About Australian Photography

Australian Photography

Overview

Australian Photography is one of Australia's longest-running photography magazines, a print and digital title for enthusiast and advanced amateur photographers. Established in 1950, it has been published continuously for more than seven decades, covering camera technique, creative inspiration, gear, and the work of Australian photographers. The magazine is published in Sydney by Yaffa Media Pty Ltd as part of the Yaffa Photographic Group, alongside its sister title Capture, which serves the professional market. Where Capture addresses working professionals, Australian Photography is aimed at passionate photographers who shoot for the love of it — people refining their craft, entering competitions and investing in better equipment. In recent years the magazine has been published as a series of combined issues across the year — seven issues per year according to the subscription information printed in its December 2023–January 2024 edition — with recent issues including October/November 2025 and June–July 2026. The editor is Mike O'Connor, who has led the title since the mid-2010s. Its website, australianphotography.com, publishes photography news, tips, gear coverage and competition results on a regular basis, and was carrying news dated October 2026 at the time of writing.

History

Australian Photography was first published in November 1950, and its masthead still carries the line "Established in 1950". The magazine passed to Yaffa Media in the 1980s, when — according to the publisher's own published history — Yaffa acquired both Australian Photography and the professional title that became Capture from publisher James Coleman. In August 2012 the magazine merged with its sister title Digital Photography + Design, which had been launched in 1995, to form Australian Photography + Digital. The first merged issue appeared in August 2012 in a larger format with more pages. The name later reverted to the plain Australian Photography masthead, which is the form used by the December 2023–January 2024 issue and by current digital editions. For more than fifteen years the magazine was edited by Robert Keeley, whose tenure ended around late 2015; a recruitment notice published by the magazine that year, with applications closing on 23 November 2015, had applicants reporting alongside managing editor James Ostinga, who is now the title's publisher. Mike O'Connor took over as editor: he appears as editor in the September 2017 masthead, and in his June 2021 editor's letter he noted he had then been editing the magazine for five years. He remains in the role — his editor's letter opens the June–July 2026 issue, and he is quoted as the magazine's editor in coverage of its competitions through 2025 and 2026.

Programming and Content

The magazine's content is organised around helping readers take better photographs. Its website divides coverage into news, photo tips, gear and profiles, and the print edition follows the same pattern: technique tutorials and shooting advice, camera and lens news and reviews, interviews with and portfolios by Australian photographers, and features on photographic genres from landscape and wildlife to portraiture. Reader participation is a defining feature. Your Best Shot is a themed reader competition in which a new theme is set every couple of months and winning images are published in print and online; the theme for October 2026 was "Minimalism". The magazine's flagship annual competition is Photographer of the Year, a major event on the Australian amateur photography calendar, and it also runs the long-standing Image Doctor column, in which readers' photographs are critiqued and improved. Together with Capture, the magazine presents The Mono Awards, an annual black-and-white photography competition across People, Places and Animals categories; the 2025 edition was sponsored by Synology and offered $16,000 in cash and prizes. The December 2023–January 2024 masthead lists contributing editors Mick Fletoridis, Rob Ditessa, Drew Hopper, Anthony McKee and Saima Morel alongside editor Mike O'Connor — McKee's biography notes he has been a contributing editor for more than twenty years.

Audience and Reach

Australian Photography is written for Australia's large community of enthusiast photographers — camera club members, keen amateurs and semi-professionals — rather than for the professional trade served by its sister title. Its competitions are a significant part of its reach: Photographer of the Year and Your Best Shot draw entries from across the country, The Mono Awards attract black-and-white specialists from Australia and New Zealand, and winning work is showcased in the magazine and on its website, giving emerging photographers national exposure. The magazine has adapted its frequency as print markets have changed: mastheads from 2015 to 2017 show a monthly schedule of twelve issues a year, with subscription prices of $90 in 2015 and $99 in 2017, while the December 2023–January 2024 issue lists seven issues per year at $62.69 for a year's subscription. Recent editions are combined two-month issues, a pattern visible in the December–January, June–July and October–November issues of recent years. No independently audited circulation figure is published for the title, so its reach is best measured by its longevity, its competition entries and its newsstand and subscription presence over more than seventy years.

Digital Presence

The magazine's website, australianphotography.com, is an active news and features service rather than a simple subscription page. At the time of writing its lead stories included coverage of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2026 results dated 15 October 2026, alongside industry news such as Getty Images' restructuring and stories from the film photography revival — evidence of a site updated on a regular cycle. The site hosts the magazine's competition coverage, including Your Best Shot results and Mono Awards announcements, as well as photo tips and gear content that extend the print edition. Digital editions are sold through Zinio, where single issues have been listed at $8.00, and print-and-digital subscription bundles are offered through Yaffa Media's greatmagazines.com.au subscription store. The magazine maintains a Facebook presence under the handle australianphotographymag, listed in its own masthead, through which competition calls and feature content are promoted.

Ownership and Organisation

Australian Photography is published by Yaffa Media Pty Ltd (ABN 54 002 699 354), based at 17–21 Bellevue Street, Surry Hills, in inner Sydney. Yaffa Media is one of Australia's oldest independent publishers: the company was founded in Sydney in 1925 by David Yaffa as the Yaffa Syndicate, supplying cartoons, photographs and articles to newspapers in Australia and New Zealand, and it marked its centenary in 2025. The business remains family-owned; after David Yaffa's son, also David, retired in 2012, his daughter Tracy Yaffa became managing director, and the company was renamed Yaffa Media in 2015. It publishes around thirty magazine brands across consumer and trade categories. Within the company, Australian Photography and Capture form the Yaffa Photographic Group, as stated in the magazine's masthead. James Ostinga is publisher of the title, with Lucy Yaffa as marketing manager and Matthew Gunn as production director, according to the December 2023–January 2024 masthead. Editor Mike O'Connor leads the editorial team, supported by the contributing editors listed above and national sales manager Jodie Reid on the advertising side.

Contact and Availability

Australian Photography is available by subscription through greatmagazines.com.au, by phone on 1800 807 760, or by emailing subscriptions@yaffa.com.au; the December 2023–January 2024 issue listed a one-year subscription of seven issues at $62.69, with a print-plus-digital option at $60.00. Digital single issues are available through Zinio. The publisher's office can be reached at Yaffa Media Pty Ltd, 17–21 Bellevue Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010, by phone on (02) 9281 2333, with mail directed to GPO Box 606, Sydney NSW 2001. Editorial contributions are welcomed from freelance photographers and writers; the masthead asks contributors to contact the editor before submitting, with editorial correspondence directed to the magazine's published Yaffa email address. Competition entries for Your Best Shot, Photographer of the Year and The Mono Awards are handled through australianphotography.com.