SocialStory photography contest: powerful stories are waiting to be told, what will be yours?

SocialStory is giving you the chance to discover and capture social change in action. Bring out your camera – DSLR or your humble phone camera. Prize money and other special prizes to be won!

*Contest has been extended till October 7*

Social action on candid camera

Is social action an endangered species or one so common that we no longer see it? While millions struggle for an education, there may be a child teaching English to her maid or watchman; while thousands of the transgender community are shunned, there may be an old man on the bus striking up a conversation with one; while millions are denied justice every day, there may be a few who take down systems every day. We need only look, and there’s action everywhere.

SocialStory is giving you the chance to discover and capture social change in action. Bring out your camera – DSLR or your humble phone camera, it doesn't matter. And with your weapon of change, open our eyes to stories of courage, perseverance, brotherhood, innovation, unity and diversity – everything cliché and everything hatke; open our eyes to ripples that will someday become momentous waves.

Winners will receive:

• 1st place— Rs 50,000 (decided by jury).
• 2nd place— Rs 30,000 (decided by jury).
• 3rd place— Rs 10,000 (decided by jury).
• Viewer's Choice - Rs 10,000 (decided by popularity on social media).
• 10 selected entries will receive special gift vouchers.

Your entries can belong to any of the following categories:

• Urban Action
• Rural Innovation
• Environment
• Education
• Healthcare
• Human Rights
• Animal Rights
• Culture and Arts

Photographs will be judged by:

Aruna Roy

Founder of the Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, Aruna Roy has been instrumental in the enactment of the Right to Information, the Right to Work (the NREGA), and the Right to Food Act. Recipient of the Ramon Magsaysay Award, 2000, she served as a civil servant in the Indian Administrative Service between 1968 and 1974. She was also a member of the National Advisory Council until 2006. Roy has worked for issues related to the poor and marginalised and is currently involved with the campaign for universal, non-contributory pension for unorganised sector workers.

Deepti Asthana

Deepti Asthana is a documentary photographer who has been covering gender issues in rural India under her umbrella project ‘Women of India.’  Her work has been published in various National and International publications including Al Jazeera English, Der Spiegel, Hindu Business Line, Outlook India, The Diplomat, Asian Age to name a few. Also as a well-established travel photographer and blogger, her work captures cultures and traditions of the world. As a solo traveller and influencer, she encourages women to travel solo and carve a path for themselves. She is currently a mentor with Canon India to help women in their photography journey.

Varun Aditya

Varun Aditya set his name in stone when he received the Natgeo Nature Photographer of the year award in 2016. The photograph that enamoured the world was that of a green vine snake, ‘Dragging you deep into the woods’. Since then, his work has been published thrice by Natgeo. His passion for photography has led him to Maasai Mara, Amboseli, Samburu, Costa Rica, and many national parks in India; travels that have perfected storytelling in his images. He is currently a finalist for Nature’s Best Photography Winland Smith Rice International Awards 2017.

Rules and guidelines :

• You can submit up to five photographs.
• Please mention the category each of your photograph falls into, and share a brief description of the image and its backstory.
• Selected entries will be showcased on the SocialStory Facebook page with due credits to the photographer.
• The photographs should have a long dimension of at least 1000 pixels.
• Basic editing such as colour enhancement, use of filters, and cropping is acceptable, provided any such editing does not affect the authenticity of the photos.
• Manipulation to create illusions and deceptions, and addition and deletion of elements is prohibited.
• All photographs submitted must be original and must not have been submitted to any other photographic competition.
• The photograph should not invade the subject's privacy and infringe the copyright of any third party or any laws.
• The rights to the photographs submitted for this competition remain with the respective entrants. However, winners grants a worldwide, irrevocable, perpetual licence to SocialStory to feature any or all of the submitted images in any of their publications, their websites and/or in any promotional material.
• Last date for submissions is October 7.

Click here to apply!

For queries, write to us at [email protected]. We look forward to your stories!