Updated for TrainPhotos
Black & White Photos: Black & white photos must be taken before DEC 31 1964. On and after JAN 01 1965, the photo must be in color.

Composition: Each photo must be taken or cropped to show a single locomotive, not a set of locomotives, or the locomotive(s) and the train. Parts of adjacent coupled locomotives may be shown, but only as required to show the complete subject locomotive, and it must occupy the majority of the width of the photo. The full profile of the locomotive must appear in the photo, without any portion of it being cut off. Front and rear photos should be taken in or cropped to a portrait format (vertical, not landscape or horizontal). The locomotive must be centered in the picture. Photos must be taken level, so that vertical features appear vertical and the subject does not appear slanted or tilted.

People: Photos showing employees or passengers standing on, riding on, mounting, or dismounting equipment will not be accepted. Note: This does not include employees or passengers fully enclosed inside of equipment.

Updated for TrainPhotos
Obstructions: Obstructions between the viewer and the train, such as but not limited to, telephone poles, piles of dirt and ballast, trackside buildings, vehicles, crossing gate signals, traffic control arms, railroad signals, switch stands, elevated tracks in the foreground, trees, bushes, weeds, traffic barriers, vehicle guardrails, shipping boxes, garbage dumpsters, traffic mirrors, station platforms, baggage carts, service apparatus, are cause for rejection.

Shadows: Shadows caused by signal bridges, trestles, trees, telephone pole cross arms, that form patterns across the unit are not acceptable. Shadows will be reviewed and acted upon, on a case by case basis. The best thing to do, is just not submit photos with shadows.

Updated for TrainPhotos
Lighting: The picture must be sunlit, taken from the sunlit side, and the side of the train must be illuminated. Backlit subjects, photos taken into the sun or from the shadow side, photos taken with high overhead sunlight that result in the side of the train being in the shadows, are not acceptable. Flash or strobe units may be used for fill lighting, provided that the effect is not localized or illuminate reflective surfaces. Pictures taken on a cloudy or rainy day or with the subject in shadows are not acceptable. At this time, night pictures are not being accepted.

Updated for TrainPhotos
Watermarks: You may add a copyright and your name to your picture, provided that it is in one of the four corners, against the edge of the image, is not of a distracting color (ie: bright orange), and is not any larger than the text in the banner bar that is automatically added by LocoPhotos when you submit your photo. Logos, icons, or links to other websites are not permitted. The only exceptions are BNSFpix.com, and RosterPix.com, which were previous names for LocoPhotos, and any photo that was on LocoPhotos prior to November 01, 2006.

Updated for TrainPhotos
Quality: The photo must be clear and in focus. Panned photos or time exposures of moving subjects are not acceptable. Photos that have been excessively lightened as to cause it to be washed out are not acceptable. Photos that are dark, blurry, or low resolution (pixelated or grainy) are not acceptable.

Updated for TrainPhotos
Background: The photo may have a scenic background, but the featured train must be the focal point.

Updated for TrainPhotos
Altered Photos: Photos must not be photoshopped to remove obstructions from the train.

Updated for TrainPhotos
Obscenity on equipment: Unfortunately, it's becomming more common to find obscenities spray painted on equipment. Locomotives, railcars, buildings, bridges, etc., defaced in such a manner will not be accepted.

Updated for TrainPhotos
Exceptions: There may be reasonable exceptions made to the above guidelines, but the submitter should present his case to the moderators in the photo information box, who will then make the final determination as to whether the submission has merit, in which case the photo, if approved, would be tagged in some way as to indicate that it is an approved exception to the general guidelines.

Updated for TrainPhotos
Number of photos allowed: I don't know where this is going to go yet. I know that I don't want 65 million pictures from Cajon, or The Loop, The Gorge, The Joint Line, etc. There are websites that have enough pictures from those places to last a lifetime.

Updated for TrainPhotos
Copyrights: You must be the original photographer, or you must have full rights to it, to grant it's use on LocoPhotos. The photo must be marked with the original photographer's name, such as "Bob Smith photo" or "Photo by Bob Smith", in one of the lower corners, in a manner that does not detract from the picture. The color of the text should be a neutral color (ie: black, white, or grey) and no larger than the banner across the bottom of the picture (25 pixels tall). Photos that are submitted as "used with permission" will not be accepted. The person who granted the permission is welcome to post their own photos here. Copyright infringement is not allowed, and will not be tolerated.