2024 SCENIC MICHIGAN PHOTO CONTEST RULES
Please read the following rules, terms and legal conditions before entering our photo contest.
Scenic Michigan is excited to announce our highly anticipated Photo Contest for 2024! Our 2023 contests received over 750 amazing entries of the best views that Michigan has to offer, spanning from the center of Detroit all the way up to Copper Harbor, and we are ready to showcase even more! Our 2023 contest was our most viewed group of winners we have ever had. In fact, our Scenic Night Sky category had over 250,000 views on our Facebook page! This year we are hoping to improve on that and receive even more submissions!
This contest will accept all photos so long as they were taken in 2024 and so long as they show off the beauty of our State’s many natural resources and scenic views. Please view the submission categories and contest rules below before entering, and please reach out with any questions related to the submissions.
This year we have added an option to donate through the contest as well. The Photo Contest is the way we get the most engagement from our social media and hopefully will be the way that we can continue to try and grow our membership. We hope that, if you are able, you will consider supporting our mission and staying in the loop with what Scenic does every year. All proceeds go directly to supporting our mission.
WHO SHOULD ENTER: We encourage photo submissions from both professional and amateur photographers. Scenic Michigan will be showcasing many of the photos in our marketing materials, so this is your time to share your great shots from the state and have them be enjoyed by a wider audience. Please read below for more information about how winning photographs will be recognized.
WHAT TO ENTER: We are looking for digital images that help us to a visual story about the importance of Scenic Michigan’s mission. For this first contest, pictures must be taken in Michigan and must have been taken in 2024. Please submit your photographs in .JPG format only. Color images are preferred.
Our photo categories are as follows (pick the category you feel best fits your photo):
- Scenic Roadways, Byways and Trails (RBT)
This category is intended to capture pictures of scenic views along and from Michigan’s highways, byways, roads, and trails. - Scenic Cityscapes (SC)
This broad category focuses on Michigan’s urban cityscapes; including structures, urban developments, skylines, and more. - Scenic Landscapes (SL)
This broad category focuses on scenic landscapes and views. Rural or urban views are accepted. - Scenic Water (SW)
This category is intended to capture scenic views of Michigan’s lakes, rivers, and waterfalls. - Scenic Night Sky (SN)
This category is intended to capture views of our dark night skies and celestial views. - Un-Scenic Blight (SB)
This category is intended to capture visual pollution (e.g. signs, lighting, utility wires, bad zoning practices, etc.) that mar the beauty of one of the above categories.
HOW TO ENTER: Each photographer may submit up to ten entries through our website at the link below. Entries may be made in one category or divided among multiple categories. Please include all required information, as incomplete entries cannot be considered.
NAMING CONVENTION: Please ensure that each photo that you submit includes your last name and a name for the photo if you want it to be labeled as such.
In a deviation from our last photo contest, the naming convention will be looser than years past. However, you must still include your last name on the file or risk being subject to disqualification. We know this process is tedious, but we want to ensure we can properly connect the photo to you today and in the future. If you should hit a character limit, shorten your photo name for the upload and include the full name in the form.
DEADLINE: Photo entries must be submitted by December 31st, 2024 at midnight. Late entries will not be accepted.
ELIGIBILITY AND JUDGING: Previously published material for which non‐exclusive rights were granted may be entered as long as you still maintain the right to grant us a license. (See “Photographer Rights” below.) The photographer must be able to disclose, upon request, when and where the photo appeared previously.
Images will be judged on scenic beauty, originality, composition, overall impact, and artistic merit. All images must be taken in Michigan and the photographer must disclose when and where the photo was taken.
Photographs that have been significantly enhanced or altered will not be accepted in this contest. Minor changes to an image, including spotting, dodging and burning, sharpening, contrast adjustment, and slight color change are acceptable, as are high dynamic range (HDR) adjustments and stitched panoramas. Images that violate these rules may be disqualified.
Scenic Michigan shall determine winner eligibility in its sole and absolute discretion. The photo contest is not open to board members and staff of Scenic Michigan or anyone participating as a Scenic Michigan judge.
Contest winners will be announced in early 2025.
WINNING PHOTOS: At minimum, each winning photograph and photographer will be recognized as follows:
- Scenic Michigan’s newsletter
- Scenic Michigan’s website
- Scenic Michigan’s social media platforms
PHOTOGRAPHER RIGHTS: Each photographer retains all rights to any photographs submitted ‐‐ including ownership, if applicable ‐‐ other than those rights licensed in the next sentence. By entering the 2024 Scenic Michigan Photo Contest, you hereby grant to Scenic Michigan the following: (i) a non‐exclusive, irrevocable, royalty‐free license to reproduce, distribute, and publicly display the photographs you submit to Scenic Michigan, and (ii) the right to use your name, city, state and country of residence in promotions and other publications.
All photographs in media publications will be credited with the “photographers name – Courtesy of Scenic Michigan” whenever used. All photographs used on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter) will be credited with the photographer’s name. Scenic Michigan has final approval of any language that appears on its website with any of the photos.
Any questions about the Scenic Michigan Photo Contest may be directed to Jake Parcell, Scenic Michigan Director, at [email protected]
