Midwest Photography Contest
“Capture What’s Great in Midwest States” 4-H Photography Challenge Rules & Submission Guidelines
Eligibility: Open to youth in grades K-13 in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin
Register at: https://z.umn.edu/Midwest-states-photo-reg
*Youth must be enrolled in their state 4-H program.
Challenge summary
Highlight something that stands out about your town, county, state or travels to another Midwest state. There are a lot of hidden gems around the Midwest so get out and capture them.
Submission guidelines
Choose up to three (3) of your best pictures. Submit up to three jpg or jpeg images via email to fourhphoto@umn.edu by 11:59 p.m. (CST) on June 30, 2021. In the email, use the subject line “4-H Midwest Photo Challenge” and in the body, please include the child's name, grade and state. Once your email submission has been received and your registration verified, you will receive a confirmation email.
Submitted photos will be displayed in a slideshow. Volunteer photography judges will provide feedback and recognize the top quality images. All participants will have their names entered in a random drawing for prizes.
Be creative! Show what makes the Midwest states great! Subject matter is OPEN to all things Midwest!
Tips for better photographs
- Landmarks can be an awesome way to show off your hometown or state. Some landmarks like Mount Rushmore or the Mall of America are known worldwide; how can you show it in an unique way? There might be other landmarks, nature areas or historical sites that are only known to locals and should be seen by many other people.
- Here are a few tips that may be helpful for this challenge:
- Try to stand at an angle from a building, a statue or large equipment and include three sides so the viewers can tell that it is three dimensional.
- Watch the backgrounds for extra clutter. Can you move to the left or right or higher/lower to eliminate clutter or unnecessary objects veering out from behind your subject.
- Move in close to your subject to eliminate items that are not a part of the story you wish to tell, but not so close that you cut off part of it. Show the whole person including their feet or purposely just their head and shoulders.
- It’s okay to have people/cars in your landscape pictures to show how big or how far away the landscape is. They often add a point of interest for your eyes to land on.
- If there is an object that could move in your picture, be sure to have more space in front rather than behind the object so it looks as if it has room to move forward (e.g. car, animal, person running or batting a ball).
- Be respectful of monument, attraction and facility rules.
Build your skills with these resources
- 4-H Photography Curriculum
- Minnesota 4-H Photography project page
- Tips for landmark and monument photography
Questions? Email fourhphoto@umn.edu