Oregon Secretary of State

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Cover Photo Contest Guidelines

Contest​

Winning photos will be published on the front and back covers of the print version of the 2025-2026 Oregon Blue Book.

Entrants​

Open to photographers of any age who are Oregon residents and earn less than half of their income from photography.

Entries

Photos must be original images taken by the entrant and may not have been previously commercially published.

Content

The cover photos must be in color and represent some aspect of Oregon such as landscapes, buildings or events. See previous covers of the Oregon Blue Book for ideas.
Image illustrates the difference between portrait and landscape orientation.

Orientation and Editing

​​​​​​​​All photos submitted must have a *vertical (portrait)* orientation. Submissions with a horizontal orientation will not be considered. Images may have minor alterations for color, contrast, etc. but may not be significantly altered, appear unnatural or have important elements added or removed.

Submit Lower Resolution Images for Judging

Digital JPEG format images with a width and height of about 1400 x 2100 pixels are preferred. Somewhat larger or smaller images are acceptable for contest judging. More about image size

Must have Higher Resolution Images Suitable for Print Available

The winning photographers must provide TIFF format or high quality JPEG format digital images with a native width and height of at least 1800 x 2700 pixels (about 5 megapixels). Images that do not meet these criteria will not be used for the cover. More about image size

Deadline

Entries must be received by October 27, 2024.

Judging

A committee led by the Oregon Blue Book editor will make recommendations on the selection of winning photos. The Secretary of State will make the final selections.

Winners

A brief description of the winning photos and photographers will be published in the Oregon Blue Book. The winners will be invited to the Secretary of State’s recognition event announcing the release of the new Oregon Blue Book.

Other Uses

All entries will become part of the permanent collection of the Oregon State Archives. Entries cannot be returned. Photos submitted to the Cover Photo Contest but not selected for the cover may be chosen for use elsewhere in the Oregon Blue Book with full credit given to the photographer.

Questions​

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