers Maurizio Cattelan and Pierpaolo Ferrari. “Since the first issue, in June 2010, ‘Toiletpaper’ has created a world that displays ambiguous narratives and a troubling imagination. It combines the vernacular of commercial photography with twisted narrative tableaux and surrealistic imagery.” Entirely image-based, each issue is steeped in humour and horror, with photos ranging from the ridiculous to the repulsive. Like a trip so bad it’s good; Toiletpaper is disorienting in all the right ways!
One of our favourites here at UNITOM; Ghislain Pascal’s magazine Boys! Boys! Boys!, dedicated to publishing queer fine art photography. Each issue of this bi-annual magazine features ten photographers from around the world. Ghislain’s background in gallery curation and exhibitions makes each copy of Boys!Boys!Boys! a capsule celebration of queer excellence in fine art. $1 from the sale of each magazine will go to charities supporting the LGBTQ+ community and fighting the HIV / AIDS epidemic.
"We just keep getting bigger and bigger! I don't mean in size (we're not size queens!) - just that we are printing more and more copies with every issue - so thank you!" - Ghislain Pascal
5. Pretence
Exciting new photography talent from Liverpool and beyond. Despite its name, Pretence is a distinctly unpretentious magazine; featuring curated interviews and showcases, but reserving a large portion of its pages for submissions to their regular themed open calls. The result is a gutsy, supportive, and community-minded magazine that seems to be capturing true rising stars and emerging talent on the local and global photography scene. Open calls are regular and submissions are free, making this magazine great for someone looking for a place to send their photographs to for the first time.
“Pretence is a place for support, interpretations and conflicts of ideas. An online and print photography platform for photographers and photography based artists from all walks of life.” - Pretence
Before Safelight Paper landed at UNITOM I hadn’t heard of ‘slow photography’. As film makes a comeback, many contemporary photographers are pushing back against the idea of taking as many photos as quickly as possible, and instead shifting focus towards restrained shooting, patient framing, and overall frugality (especially given the lengthy and often expensive development process). Safelight Paper’s approach feels like a logical continuation of these trends aiming to “lead photography back to its mindful roots and inspire artists to explore new perspectives through more personal, substantial and meaningful projects, placing the story at the center.” This Berlin-based magazine describes itself as a platform for slow photography (a more specific application of the concept of ‘slow living’); it stands out for its particularly attractive format, considered curation, and showcases of long-term and time-intensive photography projects.
7. Fotograf
Fotograf is a Czech publication curating themed issues three times a year, with a focus on showcasing contemporary photography from the Czech Republic and beyond. Packed full of photographs, interviews, theory and reviews, this thoughtful and exceptionally well-curated magazine aims to produce timeless issues that readers can keep coming back to; for reference, for study, for joy, for life! Fotograf was first published in 2002 and has gone from strength to strength, now putting on a major photography festival alongside events and exhibitions, the theme of the latest issue is 'hypertension'.
“This organisation aims to promote and support photography within the context of the fine arts, to ensure its greater inclusion in contemporary art, and to increase public awareness about photography not only in the Czech Republic but also at a visible level on the international scene.” - Fotograf
8. De Greif
De Greif is an award-winning contemporary photography organisation, and its magazine is a great place to find works exploring the cutting edge of photographic theory, as applied to a diverse range of contemporary practitioners. De Greif is experimental and context-conscious, always aiming to push into new and surprising territory; exploring “how pairings of images by different authors can generate new meanings. Der Greif explores the creation, distribution, and reception of images - in print, on screens, and in exhibitions. The organisation reflects on and questions the role of images: how we construct and perceive our environment and our respective responsibilities within it.” This evocative and beautifully formatted magazine will take you on a challenging and poignant visual journey.
A strikingly simple conceptual magazine exploring all the complexities, contradictions, and communities that are embodied by the term ‘family’. Founded by Brendan Freeman and Sarah-Jayne Todd, this magazine collates family stories that cover intimate aspects of relationships through photo essays; silly sisters, unexpected connections, chosen families, heartbreak, resilience, hometowns, reunions, and much more. Each photo story layers photography and text resulting in a touching and intimate magazine packed full of character and charm.
“Conceived and designed by DJA, the magazine’s aesthetic is understated and paired back, allowing the imagery to take centre stage. The vibrant colours and script typeface add to the humanist warmth of the content.” - Family Portrait
10. HAPAX
HAPAX is a magazine and commissioning body, beautifully curated by co-editors Christiane Monarchi and Gordon MacDonald. According to their website, “Hapax Magazine takes its name from the literary term ‘hapax legomenon’ describing a one-off, creative departure from an author’s oeuvre — something unique and new and ‘said only once’ in their practice.” The magazine carefully selects photographers from submissions and proposals of new and experimental work and provides lens-based artists from around the world with grants to support their proposed projects. Photos and reflections of these new works are then published in this beautifully formatted magazine, which is bound with simple thread pamphlet stitching and includes fold-out pages. Interested in niche, experimental, and interdisciplinary work, this twice-a-year mag is always a treasure trove of new ideas and works-in-progress (think Fieldnotes but for photography!).
11. British Journal of Photography
“Through the lenses of world-class photographers, British Journal of Photography explores rich and timely stories of art, culture, politics and society. BJP sets the bar for photographic journalism — and has done ever since writers like Arthur Conan Doyle and George Bernard Shaw first graced our pages in the 1800s.” -BJP
An iconic magazine that has long held the position of the ultimate reference point for photographers who are serious about the craft. BJP is the oldest photography publication of its kind in the world, unmatched in its influence, and still a first port of call for many contemporary photographers working in the field. Previously monthly, now bi-monthly, this magazine is a great place to get to know the big names of the photography establishment as well as discover innovative new work. The latest issue is an exciting deep dive into portraiture.
12. Parklife
While not strictly a photography magazine I couldn’t resist including the warm and witty visual narratives of Parklife magazine, so here's a bonus 12th recommendation for anyone who has read to the bottom of this article!
In a world where green space is scarce, especially in city environments, this new magazine captures the characters, moods, and marvellous mundanity of city parks, resulting in an entertaining collection of images that celebrate daily life and the value of small rituals carried out despite limited access to recreational space. In these photographs Parks are showcased as vital third spaces, providing opportunities for connection, relaxation, meditation, and play.
“Through an authorial approach and with unpublished projects, thirteen artists and a confrontation between an architect and a designer explore the concept of the park understood as a place of daily life. All these visions make it possible to conceive green space and its inhabitants as an essential and united part of the city context. Parklife is a refuge from the urban sprawl.” - Parklife
