What’s interesting about the place where you live?
We know it’s easy to take your city, town or neighborhood for granted, but in this contest, we’re challenging you to look closer, to explore and to discover.
For instance, the image at the top of this post is from a photo essay about an ordinary part of New York City life, the neighborhood deli. The author writes, “You could spend your life walking past the Ohm Deli Corporation in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, and not pay it any mind.” Or, he continues, you could step inside — and find this vibrant group of workers and regulars who make the place feel like an “independent republic devoted to neighborly convenience food.”
What gets your attention? What places could you “step inside”? What, to you, is unique or special about your town? What do you notice that others might not see? What might you like to investigate and learn more about?
For this contest, you can take pictures of almost anything you like, whether they focus on a place, a group of people, an event or tradition, a time of day or a visual theme. Just show us something in your local area that you think deserves attention. And if you need inspiration, just check out this resource, which is full of examples.
Below, the full guidelines and a list of related resources. Please ask any questions you have in the comments, and we’ll answer you there, or write to us at [email protected].
The Challenge
Spotlight any feature of your local area that interests you by creating a photo essay of six to eight images, pulled together with a short written introduction and captions that explain each image.
Your photo essay MUST include:
- Six to eight images, uploaded in the order in which you would like an audience to view them.
- Short captions, or descriptions, for each image that help explain what the image illustrates and why that is important to what you want to show. (No more than 75 words each.)
- A short introduction of up to 300 words that offers background or context that explains a bit about your subject and why, to you, it is worth spotlighting. (You might consider the introduction the beginning of your essay, which the photos and descriptions will then continue. Together they will answer questions like where these photos were taken, why this subject is interesting to you and why they are worthy of attention for a larger audience.)
A Few Rules
In addition to the guidelines above, here are a few more details:
- You must be a student ages 13 to 19 in middle school or high school to participate, and all students must have permission from a parent or guardian to enter. Please see the F.A.Q. section for additional eligibility details.
- The photographs and writing you submit should be fundamentally your own — they should not be plagiarized, created by someone else or generated by artificial intelligence.
- Please keep digital manipulation and postprocessing to a minimum in general. (That is, you may use editing software for minor corrections such as one might make in a darkroom — cropping, adjusting brightness, balancing colors and so on — but please do not alter the reality of the photo in any way.)
- Your photo essay should be original for this contest. That means it should not already have been published at the time of submission, whether in a school newspaper, for another contest or anywhere else.
- Please also keep in mind that The New York Times has a global audience, including many families, so your submission should be appropriate for a broad audience. (For instance, please avoid cursing.)
- You may work alone or in pairs for this challenge, but students should submit only one entry each.
- You must also submit a short, informal “artist’s statement,” describing your process, as part of your submission. These statements, which will not be used to choose finalists, help us design and refine our contests. See the F.A.Q. to learn more.
- If you take pictures of people, remember to get permission from them and to collect their contact information. Learn more about this in the F.A.Q. below.
- All entries must be submitted by Jan. 14, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. Pacific time using the submission form that we will add to the bottom of this post when the contest opens.
Resources for Teachers and Students
Use these resources to help you create your photo essay:
- Free links to excellent Times and Learning Network photo essays on a range of topics to inspire you, along with some simple steps for using them.
- Coming soon: A related Student Opinion question to help you brainstorm ideas before you begin taking photos.
- Coming Dec. 1: An edition of Ask a Journalist that will feature a Times photographer who can answer your questions about how to find meaningful subjects and craft memorable photo essays from them.
- Our contest rubric. These are the criteria we will use to judge this contest. Keep them handy to make sure your photo essay meets all of the qualifications before entering.
- A guide to taking photographs. While it was originally created for our 2022 Profile Contest, it contains scores of tips from Times photojournalists that can help students learn to take and select compelling photographs that tell a story.
- Our step-by-step “how to” for our 2023 and 2024 Where We Are photo essay contest. Though this contest allows for a much wider range of subjects, the advice in that resource is still key, especially if you are photographing groups of people.
Frequently Asked Questions
Please read these thoroughly and, if you still can’t find what you’re looking for, post your query in the comments or write to us at [email protected].
QUESTIONS ABOUT CREATING YOUR PHOTO ESSAY
What is a photo essay? How does it differ from just a collection of photos?
A photo essay tells a story or explores a theme through a series of images. These images work together and build on each other. The photo essays in the Album series, for instance, focus on New York City and its environs, but each through a different lens. Together they are beautiful examples of how visual collections can investigate ideas by illuminating both the “big picture” and the small details. For example, the red, white and blue photo just above is part of a photo essay called “Seeing the City as Abstract Art.” You can take a series of photos like it that show the “abstract art” of your area, or you can focus on another theme — like a time of day or a local event or a fascinating place.
If you would like to see how teenagers have done this, take a look at the winning work from our 2023 and 2024 photo essay contests, which asked students to take pictures of offline communities.
How is this contest different from the Where We Are photo essay contest about local communities The Learning Network ran in 2023 and 2024?
Though both focus on depicting your local area, this contest allows for a much greater range of subject matter.
Where We Are asked students to focus only on communities of people. For this contest, you can take photos of almost anything you like, with or without people, as these examples show.
