Frequently Asked Questions
Use the tabs below to navigate to the different FAQ sections.
Don't see your question listed? Feel free to contact us and we'll help you out!
General Rules of Entry
Click on a question link below to navigate to that question's answer.
- Can I submit photos taken with my cellphone?
- How many times can I enter?
- How much does it cost to enter?
- How are the winners determined?
- Can I submit photos taken on any year - or just 2024?
- What qualifies as a “wildlife” photo?
- What if there are people in my photo?
- Can I submit a nature photo that doesn’t have any wildlife in it?
- Are there any size requirements for submissions?
- Does the photo have to be in color?
- Can I have a watermark on my photo?
- Can my photo be cropped?
- Can I edit my photo and/or use AI?
- Who is eligible to enter? Do I have to be a professional photographer?
ANSWERS
Can I submit photo taken with my cellphone?
Yes! You can submit photos taken with any type of camera - including cellphones.
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How many times can I enter?
You may enter up to five (5) photos until October 31st, 2024.
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How much does it cost to enter?
The contest is free to enter, but your photos must've been taken on a Nat Hab trip.
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How are the winners determined?
We will have Expert's Choice winners and People's Choice winner.
- Experts' Choices Winners—judged by a panel of expert wildlife photographers.
- People’s Choice Winner—based on number of votes from the public.
Navigate to the Voting section on the bar above for more info on voting.
Can I submit photos taken on any year - or just 2024?
You can submit photos taken on any year and any Nat Hab trip.
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What qualifies as a “wildlife” photo?
We are looking for photos of landscapes and/or wild animals in their natural habitat, on a Nat Hab trip. Photos of animals in captivity will be disqualified. Note: Photos of animals in wildlife conservancies or wildlife preserves do not count as captivity and are allowed and encouraged! Photos of landscapes are also encouraged!
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Is it ok if there are people in my photo?
Yes! We love photos of people observing animals in the wild, from a safe and respectful distance, of course. If we determine a person is too close to an animal or touching an animal in a photo entry, the photo will be disqualified.
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Can I submit a nature photo that doesn’t have any wildlife in it?
Yes! Landscape photography of our destinations is encouraged. Photos of happy guests are also encouraged!
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Are there any size requirements for submissions?
Submitted photos must be at least 3MB in file size, and at least 3000 pixels wide on the long edge (image size).
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Does the photo have to be in color?
No, photos do not have to be in color.
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Can I have a watermark on my photo?
A subtle watermark in the corner of the image is acceptable, but Natural Habitat Adventures reserves the right to crop photos, which may remove a watermark. Watermark should cover no more than 5% of the photo.
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Can my photo be cropped?
Yes, you may crop your photo however you’d like, and Natural Hab also reserves the right to crop photos. Images must not include a border. If an image includes a border, we reserve the right to crop it.
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Can I edit my photo and/or use AI?
Digitally manipulating photos should be kept to a minimum. Digital adjustments are permitted providing they do not deceive the viewer or misrepresent the reality of nature, or what was originally captured by the camera. For example, sky replacements are not allowed.
Permitting editing includes: tone and contrast, burning, dodging, cropping, sharpening, noise reduction, minor cleaning work (e.g. removal of sensor dust, removal of chromatic aberration, lens distortion, and vignetting), HDR, stitched panoramas, “stacking”) - photograph stacking and combined for the purposes of; focus stacking, exposure blending, noise reduction or lengthening exposure if taken at the same location at approximately the same time (as a continuous sequence).
Minor digital removals are permitted provided they do not use Generative AI or create new pixels. This may include cloning out or removing small objects, dirt, highlights, debris or similar.
On the use of AI in Photo Editing:
- There are many functions in image editing applications described as AI that are allowed, such as object/subject selection, denoise, sharpening, and image enlargement.
If any post processing method adds new image content to the photograph via AI algorithms or by manual intervention, the resulting photograph/image cannot be submitted for competition. Actions that “generate” something new not from your camera are not allowed.
Exercise care in the use of image processing tools such as the “remove” tool in Photoshop and similar features in other applications. For example: In Photoshop, the REMOVE tool may not be used if GENERATIVE FILL is used. In the Lightroom Develop module do not check the “generative AI” checkbox before using tools like remove, heal, and clone.
Who is eligible to enter? Do I need to be a professional photographer?
You do not need to be a professional photographer to enter! Photographers of all levels are invited, including amateurs and professionals alike. You have to be at least 18 years old and a Nat Hab past or present guest, and be a USA or Canada citizen. You can submit photos taken with any type of camera - including cellphones - taken on any Nat Hab trip, any year.
Prizes
Click on a question link below to navigate to that question's answer.
- What are the prizes?
