Three Texas High School commercial photography students recently earned five of the top 50 awards in the nationally acclaimed 2016 Jostens Photo Contest.

The annual competition celebrates the creative and innovative talents of student photographers from schools across the country. The competition empowers students to positively capture their school experiences and share the stories of their entire school communities through photography.

Eight categories were featured in this year’s contest:  Academics & Community Service, Graduation, Photo Illustration & Manipulation, Portrait, Replay it:  Mobile Photos, Sports:  Athletes in Action, Sports:  Sidelines & School Spirit, Student Life & Traditions and Yearbooks In Action.

Photographic work from the three Texas High School students were selected from more than 5,000 contest entries submitted by high school, junior high and middle school students, nationwide. Photo contest submissions were judged on composition, artistic merit and technical qualities, as well as the ability to convey a compelling story.

National winners are:

Rachel Lewis, Senior, First Place in Sports: Sidelines & School Spirit

Rachel Lewis, 1st Place
Rachel Lewis, 1st Place
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Sara Vaughn, Senior, Second Place in Sports: Athletes in Action and Second Place in Student Life & Traditions

Sara Vaugn, 2nd Place
Sara Vaugn, 2nd Place
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Lauren Maynard, Junior, Third Place in Sports: Sidelines & School Spirit and Honorable Mention in Photo Illustration & Manipulation

Lauren Maynard, Honorable Mention
Lauren Maynard, Honorable Mention
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“You always hope your students’ work is going to be good enough to compete nationally,” said Clint Smith, THS Commercial Photography teacher. “It’s an extremely proud feeling when you see that they have competed and won against thousands of students across the nation.

“As part of the Publications Department, our students are put in a  real-world working environment. I teach them to create photos not as students but as if they were working professional photographers,” Smith added.

Award-winning photos will be showcased on the Jostens Facebook page, yearbooklove.com and will be published in the Jostens Look Book and Look Book companion app which serve as a mode of inspiration for yearbook staffs across the country.

Established in 2007, the THS Commercial Photography program not only teaches students how to create photography, but exposes them to multiple career paths through the photographic arts. Students enrolled in the program receive training in photojournalism, portraiture, digital imaging and commercial photography. They learn the basics of photography, commercial composition, print making and finishing. Students get hands-on experience by photographing all school related and district events for use in school and district publications and meet the challenges of real-world environment by producing a photographic product that is marketable.

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