How to Apply

Students can submit up to three photographs with corresponding descriptions via email at eghi@emory.edu.  

• Students should submit their photographs as JPG files. Each JPG file should be between 2-3 MB for email submission purposes. However, if one of your photographs is selected as a winning or honorable mention photograph, EGHI may reach out to you to submit a JPG file that is between 10-14 MB so that we can print a 13X19 copy of it at 300 dpi. To that end, please have a larger JPG file available should one of your submitted photographs be selected. 
• Photograph descriptions should be submitted as an MS Word document. 

• Please enumerate picture titles and descriptions so that they correspond with the picture numbers in the JPG files. 
• Submit no more than three JPG photograph files and one MS Word document that includes three photograph titles and three photograph descriptions to eghi@emory.edu. Name your photographs as follows: lastname_firstname_picturenumber.jpg (e.g., smith_sarah_1.jpg) 

Emory undergraduate and graduate students, medical residents and fellows, and post-doctoral fellows are eligible to participate.

Five winning photographs will be selected each year. Students submitting winning photographs will receive a $500 cash prize and a certificate recognizing their accomplishment.

Emory students, medical residents, and post-doctoral fellows are invited to submit photographs captured between September 1, 2023, and September 1, 2024. Submissions can feature photographs taken both domestically and internationally.

Each participant may submit up to three original photographs that document public health, health care, or global health challenges from anywhere in the world. Potential topics include, but are not limited to, population health, individual health, chronic diseases, infectious diseases, environmental health, environmental justice, school health, health care delivery, social determinants of health, substance use disorders, and global health inequities. The subject matter can vary widely, such as people, landscapes, or structures—anything that visually communicates the health issue the photographer seeks to highlight.

If a photograph includes identifiable individuals, the photographer must note whether consent from the subject(s) was obtained. Confirm consent in the written description accompanying the image.

Photograph Descriptions

Along with each photograph, participants must submit a brief description (200 words maximum). This description should explain what the image depicts and its relevance to a global health, public health, or health care issue in the region where it was taken. Participants should also create a title for each image and indicate if verbal consent was obtained from any identifiable individuals featured in the photograph.

Please note that all submissions must be original photographs taken by the participant.

When photographing people, you should:

• Respect the person you are photographing and treat that person with dignity
• Obtain verbal consent from the person or people you wish to photograph and then show them your digital photograph to ensure they are comfortable with it
• If possible, obtain written consent from the person or people you wish to photograph and then show them your digital photograph to ensure they are comfortable with it
• If you are taking pictures of children, obtain the verbal consent from their parents or guardians
• Be mindful when taking pictures of people who are receiving health care -- respect their privacy, follow the photography rules of their health care facility, and obtain their verbal consent to take their photograph
• Do not take pictures of people, including children, when they are unclothed out of respect for their privacy
• Do not take pictures of people when they are unconscious because they cannot provide their verbal consent
• Be mindful of whether or not you are representing the person accurately and/or the community accurately
• Be mindful of your intent in taking the photograph (e.g., are you taking it to document a situation, raise public awareness, capture something beautiful, tell a story, etc.)

Please visit these sites to learn more about ethics and photography.

TEPHINET’s Global Health Photography Ethics Modules

Unite for Sight Ethics and Photography in Developing Countries

National Press Photographers Association Code of Ethics

The Need for Ethical Representation in Documentary Photography

Ethical Dilemmas and the Documentary Photographer: An In-Depth Interview with J. Ross Baughman

You can see explore previoius contest submissions and winners by clicking the button below.

View past submissions

The submission deadline for the 2024 contest is October 14, 2024.

Students retain ownership of their photo contest submissions. However, by entering the contest you agree to grant EGHI and Emory University unrestricted use of your photo submissions for communication purposes.

Winning photographs will be selected by an external panel of judges. Photographs will be judged on their technical and artistic merits as well as their ability to effectively convey a message that pertains to a public health/global health/health care topic taking place anywhere in the world. 

For more information, please contact Farah Dharamshi, at fdharam@emory.edu.