- What if I don’t want the trip credit, can I take the cash value instead?
- When can I use the trip credit?
- How will you contact me if I win?
- When will the winners be contacted?
- Are there any other prizes?
- Who is sponsoring this contest?
ANSWERS
What are the prizes?
Prizes for the Experts’ Choice: 1st place wins $5000 in trip credit. 2nd place wins $3000 in trip credit. 3rd place wins $1000 in trip credit.
Prize for the People’s Choice Winner: 1st place wins $5000 in trip credit. 2nd place wins $3000 in trip credit. 3rd place wins $1000 in trip credit.
Prize for People’s Choice voters: drawing of a $500 Visa Gift Card ot $500 WWF donation.
See the official Terms & Conditions page for more information.
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What if I don’t want the trip, can I take the cash value instead?
All prizes must be accepted as awarded, there are no cash substitutes.
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When can I use the trip credit?
Trip credit are awarded and available to use immediately on any future Nat Hab trip.
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How will you contact me if I win?
We will contact you at the email address and phone number you provide with your photo submission. Make sure it’s an email address and phone number you check often!
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When will the winners be contacted?
Winners will be announced on December 16th on our Daily Dose of Nature webinar, and will also be contacted via email and/or phone shortly after.
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Are there any other prizes?
Yes! For the People's Choice Award, we'll have a drawing amongst the public voters for a chance to win a $500 Visa gift card or a $500 WWF donation (winner's choice). Each vote equals to one entry for the drawing.
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Who is sponsoring this contest?
This contest is sponsored by Natural Habitat Adventures, a leader in responsible adventure travel and ecotourism, and travel partner to World Wildlife Fund, the world’s leading environmental conservation organization.
Photo Submission Help
Click on a question link below to navigate to that question's answer.
- How do I create an account?
- Why don’t I need a password for my account?
- I got logged out. How do I sign back in, or sign in on a different computer?
- I'm lost, I don't know where my User Dashboard went! How do I navigate back to my account?
- How do I submit a photo to the contest?
- When I click “Submit a Photo” from my account, why do I get taken to the Edit Profile page instead of the contest submission page?
- What if I don’t remember what camera settings I used?
- How do I know for sure that you received my submission?
- Help, I keep getting error messages when I try to submit a photo! Why?
- Why isn’t my uploaded photo showing up immediately on the submission page?
- After I submitted a photo, I went to view the photo’s webpage, but my photo wasn’t showing up! What should I do?
- Oops, I submitted the same photo twice! How do I delete one?
- I accidentally deleted one of my submissions and I didn’t mean to. Can you get it back for me?
- Can I go back and edit the title and other info on a photo I've submitted?
- I changed my mind about one of my submissions. Can I go back and enter a different photo instead?
- Uh oh, one of my submissions is sideways and/or upside down! Can I fix it?
- Can I change my bio? How about switching my profile photo?
- Will I be able to edit my photos after the Submission Period ends?
ANSWERS
How do I create an account?
Click here to create an account. You’ll be asked to enter your email address, then we’ll send you an email with an authentication/sign In link. Once you click that link, you’ll be signed into your account. No passwords required!
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Why don’t I need a password for my account?
Instead of passwords, we use an email authentication system. Each time you want to sign in, from any computer or device, all you have to do is enter your email address on the Sign In screen. Then, you’ll receive an email with an authentication/sign in link. Click that link, and you’ll be logged in.
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I got logged out. How do I sign back in, or sign in on a different computer?
Each time you want to sign in, from any computer or device, click “Sign In” in the upper right-hand corner.
Then, enter your email address on the Sign In screen. You’ll receive an email with an authentication/Sign In link. Click that link, and you’ll be signed in. No password required!
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I'm lost, I don't know where my User Dashboard went! How do I navigate back to my account?
Click “My Account” in the upper right-hand corner.
How do I submit a photo to the contest?
You can submit a photo through your User Dashboard. Click here to create an account.
Once signed in to your account, click “Submit a Photo” in the left-hand dashboard menu.
If you haven’t already filled out your Photographer Profile, you’ll be prompted to do so before you can continue.
Once you’ve filled out your profile, you’ll be taken to the Contest Rules page. Read the rules and click “Agree and Continue to Step 2” at the bottom.
Follow the instructions in the Photo Upload section. Click “Choose File” to upload your photo from your computer, tablet or mobile device. Make sure your photo meets the size requirements!
Fill in the requested information about your submission. Make sure you fill in all the fields with an asterisk. The other fields are optional.
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When I click “Submit a Photo” from my account, why do I get taken to the Edit Profile page instead of the contest submission page?
That means you are missing some required contact information on your profile. Once you finish your profile, you’ll be taken to the photo submission page.
