Instead, try to capture people in motion, with natural poses and expressions. You'll also need film. If you use slides, you may want to buy an inexpensive lightbox to help you sort and select photos. If you don't want to invest in a lightbox, drop by your local photo shop and borrow theirs. By viewing your slides through a loupe, you'll be able to determine whether your photos are sharp enough to be enlarged to magazine size.
Loupes are available at photo shops and art supply stores.
You'll also want to pick up some plastic photo-protector sheets corresponding to the size of slide or print you use. Finally, you'll want to start saving 8x10 sheets of cardboard, such as the backs of notepads, so that you'll have something to further protect your photos during shipping. The easiest method is to attach a return address label to the back of each print, or to the cardboard mount of each slide. Number each photo. Send slides and prints in plastic protective sheets.