Of course, if you would like to, you can do exactly what we asked you to do for Where We Are, as otherwise the two contests are pretty much the same. (Please note, however, that for Where We Are. we allowed you to work in groups of up to four, while for this contest you can work alone or with one other eligible student.)
How do I choose a good subject for this?
What are you interested in? What do you already enjoy or appreciate about your community? What aspects of it have caught your eye and made you curious? What would you like to know more about?
What do you see every day that, upon a closer look, might be more interesting than it seems?
Our forthcoming Student Opinion forum can help you brainstorm via questions like these and more. In addition, our Ask a Journalist feature for December will be with a photojournalist who can address this question and any others you might have.
Do I have to photograph people?
No. Take a look at this photo essay or this one to see how you might instead just focus on a visual theme. (Note that in the second example, a few people do appear, but only from far away — they are not the focus of the piece.)
If I do photograph people, do I need their permission?
You do. It is good journalistic practice to explain to the people you are photographing why you are taking pictures of them, and to verbally ask their permission. They should also know that, if you are a winner, their images and names may appear online.
Though you do not have to have a signed permission sheet from every participant, if you are a winner and we publish your work, we will need to be able to reach those depicted, so please get their contact information before you take their pictures. (If you are photographing young children, this is especially important. Secure a parent’s or guardian’s permission first.)
An important exception to this: If you are taking photos of crowds in public places, such as at a sporting event or a local fair, you don’t need to worry about permissions, as it would be impossible to get them from all attendees.
Do I need to interview anyone?
It is not a requirement, but if you are taking photos of people, quotes from your subject(s) usually add important color or context to the overall piece. (This photo essay is a good example of that.) You should strongly consider having at least one quote in your piece if you are depicting people.
What if there are people I want to photograph who don’t want to be photographed, or who are part of a vulnerable community of some kind?
You must, of course, honor their wishes, since you must have the permission of everyone you photograph. We encourage you to be sensitive and thoughtful about your choice of community and to explain the project fully to those you will depict before you begin taking pictures. In some cases, you may be able to take photos that obscure a subject’s identity, yet are still evocative and help tell a story. (Note, for example, the top image in this piece on domestic violence victims.)
For more details, these guidelines from the International Journalists’ Network might be helpful. (For instance, “Making an effort to understand how the people you are photographing would like to be represented is important.”)
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QUESTIONS ABOUT JUDGING
How will my photo essay be judged?
Your work will be read by New York Times journalists as well as by Learning Network staff members and educators from around the United States. We will use this rubric to judge entries.
What’s the prize?
Having your work published on The Learning Network and being eligible to be chosen to have your work published in the print editions of The New York Times.
When will the winners be announced?
About two months after the contest has closed.
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QUESTIONS ABOUT THE RULES
Who is eligible to participate in this contest?
This contest is open to students ages 13 to 19 who are in middle school or high school around the world. College students cannot submit an entry. However, high school students (including high school postgraduate students) who are taking one or more college classes can participate. Students attending their first year of a two-year CEGEP in Quebec Province can also participate. In addition, students age 19 or under who are not enrolled in college, either because they are taking a gap year or because they are no longer attending school for any reason, can participate.
The children and stepchildren of New York Times employees are not eligible to enter this contest. Nor are students who live in the same household as those employees.
Why are you asking for an Artist’s Statement about our process? What will you do with it?
All of us who work on The Learning Network are former teachers. One of the many things we miss, now that we work in a newsroom rather than a classroom, is being able to see how students are reacting to our “assignments” in real time — and to offer help, or tweaks, to make those assignments better. We’re asking you to reflect on what you did and why, and what was hard or easy about it, in large part so that we can improve our contests and the curriculum we create to support them.
Another reason? We have heard from many teachers that writing these statements is immensely helpful to students. Stepping back from a piece and trying to put into words what you wanted to express, and why and how you made artistic choices to do that, can help you see your piece anew and figure out how to make it stronger. For our staff, they offer important context that help us understand individual students and submissions, and learn more about the conditions under which students around the world create.
Whom can I contact if I have questions about this contest or am having issues submitting my entry?
Leave a comment on this post or write to us at [email protected].
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QUESTIONS ABOUT TEACHING WITH THIS CONTEST
Do my students need a New York Times subscription to use these resources?
No. The Learning Network is free, and students can get free access to Times articles through The Learning Network. In addition, this guide provides free links to Times photo essay examples.
However, if you are interested in learning more about school subscriptions, visit this page.
I’m not an art teacher. Can this work for my students too?
Yes! The work of investigating your local area can be woven into many subject areas — or teachers could collaborate across subjects.
For example, students in social studies could investigate local history, or search out examples of civics in action in your community. A STEM teacher could have students focus on finding real-world examples of concepts from the curriculum, whether in environmental science or biology, physics, geometry or engineering. An English teacher might support students as they craft their introductions and photo captions, while an art teacher could offer tips for photo composition. And, of course, a journalism teacher could guide the full project, or work with other teachers to publish the most successful results in the school paper.
How do my students prove to me that they entered this contest?
After they press “Submit” on the form below, they will see a “Thank you for your submission” line appear. They can take a screenshot of this message.
Submission Form
We will add the submission form here when the contest opens on Dec. 3.
The post Local Lens: A Photo Essay Contest for Exploring the Place Where You Live appeared first on New York Times.
