Contest Rules

Divisions & Categories

There are five divisions for the contest. Three adult and two youth divisions.

  • Adult Beginner

  • Adult Intermediate

  • Adult Advanced

  • Youth Junior (14 & under)

  • Youth Senior (15 - 18)

The number of categories depends upon the division in which you enter.

Adult Categories

  • Animals

  • Feathered Friends

  • Expressive Impressions (Intermediate and Advanced only)

  • Floral

  • Scenics

Youth Categories

  • Animals

  • Feathered Friends

  • Floral

  • Creepy Crawlies

  • Scenics

  • People and Nature

  • Seen at the Heard

Fees

  • Adult - $10 for each image

  • Youth - $5 for each image

Image Entry

Image Qualification

  • Previous winning images in any category of previous Heard Natural Science Museum Photo Contests (First, Second or Third Place) are ineligible for entry and will be disqualified.

  • Photography on train tracks is illegal. Images captured while on train tracks are not admissible.

  • Photographs, where the image itself is labeled with a watermark or copyright tag, will be disqualified and will not be judged.

  • Each entrant may submit as many images as desired in any combination of categories for which they are eligible.

  • We do not follow strict PSA Nature rules, and images may include the hand of man, but any people or man-made objects must not be the image's subject. Images will be disqualified if nature is not the primary subject. People should be included for scale only.

  • It is the photographer's responsibility to read through the category descriptions carefully and to choose the appropriate category for each image.  Keep in mind that the image could fit into more than one category.  The photographer’s selection will be final. Anything not meeting the category's criteria in which it is entered will be ineligible for judging.

  • Smartphone photos are welcome.

  • Photographs that have been published for compensation or sold may not be submitted.

Image File Specifications

  • We accept high-resolution images sized to 2000 pixels on the longest side. The submission software may reject images larger than that.

  • Post-processing may include color and exposure correction, burning and dodging, removing small distracting items like bright objects at the edge of the frame, or extending the canvas to correct the composition. The use of AI to Remove large objects or change the subject of the composition is disallowed.

  • The title of the image must be entered in the metadata, and it must match the title entered in the submission software.

  • The photographer’s name must be entered in the Author metadata field. (You may be unable to enter the photographer’s name on images from your smartphone. In this case, include the title and photographer’s name in the Title field.)

Entering The Contest

  • Review your submissions carefully.

  • You may enter additional images at a later date.

  • If you are entering images for different photographers and using the SAME email address (e.g., teachers and students), please do the following.

    • Start a new session with the photographer’s name. Enter images for one photographer during any single-entry session.

    • Begin a new session to enter images for another photographer.

Copyright

The photographer retains the copyright for any images submitted.

The photographer grants a license to the Heard Natural Science Museum and the Heard Nature Photographer’s Club to display the images in electronic or printed media to promote the photography contest, the museum, or the photography club. This includes posting the images on the museum or club websites or including the image in emails or other print or electronic promotional material. Such use does not include commercial resale of the image. 

It is the photographer’s responsibility to ensure that the image file contains the appropriate copyright metadata.