HOUSTON PHOTO CHALLENGE
Official Rules & Competition Guidelines
1. About the Houston Photo Challenge
The Houston Photo Challenge is a monthly photography competition designed to challenge, encourage, and develop young photographers throughout the Houston area.
Students compete throughout the school year in monthly photography challenges, earning points toward individual and school-wide season championships.
The goal isn't simply to take a great photograph. Students are challenged to see differently, develop photographic skills, tell stories, and create images with purpose.
2. Divisions
The Houston Photo Challenge has two divisions:
Middle School / Junior High - Grades 6–8
High School - Grades 9–12
Students compete against other photographers in their division.
3. Eligibility
The competition is open to students who:
Are enrolled in grades 6–8 or 9–12 during the competition season.
Attend a participating Houston-area school.
Submit their own original photographs.
Follow all competition rules and submission deadlines.
Students may participate regardless of their level of photography experience.
No expensive camera is required.
Students may use:
DSLR cameras
Mirrorless cameras
Point-and-shoot cameras
Film cameras
Tablets
Smartphones
The competition is about the photographer's vision, not the cost of their equipment.
4. Monthly Challenges
A new photography challenge will be announced each month.
Each challenge is designed to focus on a specific photographic skill, concept, or way of seeing.
Examples may include:
The Moment — timing and storytelling
Light & Shadow — understanding light
Faces Without Posing — candid photography
Details — composition and observation
Motion — shutter speed and timing
Emotion — visual storytelling
Different Perspective — creative composition
Our School — documentary photography
Photo of the Year — portfolio and photographic vision
Challenge themes may change from season to season.
5. Submissions
Each student may submit one official entry per monthly challenge.
A photograph must:
Be taken by the student submitting it.
Meet the requirements of the monthly challenge.
Be submitted before the published deadline.
Be appropriate for a school-age audience.
Be the student's original work.
Students may submit photographs taken specifically for the challenge or photographs taken previously, unless a particular challenge states otherwise.
6. Editing
Photography is an art form, and editing is part of the creative process.
Normal photographic editing is permitted, including:
Cropping
Exposure adjustments
Contrast
Color adjustments
Black and white conversion
Saturation
Sharpening
Noise reduction
Dodging and burning
Reasonable retouching
Unless specifically stated otherwise, the photograph should remain recognizably based on the original photograph captured by the student.
Generative AI
Generative AI may not be used to create or substantially alter a competition photograph.
This includes AI-generated images and AI-generated additions or replacements that fundamentally change the photograph.
Specific challenges may establish additional editing rules.
7. Multiple Exposures & Composites
Some photographic techniques may involve combining multiple photographs or exposures.
These techniques may be permitted only when specifically allowed by the monthly challenge.
If a challenge allows composites, the rules for that challenge will explain what is permitted.
8. People & Permissions
Students are responsible for photographing people respectfully and appropriately.
When photographing individuals in situations where permission would reasonably be expected, students should obtain appropriate permission before submitting the photograph.
Photographs submitted to the competition must be appropriate for display to students, parents, educators, and the public.
The competition reserves the right to reject an image that is inappropriate or violates the rights or privacy of another person.
9. Identifying Information
To help judges evaluate photographs fairly, students should not place their name, watermark, or other identifying information directly on the submitted photograph.
Identification information will be collected separately through the submission form.
10. Judging
Each photograph will be evaluated by a panel of judges.
Judges may include:
Professional photographers
Photojournalists
Photography educators
Yearbook professionals
Visual artists
Other photography professionals
Judges will evaluate photographs using the following 100-point scoring system:
Impact & Story — 30 points
Does the photograph communicate an idea, emotion, moment, or story?
Composition — 25 points
How effectively are the elements of the photograph arranged within the frame?
Light — 20 points
How effectively does the photographer use available light, artificial light, shadows, color, or contrast?
Technical Execution — 15 points
How successfully has the photographer handled focus, exposure, timing, sharpness, and other technical elements?
Creativity — 10 points
Does the photograph demonstrate originality, imagination, or a unique approach to the challenge?
11. Judges' Decisions
Judges' decisions are final.
The judges may choose not to award a particular recognition if they determine that no photograph sufficiently meets the criteria.
The competition organizers reserve the right to disqualify an entry that violates the official rules.
