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Tell us more

When you send in your pictures, you need to tell us a little bit about it. Such as:

• Where and when it was taken.
• Who the people in the photo are.
• Why you took the picture
• Your name (It's surprising how often people forget to do this!)

It's not necessary to have all of these details, but some info is always welcome.
Don't type in capitals! It makes the text very difficult to read and correct for publication.

You should also include your telephone number so we can get back to you should we need to.

Picture sizes & formats

Ideally you should send one picture per email. If you do send more, make sure each picture and caption is matched in the body of the message.

Exposed slide film

Make sure that each image is no more than 1MB (1024KB) in size. Your email program should tell you the size when you attach the image.

Ideally the pixel size of an image should be no less than 640x480 pixels - though we still take images smaller than this. Many images from mobile phones are much smaller than this!

If you email your picture to us, make sure it's a jpg file - it'll have the extension .jpg on a PC (Mac users - please add the .jpg extension)

Photo Essays

If taking just one picture doesn't seem enough of a challenge for you, why not try your hand at a photo essay.

Basically you take a series of pictures that tell a story - the subject matter can be on anything you like in or around Cumbria or with a Cumbrian link, but we also need a few words to go with the pictures to help tell the story. If your interested read on ...

Ideally, you should aim to take a variety of photographs - it's a good idea to plan the story before you start. A good first photo would be one that introduces the subject to the readers.

Make sure you take some close-up photos as well as some wider pictures to show the subject's environment but remember to include something in the foreground to add impact.

When you take the picture, remember to look up or down to see what's around you. You might get a better shot if you kneel, or find a position to look down from.

The completed photo essay will have no more than 10 photographs, but you can send us more to choose from.
Make sure you have permission from anyone pictured before submitting the photographs.

Each picture will need a caption. Who, what, why, where and when is a good place to start when gathering information for the caption, but where possible quotes from those pictured and a description of how you are feeling will help bring the essay to life. We don't need many words - about 40 per picture.

Hints, tips and inspiration

1. Fill the frame: When you think it looks too big, it's probably the right size!
2. When photographing people, focus on the eyes.
3. Keep it level: Nothing looks worse than a sloping sea, leaning lake or falling-over building.
4. Put people in the scene: Adding people to your landscape shots brings a sense of scale to the picture.
5. Add depth to your pictures with strong diagonal lines.

Click on these links for tips on how to get the best from your camera and a little inspiration to get you started out ...