Enter the Shutterbug Gallery Photography Contest!

Got a photo you absolutely love? This is your chance to see it printed big and displayed on the walls of the Shutterbug Store Galleries across Portland, Beaverton, Eugene, and Salem.

We’re refreshing our in-store galleries and are selecting 10 new photographs to replace our current display. Whether you’re a longtime photographer or someone who just captured that perfect moment, this contest is all about celebrating great imagery and giving it the space it deserves.

📅 Submission Deadline: February 15, 2026

🏆 Winners Announced: February 18, 2026

Winners will also receive a 20x30 print of their image!

What Kind of Photos Are We Looking For?

We’re looking for images that stop people in their tracks—the kind that make you step closer to the print and take in the details. Submissions can fall into any of the following categories:

• Landscape photography, from sweeping natural scenes to striking cityscapes

• Wildlife photography that captures personality, motion, or rare moments

• Portrait photography with strong emotion, lighting, and connection

• Macro photography that reveals textures and details you don’t normally notice

• Action photography that freezes peak moments, motion, and energy with impact

If it’s an image you’re proud of and would love to see on a wall, we want to see it.

How to Enter the Shutterbug Photography Contest

Entering is easy. Simply email your favorite image or images to marketing@theshutterbug.com. Please make sure you send your files at their highest possible resolution—no downsizing, no social media exports, and no heavy compression. Large gallery prints need all the detail they can get.

You’re welcome to submit more than one image, as long as each file is sent at full resolution.

Tips for Capturing Sharp, High-Quality Images

If you’re planning to shoot something specifically for this contest (or want to improve your chances), a few small technical choices can make a big difference—especially when images are printed large.

First, focus matters more than anything. For portraits, always focus on the eyes. For landscapes, focusing about a third of the way into the scene can help keep everything sharp. Wildlife photographers should aim for fast, accurate autofocus and a shutter speed quick enough to freeze motion.

Shutter speed is another key factor. If you’re shooting handheld, use a shutter speed that’s fast enough for your focal length. Action and wildlife often benefit from speeds of 1/1000s or faster, while landscapes and macro photography are perfect opportunities to use a tripod for maximum sharpness.

When it comes to aperture, most lenses perform their best between f/5.6 and f/8. Extremely small apertures can actually soften your image due to diffraction, which becomes much more noticeable in large prints.

Finally, keep your ISO as low as lighting allows. Noise that looks fine on a phone screen can stand out when an image is enlarged to gallery size.

Will Your Photo Look Good Printed Large?

Before submitting, it’s worth taking a moment to check whether your image will hold up when printed big.

Start by looking at your image’s pixel dimensions. A file around 6000 × 4000 pixels, for example, can comfortably be printed at gallery sizes while maintaining excellent detail. Large prints often look great at 180–240 PPI, and even lower resolutions can work well when viewed from a normal gallery distance.

Next, zoom in on your image at 100% on your computer. If it looks soft, noisy, or blurry at full size, those issues will only become more visible on the wall. Pay close attention to critical focus, motion blur, and over-sharpening artifacts.

For best results, submit high-quality JPEGs or TIFF files. Screenshots, social media downloads, or heavily compressed files won’t have enough detail for large-format printing.

Why Enter?

Having your photo displayed in a Shutterbug gallery means your work will be seen by thousands of photographers and customers in-store. It’s real-world exposure, professional large-format printing, and the chance to see your photography displayed the way it was meant to be seen—not just on a screen.

Ready to Submit?

Send your favorite high-resolution images to marketing@theshutterbug.com by February 15, 2026. Winners will be announced on February 18, 2026, and selected images will be featured in Shutterbug Store Galleries across Oregon.

Winners will also receive a 20x30 print of their image!

We can’t wait to see what you submit—and we can’t wait to put your photography on the wall.