PHOTOGRAPHY CONTEST

Freedom4U's High School Photography Contest

Congratulations to Our 2021 Winners!

Check Back Soon for 2022 Contest Information

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Check out more info and outstanding winning pictures from past years:

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What:

Freedom4U hosts a High School Photography Contest for the purpose of identifying, developing and releasing the creative abilities of teens. 

Who may enter:
Any student enrolled in a South Bay/Harbor Area High School is eligible. 

Categories:

• People - men, woman, children, groups of people, all ages welcome

• Nature - the phenomena of the physical world collectively, including plants, animals, the landscape, and other features and products of the earth, as opposed to humans or human creations.

• Teen Life - anything that expresses the life of a teen

• Reflection - Things that reflect

• Find your Voice - Capture what you are most passionate about

• Sports - an activity involving physical exertion and skill in which an individual or team competes against another or others for entertainment

Guidelines

• Photographs must have been shot by the entrant within the past 12 months.

• We do not accept digitally or otherwise enhanced or altered photos. 

• Minor adjustments, including spotting, dodging and burning, sharpening, contrast and slight color adjustment or the digital equivalents, are acceptable for all categories. 

• Do not submit downloaded, scanned or stolen images. If our judges see that a photographer has obviously altered his or her photo, they reserve the right to move the photo to Altered Images or to disqualify it.

• For a photo in which a person is recognizable, you must secure a model release from the subject or, in the case of a minor, the subject’s parent or guardian and provide it to Freedom4U upon request.

• A sample release is available here.

• Photographs that have won any other contests or have been published in magazines and newspapers except online are not eligible. 

• We define winning as having won a grand prize or 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place overall. 

• Photos that violate or infringe upon another person’s rights, including copyright, are not eligible.

Theme:

Subject matter in films must be 'appropriate for a school environment’ and be free of derogatory situations and stereotypes based on race, religion, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc.

How to enter:

• Please submit photographs via the orange "enter now" button found on this page.

• We do not accept photographs submitted through the mail.

• Submit no more than one photograph per category and five overall. 

• We do not accept more than one contestant per e-mail address.

• High-quality scans of non-digital photographs are acceptable. 

• Digital photographs should be taken at the highest resolution possible. 

• Use the on-line entry form on our website. 

• Complete a separate form for each photo submitted. 

• Photographs must be in .JPG or .png format. 

• Files submitted may not be larger than 10 GB

By entering the contest, entrants grant Freedom4U  a royalty-free, perpetual, non-exclusive license to display, distribute, reproduce, and create derivative works of the entries, in whole or in part, in any media now existing or subsequently developed, for any educational, promotional, publicity, exhibition, archival, scholarly, and all other standard purposes.  

Any photograph reproduced will include a photographer credit as feasible.  Freedom4U will not be required to pay any additional consideration or seek any additional approval in connection with such uses.

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Judging:

Your photograph(s) will be judged by our panel of judges. The images will be primarily judged on the overall beauty, power, creativity, skill, and originality of the images. This is a skill-based contest and chance plays no part in the determination of Winners or Finalists. The judging will be ‘blind’, which means the photographer will remain anonymous throughout the judging process to ensure that each contestant is judged solely on his or her photograph. All judges will be appointed by Freedom4U. The Winners and Finalists will be determined by the judges and Freedom4U in accordance with the competition rules. Their decision is final on all matters relating to the competition. Freedom4U will not enter into any correspondence regarding the judging.

The students who score as winners will be notified and invited to the virtual reception. 

Category Winners:
The top three winners in each category will receive certificates, money and prizes. One or more honorable mention awards also may be awarded, but there will be no prizes for photographs awarded honorable mention.

Authorship and Plagiarism 

Submissions must be your original work and may not have been previously published.

The artwork may not contain any elements that include the trademarks, logos, copyrighted works, or intellectual property of third parties. The design may not include any intellectual property of third parties; this includes imagery from the internet 

You can only submit one photograph per category. If you create multiple accounts to submit more than one photograph in this category, you may be disqualified 

Questions:

Call: 310-897-5043 or email greg@freedomcommunity.com

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See Photos Here

2021 Photo Contest Winners 

Category: Find Your Voice

Kyla McLay, Sasha Pleasant, Madeline Delana, Nathan Robertson

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Category: Nature

Kyla McLay, Carlo Leventis, Michele Lee, Miguel Aranda

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Category: People

Miguel Aranda, Madeline Delana, Mayra Reyes, Grace Trester

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Category: Reflection

Nathan Robertson, Isabella Cordi, Sean Hetrick, Madeline Delana​

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Category: Sports

Mikayla Smith, Madeline Delana, Nathan Robertson, Kyla McLay

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Category: Teen Life

Madeline Delana, Kyla McLay, Sasha Pleasant, Jaidyn Cant

Category: Best of Show

Kyla McLay

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2020 Photo Contest Winners 

Category: Find Your Voice

Chloe Dowling, Jacqueline Islas, Jonathan Gonzalez, Christelle Beduya

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Category: Nature

Kyla Mclay, McKinley Pieper, Chloe Dowling, Tony Vargas

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Category: People

Alexis Andersen, Kyla Mclay, Ellie Pearson, Esmeralda Orduno​

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Category: Reflection

Tate Ballard, Chandra Joy, Stephen Higgins, Jena Rouser​

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Category: Sports

Christopher Perry, Jena Rouser, Mia Hernandez, Kyla Mclay

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Category: Teen Life

Jacqueline Islas, Tate Ballard, Albert Aguilar, Chloe Dowling

Category: Best of Show

Albert Aguilar

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2019 Photo Contest Winners 

Category: Boys & Girls Club 

Violet Lovely-Lopez, Ahbab Eldaw, Val Rodriguez, Jasmin Mena

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Category: Find Your Voice

Marianne Schiappa, Caroline Turnbull, McKinley Pieper, Chloe Dowling 

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Category: Nature

Julianna Panetta, Faith Vasquez, Aidan Eliasson, Jacquelyn meek

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Category: People

Ella Petakv, Alejandro Barlow, Tamara Echeverria, Noah Rowe

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Category: Reflection

Caroline Turnbull, Andrea Erosa, Chloe Dowling, Erin O’Connor 

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Category: Sports

Jasmin Mena, Emily Collins, McKinley Pieper, Erin O’Connor

Category: Teen Life

Tamara Echeverria, Steve Francis Rosario, Miguel Rascon Jr, Sophie Walter         

Category: Best of Show

Chelsea Liu

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2018 Photo Contest Winners

Redondo Union High School: Adam Fanco, Benjamin Cheng, Halle Bender, ​Isabella Reina, Jason Hernandez, 

Ryan Cartee, Tasneem Khan

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Port of Los Angeles High School: Alejandra Barlow, Alysa Sandell, Arika Powell, Brenda Castaneda, Neftali Lopez

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Palos Verdes Peninsula High School: Anthony Nuber, Joshua Kahen, Kyle Brundige

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Palos Verdes High School : Domenico Ottolia, Emily Imbach, Lloyd Kao, ​McKinley Pieper, Sophie Walter

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PVIS: Grant Libeau

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Parras Middle School: Kiera Scarlet, Jackson Davy

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Adams Middle School: ​Sophia Perez

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2017 Photo Contest Winners

2016 Photo Contest Winners

2015 Photo Contest Winners

2014 Photo Contest Winners

2013 Photo Contest Winners

2012 Photo Contest Winners

2011 Photo Contest Winners