Deadline for all entries is December 31 and winners will be announced the following February. A panel of judges will review the entries and select the winners. The decisions of the judges are final.

1. All photographs must be taken at Rowe Woods or Long Branch Farm & Trails.

2. Submitted photos must be at least 9"x12" at 300 DPI, jpeg or tiff preferred. Make sure your camera is set to take high-quality photos before you take them. Once a photo is taken with a lower setting, the quality cannot be increased later.

3. The photographer is responsible for obtaining written permission on the Likeness Release form for any person in any submitted photo. Any children in photos must have signed parental/legal guardian consent to be featured. Photographs without signed Likeness Release forms will not be accepted.

4. Submitted files must be formatted in the following ways:

• Photos should be named in this format: SuzieSmith_Wildlife.jpg (your name, underscore, category name)

• Likeness Release Forms should be named in this format: SuzieSmith_SubjectName_LikenessRelease.pdf

5. IMPORTANT TO NOTE: Photos are allowed to be edited to reflect the natural beauty you saw and enhance your subject matter.

• Examples include: focus stacking or sharpening your photo to make your image clearer/more in focus; editing to reflect warmer or cooler tones and correct white balance; clone stamping/spot healing a distracting stick or otherwise take out of the photo to enhance the photo subject; modifying light levels to correct darkness or overexposed images; adding contrast, etc.

• Photos with special effects will not be judged. Examples of editing not allowed include: converting an image to black and white (your images must be full-color); colors that have been modified to be unnaturally saturated; adding vignettes or feathering of edges in order to stylize images, etc.

• Photos with signatures, watermarks, and time stamps will not be judged.

• Photos showing visitors breaking rules will not be accepted.

6. Adult contestants may submit one original photograph in each subject category. However, contestants may only place once per category.

7. Youth contestants (ages 16 and under) may submit up to nine photos. These entries will be judged separately from the adult entries in a youth-specific category.

8. Cincinnati Nature Center staff and contractual partners, and their immediate family members, are not eligible.

9. Each photographer must submit their photos AND a completed signed Photo Contest Entry Form no later than December 31. As mentioned above, if a photo contains people, a Likeness Release Form must be submitted as well. Submit all files digitally via WeTransfer at www.wetransfer.com. If entering more than one category, send ALL of your submissions in one WeTransfer link. You’re able to send up to 2 GB in one link.

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To share your images without entering this year's Photo Contest, submit a Photo Release Form and upload your images using the instructions below.

a. Please name your files with the formatting listed in rule #4 (above).

b. Go to www.wetransfer.com (use the Free version—no need to sign up for the Plus version).

c. Where it says “upload files,” click the + and find your photos (and photo release if needed) on your computer and select them.

d. Where it says “email to,” put “photocontest@cincynature.org”.

e. Where it says “your email,” put your email address.

f. Where it says “title,” please put “Photo Contest 2024 Submission(s)”.

g. Where it says “message,” please list the full name of the contestant entering the contest.

h. Click “transfer.”

REMEMBER, if you submit any photographs of people, you will need to submit a Likeness Release Form for each person featured.