USF World is currently accepting applications for its annual International Photo Competition. Emphasizing the connectedness of USF at home and abroad, USF World is seeking to highlight students engaging in international travel and exploration.

The initiative welcomes participation “across campus, to all departments, students, faculty, staff and alumni,” Jessica Brightman, marketing and communications officer for USF World, said. “This is a way to spread a cross-cultural understanding and help build global awareness."

With five submission categories, applicants can send in landscape, portrait and Bulls abroad images to be judged separately based on terrain, people and students wearing USF memorabilia, respectively. The grand prize pick will be chosen cumulatively based on if the image completely captures the international trip. These four sections are determined by judges, while a USF Favorite is decided by popularity on social media.

“All the photos are put onto the USF Facebook page and each like is one point and each share is two points,” Brightman said.

This part of the competition encourages participants to spread the word and share their photos to be appreciated by the USF community and beyond, according to Brightman.  

The requirements specify the photo must be taken within the past 12 months, with minor adjustments in cropping or hue/saturation. Minimal photo filters like black and white, sepia or duo tones are also accepted. Participants are allowed to submit up to 10 photos for the competition, but are asked to properly represent the true image and are not permitted to use image enhancing applications like photoshop.

Including the criteria, Brightman had some advice for how to get the perfect shot.

“It is best to use a real camera,” she said. “What I noticed in submissions last year was some students were so keen on using their camera phones. Really think about your composition, rather than pointing and shooting at anything.”

Presentation is another highly regarded aspect of the judging process, according to Brightman.

“When submitting a hard copy along with the application, keep in mind that is the photo the judges will look at,” she said. “If they are printing the image onto a piece of paper, sometimes detail and quality of the image is lost. It helps to have a printed glossy photo.”

These minute details can determine whether or not the photo makes the cut.

The winner last year, Mary Bishop, a master’s degree candidate in the Patel College of Global Sustainability, won the with an image from the Jökulsárlón lake in Iceland.

One winner and one runner-up will be chosen from each of the five categories. The grand prize winner will be given a prize bag filled with various USF apparel. In addition, each of the other winners will be given a USF sweatshirt and the runners-up will be given a USF T-shirt.

Along with having their photos showcased across campus, all of the winners will be given award certificates from USF World and have the opportunity to discuss their photos with the judges.

Winners will be announced during International Education Month in November.

The application deadline is Oct. 31 by 5 p.m.

Applications to submit for USF World International Photo Competition can be found here.