Contest Guidelines

• Only photographs of companion animals will be selected. Companion animals may include dogs, cats, rabbits, birds, hamsters, gerbils, ferrets, guinea pigs, rats, mice, chinchillas and horses. Please, no humans or exotic animals. All animals must be depicted in a humane and dignified manner.
• Only digital entries in jpeg (.jpg) or tiff (.tif) format will be considered. Photos must be 300 dpi and at least 2550 x 2550 pixels to be considered for the Photo of the Month or Cover. Smaller photos may be entered, but will only be used for the collage pages. Absolutely no print photographs will be accepted.
• Submitted photographs must be in color; no black and white photos will be accepted.
• If your entry was taken by a professional photographer or commercial studio, you must mail a signed copyright release to the Wisconsin Humane Society, 4500 W. Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53208, Attn: Calendar Contest. Be sure to include your full name and the file name of the photo you sent along with the release.
• All entries must be received by the Wisconsin and Ozaukee Humane Societies no later than August 15, 2008 to be considered.
• This contest is limited to the first 500 photographs received.
• Photos become the property of WHS and OHS and may be used and/or altered for the 2009 calendar and for other fundraising efforts.
• You will be notified by September 15th ONLY if your photo is chosen for the cover or as a Photo of the Month.

Tips for Taking a Great Picture

• The animal should be in a neutral, humane setting looking at the camera, preferably at eye level.
• Don’t distract the focus of the picture, your animal, with a heavily cluttered background.
• If your animal is dark colored, take the photo in front of a lighter background.
• If your animal is light colored, take the photo in front of a darker background.
• Photos representing the changing seasons are desired.
• Natural light is better than flash. The more light, the more detail your camera will catch.
• If your animal is dark colored, be wary of direct sunlight as it increases shadows.
• It might take many photos to get the perfect shot, so start clicking!