Help » Contests » What is Shoeboxing

You will see the term 'shoeboxing' quite a bit in the contest area and we thought we would take a moment and clarify what we mean.

In the olden days one would keep their photos in a shoebox or similar package tucked safely under their bed. Today this term is applied in a similar way, as it pertains to when the photo was taken. In contests that allow shoeboxing you can use any image you have shot in the past.

However, in contests where shoeboxing is NOT allowed, you must shoot the image between the contest start and the contest submission end date. In other words, the shoebox full of photos you have taken prior to the contest may not be used to win. You will notice that when selecting an image for the contest where no shoeboxing is allowed, the interface will only allow you to submit an image uploaded after the start date. This is because you can not use an image you shot before the contest.

If you win, and there is doubt cast on the timing of the image creation, you may be asked to product the unedited raw with timestamp and checksum intact. We doubt this will happen often, but always keep the original around in case you win and need to prove your shoot date.

These no-shoeboxing contests will probably be rare, but they will also offer prizes so they will be worth the effort.