The Honest Truth about America's Favorite Photo
I entered the America’s Favorite Photo Contest as a high school senior with a purpose that meant everything to me.
My photo, where the light meets the water, wasn’t just something I submitted for fun. It was my attempt to make a real difference. I planned to donate every charitable dollar I could win to my high school’s STEM program, which has lost funding again and again. I never wanted another student to have to fight just to access basic opportunities the way I have.
I am so, so, so deeply involved in STEM that I am currently the most highly ranked high school engineering student in the state of Alabama, despite the fact that I have gone through high school without having an engineering teacher at all. I've been in 22 STEM clubs in my high school career, holding leadership in 10 of them.
One, ONE was offered at my school.
I founded it myself.
What makes it harder is that nearly 89% of my graduating class wants to go into engineering, and we’ve had virtually no access to real experience.
Everything I’ve learned, every opportunity I’ve had, I had to work for relentlessly and to the bone, just to get my foot in the door. I did that not just for myself, but because I want the next generation to have it better.
So when I entered this contest, I gave it everything.
I rallied my entire (very large) family. I had friends voting every single day. I campaigned constantly, reaching out to my community and building support organically. I was gaining hundreds of votes a day without ever asking anyone for money. Not once!!
And it worked… until it didn’t.
I placed first in every round leading up to the finals. Then, suddenly, it stopped being about photography or effort or community support.
It became an all out bidding war.
Now, even as a finalist, I’m sitting in 18th place.
It’s heartbreaking. Not just because I lost, but because of how I lost. Watching photos with noticeably less effort and quality jump ahead simply because of money is incredibly discouraging. I poured everything I had into this, time, energy, and even what little money I could afford as a broke high school student trying to help my community and do the right thing.
Even after donating everything I reasonably could, which was NO SMALL AMOUNT, I moved up one spot.
ONE.
After everything.
This contest isn’t about the “favorite photo.” It’s about who can afford to pay the most at the very end. And for students or people trying to make a difference, not just win for themselves, that’s beyond devastating.
I worked so hard for something that I truly believed could help others, only to be outpaced by those with thousands of dollars to spend.
If you’re considering entering because you want to make a difference or support a meaningful cause, please understand what you’re walking into.
This isn’t it.
America's Favorite Photos, you may not be a scam, but you are not a reputable organization with good morals or honest intentions of improving the world of photography.
You are a poorly run, manipulative business meant to intentionally tempt and trick the everyday person into bidding on a chance they may not even have.
Pathetic and despicable.
22 marzo 2026
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