The STLPR Teen Photojournalist Prize provides professional recognition, publicity, encouragement, hands-on training and resources to area high school students who demonstrate a talent for documenting their world through photography.

Open to teens in Quincy, Ill., St. Louis and Rolla, Missouri. Local schools and youth organizations in our listening area are encouraged to participate.

Submissions for 2026 are closed!

Prizes

Best in Show — $800 Visa gift card

First Place Categories — $200 Visa gift card each

Winners also receive:

• Master class with STLPR Visuals Editor Brian Munoz
• Publication on stlpr.org and on STLPR social media
• Display on Public Media Commons big screen
• Exhibition at UMSL at Grand Center
• A framed print of their winning photograph

The Contest

• Students will submit original photographs that were made between Tuesday, April 8, 2025 to Thursday, April 9, 2026.
• Entries should have a title, caption and personal reflection as outlined on the entry form.
• Deadline: Friday, April 10, 2026 at 11:59 p.m.
• No more than 3 photo entries per person.
• Entries will be judged by a panel of award-winning local photojournalists and visual storytellers
• Winners will be honored at the opening night of the gallery exhibit at St. Louis Public Radio on Tuesday, May 12 at 6 p.m.
• See the full contest rules

Categories

Judges will review entries for the following categories:

View other excellent examples of these categories on the National Press Photographers Association contest page.

Learn more about photojournalism

So, what separates photojournalism from simply taking pictures?

Photojournalists can tell a story or make a statement through a single image. The images they capture have the power to transport viewers into a moment in time and show insight on a broader subject.

These images celebrate times of joy, capture times of anguish, and find the beauty in everyday life. They also allow someone at home to not only know what is happening elsewhere but see it, too. Photojournalism requires patience, creativity and most importantly, curiosity.

Explore more resources for beginning photographers:

• NPR's photo caption guidelines
• A guide to making better images with your iPhone
• A handy guide to making awesome photos

2026 Contest Rules

Please review all of the contest rules before submitting your entries!

1. No entry fee is required and all rights to images remain the property of the photographer. See the copyrights and permissions disclosure for full details.
2. By submitting to the Contest, the entrant agrees to abide by all Contest rules.
3. All entries must be original works by the entrant. Unauthorized use of another’s image will result in disqualification.
4. To be eligible, photos entered must have been taken by the entrant between Tuesday, April 8, 2025 to Thursday, April 9, 2026.
5. The contest is open to local high school or home-schooled students in the St. Louis, Quincy and Rolla regions.
6. Each entry must be submitted with an entry form detailing the title, caption and a personal reflection; no more than three entries per participant are allowed.
7. Judging: Entries will be blindly judged by a panel of professional photojournalists and media professionals, taking into account: the moment captured, image composition (lighting/color/layering/focus), the creativity behind the image, the caption, and the student reflection provided. The decisions of the judges are entirely their own and are final and binding.

8. Photo Editing: Color images should replicate what the human eye experiences. Because this contest focuses on photojournalism, artistic manipulations are not allowed.

   Examples of prohibited techniques include the exaggerated use of color saturation, contrast, and burning and dodging methods. You may not remove or add objects or subjects to a photo in part or whole. You may not use software capture filters. Please do not add masks, borders, backgrounds, text or other effects to your entry.

   Allowed editing includes minor cropping, exposure correction, white balance, color toning, sharpening and contrast adjustments. Changing a color photo to completely black and white is allowed — but not spot coloring.

9. Captions: Captions, or cutlines, are the words that go along with an image to explain what’s happening in the photograph to provide more context. Without a caption, the viewer might get the wrong information or the wrong impression about what’s going on in the photo.

   Captions must have all the necessary information included in the first sentence of the photograph — who/what/when/where/why. Make sure to include the names of identifiable people in your photograph. Photo captions should try to follow Associated Press style.

   An example: John Smith, a 14-year-old student from Maryville, Ill, plays the saxophone on Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2025 at Woodland Park in Collinsville, Ill. Smith learned to play saxophone at age 10 from his grandfather James, a local jazz legend who has performed around the world.

10. Prizes will be awarded as follows: Best in Show: $800; Best in Category for General News, Feature, Sports Action, Sports Feature, Portrait, Landscape; and Animals and Wildlife Category: $200 each
11. Winners will be notified of the results by phone and/or text message.

Copyrights and Permissions Disclosure

By submitting photos to the St. Louis Public Radio Photojournalism Contest, the entrant grants to The Curators of the University of Missouri and St. Louis Public Radio license -- with respect to photographs of which the entrant is the sole creator and copyright owner and/or comments, titles, captions, or reflections made by the entrant -- to use, reuse and publish the same, in whole or in part, in any and all media, now or hereafter, for the purpose of the Photojournalism Prize contest and promotions specific to the contest; and if appropriate, to use my name and pertinent education and/or biographical facts in relation to the contest entry.

The entrant agrees to defend, indemnify, save harmless, and fully and forever release The Curators of the University of Missouri, their Officers, Agents, Employees, and Volunteers, from any and all liability, claims and demands arising out of or in connection with the use of photographs and/or comments, titles, captions, or reflections including without limitation any and all claims for copyright infringement, libel, or invasion of privacy.

The entrant certifies that any and all Models and subjects were treated with respect and dignity and that no people, wildlife or the environment were harmed by the creation of my photograph(s). The entrant also certifies that any and all models and subjects who are identifiable in the photographs gave me consent to use their likeness. In order to receive cash prizes, winners will be required to provide personal information for tax purposes to comply with university policy.

For questions regarding the contest rules, submit an email to: [email protected].