MarineTraffic encourages all users to contribute photos of maritime interest to our gallery. To ensure the high quality of our photo collection, every submitted photo undergoes a review process before being publicly displayed. Our team of photo moderators carefully examines each submission to ensure it meets our quality standards, focusing on the following aspects:
1. Image Quality
Resolution: The minimum photo size allowed is 800x600 pixels. Preferable, the photo resolution should be the highest possible.
File Format: Acceptable formats are JPEG, PNG, and JPG. Files must not be larger than 11MB.
Aspect ratio: The aspect ratio (width x height) should not be above 3 to 2.
Sharpness: Ensure the main subject is in focus. Avoid blurry or out-of-focus images. When submitting sunset/sunrise/night/bad weather photos, ensure that the asset remains the main subject and that its details are clearly identifiable, rather than being silhouetted.
2. Composition
Composition: The vessel must be clearly depicted in the photo as a whole. Exceptions to this rule will apply for:
Sailing boats since sometimes cropping the mast is necessary in order to maintain a good view of the boat itself.
Ships with cranes, because sometimes including the crane in the photo results in a loss of details related to the ship itself.
Clutter: Avoid overly cluttered background or foreground obstructions. The subject should be the main focus. Equipment and other vessels that are associated with the operation of ships such as container cranes, tugs or bunkering barges are acceptable provided they do not dominate the image.
Cropping: Crop images to remove unnecessary elements but maintain the aspect ratio. Editing tools to correct the photo alignment are accepted as long as the horizon is kept as level.
3. Lighting
Natural Light: Prefer natural lighting. Avoid harsh shadows and overexposure.
Artificial Light: If using artificial light, ensure it’s well-diffused and balanced.
4. Editing and Post-Processing
Basic Edits: Acceptable adjustments include brightness, contrast, saturation, and sharpness.
Retouching: Minor retouching is allowed to remove blemishes or distractions, but avoid over-editing. Blurring faces in order to make a person non-identifiable is accepted as long as the asset is still the main subject of the photo.
No Filters: Do not use heavy filters or effects that alter the natural look of the photo. Sepia and black&white filters are not accepted.
6. Content Requirements
Relevance: Ensure the photo is relevant to the asset associated with. The asset must be clearly depicted in the photo as a whole. Photos with identifiable people are not accepted. The incidental presence of crew, passengers or shore workers is acceptable, as long as their faces are not identifiable.
Originality: Submit original photos. Do not submit stock photos or images taken by others. In case you use watermarks, please make sure they are of reasonable size and do not interfere with the picture of the vessel. Keep in mind that your photos are automatically watermarked by MarineTraffic anyway by making use of your registered name.
Multiple photos: Do not upload multiple photos of the same vessel from a similar angle/view. The shooting angle must be altered by a minimum of 30° for photos taken within minutes from each other (regarding the same vessel). The maximum number of photos that can be uploaded by the same user for a specific vessel is 5 photos within a six-month period. Exceeding this limit will result in your photos not getting accepted (for the specific vessel).
7. Metadata
EXIF Data: Once you upload a photo, the EXIF data will be automatically uploaded providing information about camera settings.
Location and Descriptions: Provide the location, the date when the photo was taken as well as a brief description of the photo.
8. Legal Considerations
Photo usage and copyright: Detailed photo usage and copyright terms can be found in the related section of the photo upload page. Once you upload your photo, you automatically consent to it.
9. Submission Process
Upload: Follow the above instructions in order to successfully upload a photo. If you wish to correct any of the details regarding your uploaded photos, just go to My Account>Photos Uploaded and edit the photo using the corrected details (related vessel, location, date, copyright).
Review: All photos will be reviewed by our team of moderators for adherence to guidelines. Non-compliant photos will be rejected.
Refer to our gallery of approved photos for examples of acceptable submissions.
By adhering to these standards, we will collectively build the largest and highest-quality photo database in the shipping industry.