12. Monthly Awards
Each month, photographers may be recognized in several categories.
Potential monthly awards include:
Photographer of the Month
The highest-scoring photograph in each division.
Second Place
Third Place
Judge's Choice
A judge may select an additional photograph that demonstrates something particularly compelling.
Top 10
The ten highest-scoring photographs in each division may be featured in the monthly gallery.
Additional recognition may include:
Best Storytelling
Best Composition
Best Use of Light
Most Creative
Rising Photographer
Not every award must be presented every month.
13. Photographer of the Year
Students compete throughout the season for the title of:
Houston Photographer of the Year
Separate Photographer of the Year awards will be presented for:
Middle School / Junior High
High School
Students earn points throughout the season based on their monthly competition results.
Season Points
AchievementPoints
1st Place = 100
2nd Place = 85
3rd Place = 75
Judge's Choice / Special Award = 60
Top 10 = 50
Honorable Mention = 35
Official Entry = 10
The student with the highest season point total at the conclusion of the competition will be named Houston Photographer of the Year in their division.
14. Season Leaderboard
A public leaderboard will track the competition throughout the season.
The leaderboard may display:
Photographer
School
Division
Season points
Ranking
The leaderboard will be updated throughout the competition season.
15. Tiebreakers
If two photographers finish the season with the same number of points, the following tiebreakers will be used:
Most 1st-place finishes
Most Top 3 finishes
Most Top 10 finishes
Highest cumulative judging scores
Final determination by the judging panel
16. School Competition
The Houston Photo Challenge also recognizes outstanding photography programs.
Schools compete for:
Photography Program of the Year
Compete Together. Earn Points. Bring Home the Trophy.
The Houston Photo Challenge recognizes outstanding school photography programs through its annual Photography Program of the Year competition.
Schools earn points throughout the competition season based on student performance and participation in monthly photography challenges.
At the conclusion of the season, the highest-scoring school in each division will be named Houston Photo Challenge Photography Program of the Year and awarded the traveling championship trophy.
How School Points Are Calculated
To ensure a fair competition between schools of different sizes, only the five highest-scoring student entries from each school will contribute individual points toward that school's monthly championship score.
Schools may submit an unlimited number of student entries each month. However, only the top five student results will count toward the school's performance score.
Students who do not finish in their school's top five remain eligible for individual monthly recognition and Photographer of the Year points.
17. School Competition Fairness
School rankings will be designed to reward both photographic excellence and meaningful participation.
Because schools vary greatly in size, the competition will not simply award the largest school the most points.
The final school scoring formula will balance:
Student performance
Participation
Consistency throughout the season
The exact calculation will be published before the beginning of the competition season.
18. Ownership & Use of Photographs
Students retain ownership and copyright of their photographs.
By submitting a photograph, the student grants the Houston Photo Challenge a non-exclusive right to use the photograph for purposes related to the competition, including:
Competition galleries
Website
Social media
Awards
Promotional materials
Educational purposes
Competition announcements
The Houston Photo Challenge will not sell a student's photograph without appropriate permission.
19. Disqualification
An entry may be disqualified if:
The photograph was not taken by the student.
The entry violates the monthly challenge requirements.
Generative AI was used when prohibited.
The photograph contains inappropriate or prohibited content.
The student submits more than one official entry for the same monthly challenge.
The entry is submitted after the deadline.
The student provides false or misleading information.
The photograph violates another person's rights.
The entry otherwise violates the official competition rules.
Disqualification decisions are made by the Houston Photo Challenge organizers.
20. Deadlines
Each monthly challenge will have a published submission deadline.
Entries received after the deadline may not be eligible for judging.
The official deadline for each challenge will be posted on the Houston Photo Challenge website and submission form.
21. Rule Changes
The Houston Photo Challenge organizers reserve the right to modify competition rules when necessary.
Any significant rule changes will be communicated to participating schools, advisers, and students before they take effect.
Rules specific to an individual monthly challenge will be clearly communicated when that challenge is announced.
22. The Spirit of the Competition
The Houston Photo Challenge is designed to encourage students to become better photographers — not simply better at winning contests.
Students are encouraged to:
See differently.
Take risks.
Try something new.
Tell stories.
Learn from every photograph.
Support other photographers.
Most importantly:
Have fun. Make something. Tell a story.