Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

General Information

• Photographers retain all rights to their photographs and provide MyParkPhotos.com with royalty-free and non-exclusive rights to display and use their photographs on the MyParkPhotos.com website and promotional material only.
   
• All photographs must be registered at 800x600 pixels minimum and up to 6MB maximum and as a .jpg file extension. Photographs are displayed online at approximately 730x486 pixels for large images and 150x100 pixels as thumbnails.
   
• Registered photographs must be taken at any local, state, provincial or national park, wildlife refuge, forest or trail property.  Additional "Personal" photographs may be registered in the member's photo gallery, but are not a part of the various contests.
   
• Individuals and especially children must not be recognizable in contest related photographs unless a release statement or parental consent form is signed and provided to MyParkPhotos.com by mail. Personal photographs displayed in a member's own gallery do not need these releases for display purposes.

How do you protect member's photographs once they are displayed online?

Photographs are only displayed at approximately 730x486 pixels, which should minimize any risk of theft for printing purposes.  We also disable the right-click mouse feature so that visitors cannot "right-click and save" a photograph to their computer.

If there are further ways in which we may safeguard member photographs, please contact us.

How will MyParkPhotos.com use the photos registered by photographers?

Photographs are used for display purposes on the MyParkPhotos.com website for the promotion of national, state and provincial parks, wildlife refuges, forests and trails, and in marketing material to promote the website only.

Members who have also registered to participate in a partner's photography contest (currently the California State Parks Foundation, Florida Wildlife Federation, and Florida First Coast Birding & Nature Festival) may have any of their registered photographs also displayed in the partner's photo gallery through their website.

We will request the permission from the member before using any photograph(s) for purposes other than according to the MyParkPhotos.com photographer's release. (See the photographer's release for more information)

How many photos may I register per month?

• Student, Full and Lifetime members may register an unlimited number of photographs.
• Partner or Guest Members may register an unlimited number of property photographs from the guest member's state of residence.

Do I, as the photographer, retain all rights to my photographs?

Yes! Photographers retain all rights to their photographs after registering them with MyParkPhotos.com.

For more information, please read the Release by the Photographer.

How do I know if MyParkPhotos.com received my photographs?

A confirmation of receipt is emailed when selected by the member during the registration process, and new photographs can be reviewed immediately after registration by clicking Edit Photographs from your admin.

May I register photographs taken in previous years?

Yes!  Photographs taken from earlier visits to a public property are certainly welcome.

May public property employees participate in this photo contest?

Yes! The Guest membership is perfect for property employees who would like to promote their property at no cost!

May I register photographs with people recognized in the photo?

Yes! However, please download the following release forms (if the photograph is being registered for the various contests) for parents or guardians of children under the age of 18 or individual releases and adults who are recognizable in the photograph.

You may download a parental consent form here. (PDF)

You may download a release statement here. (PDF)

For those who do not want to ask identifiable individuals in their photographs to sign a release, a good rule of thumb for taking photographs with people in them is to make sure that the person(s) in the photograph are facing away from the cameraor are far enough away as to not be easily identifiable.

MyParkPhotos Community Contests

1) A Photo of the Day (POTD) contest winner is selected each evening from all photographs registered by paying members from the previous calendar day, and displayed on the top of most web pages and on the POTD web page for community recognition.

2) Our Yearly photo contest (POTY) contest winners are selected from all photographs registered by paying members between August 1 and July 31 of each year, and judged during the month of the following August.

Writing Comments on Photographs and Properties

Remarks in the comments section about an image or subject of an image submitted to MPP should represent the personal knowledge of the photographer. General comments, technical information, or scientific data included in the comments, but not the work of the photographer, must be credited to the original author or publisher.

Just as no photograph may legally be downloaded and used to illustrate a written publication without the permission of the photographer, written work, whether from a physical text or online source, is intellectual property that must be credited to the author and may not be legally used without the express consent of that author.