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What if I don’t remember what camera settings I used?
No problem, the camera settings question is optional.
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How do I know for sure that you received my submission?
When signed in to your account, click “View/Edit Photos” on the left-hand menu, under this year’s contest. If your photo submission is showing up there, that means it went through and we received it.
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Help, I keep getting error messages when I try to submit a photo! Why?
There are a few reasons you might be getting an error message:
Is your photo the right size? Make sure it’s at least 3 MB and at least 3000 pixels on the long edge of the image.
Is your photo the right file format? Submissions must be in JPEG, PNG, or TIFF format.
Did you include all the required information?
You can also try one of the following:
Wait a few minutes and clear your internet browser’s cache and cookies, then sign in to your account and navigate to the entry page again.
Try a different internet browser.
If you’re on a mobile device or tablet, try entering on a laptop or desktop computer.
Try restarting your computer.
If you’re still getting an error after trying the tips above, please contact us and we'll get to the bottom of it!
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Why isn’t my uploaded photo showing up immediately on the submission page?
Your photo won’t show up on the submission page, only the file name will show up on this page. After uploading your photo, you should see the file name to the right of the blue “Choose File” button.
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After I submitted a photo, I went to view the photo’s webpage, but my photo wasn’t showing up! What should I do?
If you check your photo’s webpage immediately after submitting, you might see this blue message:
Wait about 10 minutes, then try refreshing the page. Your photo should be done processing and show up at that point. If it doesn’t, please contact us.
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Oops, I submitted the same photo twice! How do I delete one?
When signed in to your account, click “View/Edit Photos” on the left-hand menu, under this year’s contest. Find the photo you’d like to delete, and click the red Delete button next to the photo. You’ll then be taken to a page where you’ll need to confirm that you want to delete that photo.
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I accidentally deleted one of my submissions and I didn’t mean to. Can you get it back for me?
Unfortunately, we have no way to retrieve deleted submissions. You’ll have to submit your photo again.
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Can I go back and edit the title and other info on a photo I've submitted?
Yes! When signed in to your account, click “View/Edit Photos” on the left-hand menu, under this year’s contest. Click the blue “Edit” button next to the photo you’d like to edit. On the next screen, you can change any of the associated photo information, but you cannot change the photo itself (i.e. you cannot swap it for a different photo). When finished, click “Update.”
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I changed my mind about one of my submissions. Can I go back and enter a different photo instead?
Yes! You’ll first need to delete the photo you want to remove. When signed in to your account, click “View/Edit Photos” on the left-hand menu, under this year’s contest. Find the photo you’d like to delete, and click the red “Delete” button next to the photo. You’ll then be taken to a page where you’ll need to confirm that you want to delete that photo. Now you’re ready to submit your new photo. Click “Submit a Photo” in the left-hand menu to get started.
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Uh oh, one of my submissions is sideways and/or upside down! Can I fix it?
The only way to fix this is to delete the sideways or upside down submission and re-submit the photo with the correct orientation. It's a good idea to copy your photo title and description from the original submission before you delete it. That way you can paste it when you submit the new version of the photo.
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Can I change my bio? How about changing my profile photo?
Yes and yes! When signed in to your account, click “Edit Profile” on the left-hand menu. On the next screen, you can edit any of your profile information. Click “Save” when finished.
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Will I be able to edit my photos after the Submission Period ends?
No, you will only have access to edit your photos during the Submission Period.
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Voting/People's Choice Award
Click on a question link below to navigate to that question's answer.
- What is the People’s Choice Award?
- When does the voting start and end?
- Who can vote?
- Can I vote for my own photo?
- How many times can other people vote?
- Do my friends and family get anything for voting? How can I entice them to vote?
- Is voting open to residents of any country?
ANSWERS
What is the People’s Choice Award?
The People’s Choice Award is based on public voting. The winner is chosen based on the amount of votes a photo receives.
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When does the voting start and end?
Voting starts on November 1st and ends on December 10th, 2024.
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Who can vote?
Anyone can vote, as long as they have a valid email address - make sure to ask your friends and family! Natural Habitat Adventures will also be encouraging our fans to vote.
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Can I vote for my own photo?
Yes! You may vote for your own photo. However, you can vote for one photo only, once a day.
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How many times can other people vote?
Voters may vote once per day. Voters may vote for a different photo or the same photo each day.
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Do my friends and family get anything for voting? How can I entice them to vote?
Yes! Everyone who votes will be entered into a drawing for a $500 Visa gift card or a $500 WWF donation (winner's choice), and each vote equals to one entry.
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Is voting open to residents of any country?
Yes! Entrants must be residents of the US or Canada, but voters can be residents of any country.
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