Photo Challenge

We are delighted to invite all aspiring CUNY photographers to enter the new CUNY Photo Challenge contest, which will launch in January 2024, and run each fall and spring semester. Use your camera to capture a compelling moment at CUNY for a chance to win free CUNY swag and a gift card from B&H Photo! Enter our monthly student photo competition, generally by the 28th of every month. If CUNY’s judges pick you as the monthly winner, you will received CUNY swag and your photo will be featured during the following month on the monthly contest winners page and on the CUNY’s social media channels, which also will show two runners-up. In May 2024, the public will choose the best student photo of the Spring semester from among the monthly winners. The winner will receive a B&H gift card and additional CUNY swag. We will also showcase most of the memorable submissions on social media or use them to advertise the contest.

EnterCheck the Rules

Open only to undergraduate and graduate students currently enrolled at the City University of New York.

What we look for 📷

Our panel of professional photographers, editors and graphic artists look for:

  • Depictions of why you like CUNY.
  • Images that say something about our students, faculty, staff, a CUNY college or a campus activity.
  • Illustrations of the everyday CUNY life that the public hasn’t seen.
  • Photographs that spark the imagination of prospective students.
  • Images that tell stories, provide human interest and show our diversity.
  • Photographs of intriguing locations at your college or campus.
  • Pictures that show the best of your college in different seasons.
  • Photos that use interesting horizontal angles and spark curiosity.

Hints

Have amazing fun with your photos. Challenge yourself. Stay motivated. Be original! Pick interesting angles that display the best of your subject and the beauty of the surrounding environment. Spark curiosity with your work.

Inspiration

Seek inspiration and dare to be different and unique with your photography style. Use the links available on the left side of this page to see each contest monthly winner’s submission. See below for the previous winners.

Perks

Anytime CUNY uses your photo in any campaign, you will get a credit. When the photos get used online the credits will be added in the metadata.

Context

Please provide us with the location and a brief explanation (two to three sentences) of what you we looking to capture or story you were trying to tell.

Other

Submitted photos get a chance to be used in our CUNY campaigns, overhead train ads, social media posts and print materials. The judges prefer horizontal images; nonetheless, vertical images have been winners.

Note: Judges reserve the right not to choose a winner in a month that does not have strong images. Please view the full official rules page for more-specific details.

Official Rules 📜

Submission Requirements

  1. This competition is open only to undergraduate and graduate students who are currently enrolled at the City University of New York.
  2. Students may submit one image per month. If you submit more than one photo per month, the earliest-dated submission will be accepted and additional submissions for that month will be deleted.
  3. Entries must be high resolution. The minimum dimension on one side is 1920 pixels. The maximum file size is 25 megabytes.
  4. Low-resolution photos will be disqualified.
  5. Be sure to provide full caption information. Your submission will not be complete until you have filled out all required fields on the form.
  6. Entries received after the 28th of the month (or whatever is the specified deadline, should it be other than the 28th) will be considered in the following month; you do not need to resubmit your entry.
  7. If your photo shows identifiable minor children, you must scan in a photo release signed by a parent or guardian; a release form PDF is provided at the bottom of the contest entry form.
  8. The judges assume that all CUNY students and other identifiable adults have given you their consent to be photographed.

Technical Requirements

The judges have rejected potential winners because they were low-resolution shots that would not display well on the Web or the high-definition screens at CUNY headquarters, or because the subject was unintentionally out of focus. If an image doesn’t look sharp to you across the areas that count, it probably won’t pass muster. (That said, the judges did choose a grainy image with obvious camera shake as a third-place winner because it captured a joyous moment — the end of finals – so completely.)

Monthly Winners Selection

Monthly winners are selected at the end of each month by the CUNY’s Communications and Marketing team. The first, second, and third place of each month will be announced at the beginning of the month.

Winners

Winners will be notified by an email that will request some biographical information. A quick response is appreciated to ensure that cuny.edu can post the winners at the start of the next month. We ask winners to voluntarily submit a headshot portrait of themselves to go alongside the winning image, which most winners have done.

Photo Challenge Winners 🏆

Congratulations to all the winners and a big thank-you to all the CUNY students who have taken part in the CUNY Photo Challenge contest since 2011!