TAKE YOUR BEST SHOTS

Send us your best photos and we may include them in our Day in Photos blog!


Submit with Instagram

Tag your Instagram pictures #voaphoto. Include a description of the photo and the date/place it was taken in your caption.
 

Or Upload here

By submitting your photos to VOA through any means, including social media, you are granting VOA the right to use your photo and promising the photo represents your own original work. See our full terms and conditions.


Terms and Conditions

By uploading your photograph through any means, including social media, you represent and agree to the following:

  • The photograph is your own work and does not infringe upon any rights of others, including copyrights and trademarks.

  • You have obtained any relevant permission(s) from persons depicted in the photographs, including but not limited to minors.

  • You retain the copyright of the photograph that you upload. However, by uploading your photograph, you agree to give the Voice of America a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, assignable, and royalty-free license to use the photograph on any platform, including but not limited to print, television, Internet (including VOA-maintained social media sites such as Twitter and Facebook), mobile delivery, and to prepare any derivative works.

VOA reserves the right to screen and refuse to post any photograph that VOA, in its sole and unconditional discretion, deems to be inappropriate for any reason.

Photo Guidelines

  • File type should be in JPEG, GIF or PNG format.

  • File size is limited to 5 megabytes.

  • Dimensions: Your photo should be at least 975 pixels wide. If your photo is smaller, it may look pixelated when we post it. 


Tips for taking a good photo


Clear subject
 
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  • You should be able to identify a subject immediately.
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  • The subject should dominate the image and form the viewer’s first impression.
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Composition
 

 
  • Use the rule of thirds
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  • Keep distractions out of the background
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  • Keep it simple
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Sharp focus, correct exposure
 
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  • This may sound obvious, but you can’t see the picture if it’s blurry.
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Does the photo tell a story?
 

 
  • Viewers want to see a story in your photo.
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  • Does it elicit emotion?

Your Best Shots

  • Children of ethnic Hmong peddling souvenirs and drinks in Sapa, Lao Cai province in northwest Vietnam (Photo by Bùi Thụy Đào Nguyên/Vietnam/VOA reader)
  • A picnic place in Parwan province, Afghanistan (Photo by Aman Aman/Afghanistan/VOA reader)
  • Rare snow falling throughout Tucson, Arizona, USA, Feb. 20, 2013 (Photo by Hossein Mir/USA/VOA reader)
  • An ethnic Hmong girl is trying to keep his hair from getting messed up after a strong wind on a rocky mountain district of Sa Pa, Lao Cai province in northwest Vietnam. (Photo by Đình Hà /Vietnam/VOA reader)
  • A fruit vendor waits for customers in Kabul, Afghanistan. (Photo by Aman Aman/Afahnistan/VOA reader)
  • A girl in a metal basin in Great Lake in Cambodia (Photo by Ngo Thiet Hung/Cambodia/VOA reader)
  • A devotee of Lord Krishna on the street of Kolkata, India, on the first day of a two-day nationwide industrial strike called by several trade unions, Feb. 20, 2013. (Photo by Chandan Ghosh/India/VOA reader)
  • Lonely on Huong River in Hue, Vietnam (Photo by Bùi Thụy Đào Nguyên/Vietnam/VOA reader)
  • Snow and mountains are tough for the life for people in Saint Chathrine in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt (Photo by Ibrahim Mamdouh/Egypt/VOA reader)
  • A young Vietnamese with gardening tools on his shoulder walks in the countryside while talking on his cellphone in Dalat province, South Vietnam. (Photo by Hang Dinh Thi Thanh/Vietnam/VOA reader)
  • People cross a river in a wooden boat in Ninh Kieu district of Can Tho in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam, February 8, 2013. (Photo by Dungvo/Vietnam/VOA reader)
  • A butterfly with vibrant yellow is seen on a flower in the campus of Vinh Trang pagoda in My Tho, the capital city of Tien Giang province, Vietnam. (Photo by Hillary Tran/Vietnam/VOA reader)
  • A hat house is seen in Benishangul-Gumuz, a rural area of Ethiopia. (Photo by Aboma Shuramu/Ethiopia/VOA reader)
  • The driver takes a nap while waiting for guests to visit the Vinh Trang pagoda in My Tho, the capital city of Tien Giang province, Vietnam. (Photo by Hillary Tran/Vietnam/VOA reader)
  • Gwanghwamun, the main gate of the Gyeongbukgung Palace in Seoul, South Korea, is seen at night. (Photo by Liu Guan-Dong/South Korea/VOA reader)
  • A vegetable vendor waits for customers early morning in Can Tho, Vietnam. (Photo by Dungvo/Vietnam/VOA reader)