Contest Guidelines
Review essential information from the rules and FAQs.
Who is Eligible
The contest is open to amateur photographers who are legal residents of the United States and 13 years of age or older. An amateur photographer is defined as someone whose primary source of income is not photography.
Employees, volunteers, contractors, and immediate family members of the contest hosts, sponsors, and participating federal agencies are not eligible to participate. See the Official Contest Rules for complete eligibility requirements.
How to Enter
Visit ShareTheExperience.org and click Enter Today.
Create a free account on the official Picter submission portal.
Upload your photos and select the category that best fits each image.
Complete your submission before December 31, 2026.
Participants may submit up to 50 photographs during the contest period.
Eligible Locations
Photos must be taken on lands, waters, or within facilities managed by one of the participating federal agencies:
National Park Service (NPS)
U.S. Forest Service (USFS)
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
Bureau of Reclamation (BOR)
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE)
Photos taken exclusively on state, local, tribal, or privately owned lands are not eligible.
Grand Prize Eligibility: While all eligible entries may compete for category prizes, only photographs taken at sites where the America the Beautiful-the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass is accepted for entrance or standard amenity fees are eligible to win the Grand Prize. Because the Grand Prize-winning image may be considered for inclusion on a future Federal Recreational Lands Pass, additional location requirements apply. Please review the Official Contest Rules for complete details.
Judging Criteria
A panel of judges, made up of representatives from the contest sponsors and participating agencies, reviews all eligible entries and evaluates photographs across five criteria:
Originality – Does the image offer a unique perspective or tell a compelling story?
Artistic Composition – Is the photograph thoughtfully framed and visually engaging?
Technical Quality – Is the image clear, well-executed, and presented at a high standard?
Photographic Technique – Does the photographer demonstrate skill in capturing the scene?
Representation of Public Lands – Does the image effectively showcase the beauty, recreation, wildlife, culture, or experiences found on America's public lands and waters?
All judging criteria are given equal consideration when selecting finalists and winners.
Photo Requirements
Images must be submitted in JPG format and be at least 1,500 pixels on the long edge. Participants should retain the original image file, as finalists may be asked to provide a higher-resolution version or additional file information during the judging process.
What to Avoid
To help ensure your entry remains eligible, avoid the following:
Submitting heavily altered images. Basic photographic adjustments are generally acceptable, but images should accurately represent the scene as photographed. The use of generative AI, digitally added or removed elements, composites, or excessive manipulation is not permitted.
Taking unnecessary risks. Do not endanger yourself, others, wildlife, or natural and cultural resources to capture a photograph. Images that depict unsafe, illegal, or irresponsible behavior will be disqualified.
Violating laws or site regulations. All photographs must be taken in compliance with applicable laws, regulations, permits, and site-specific rules.
Using someone else's work. You may only submit photographs that you personally captured and own the rights to.
Including watermarks, logos, text, or graphic overlays. Entries should be free of signatures, timestamps, borders, watermarks, and other added elements.
Submitting inappropriate content. Obscene, indecent, offensive, or otherwise inappropriate images will not be accepted.