Three students from Allen High School took home first place awards from the annual Association of Texas Photography Instructors (ATPI) Fall Contest. Additionally, two students received second place, one received third and 23 received honorable mentions.

ATPI hosts a convention every year with a variety of photography classes. Multiple contests are held throughout the year.

For the Fall Contest, each student is allowed to submit up to three photos in each category, which are evaluated by six judges.

“Allen High School always does really well in these competitions, thanks to our amazing photography program,” senior Maddie Etherington said.

Etherington, a third-year participant, received first place in Advanced Informal-Environmental Portrait, which had more submissions than any other category. The results of the competition were a surprise to her.

“I checked Twitter just as they announced that in the largest category of the year, with 510 entries, I had won first place,” Etherington said. “I was so excited.”

She also received second place in Time Exposure and six honorable mentions in other various categories.

Senior Ashley Breshears, also a third-year participant, received first place in Surrealism for her photo “Head Stack.” The picture depicts a man with multiple heads inside of each other.

“It’s supposed to show that everyone has many different levels to who they are and to their personality,” Breshears said.

One surprised winner was senior Hailey Thomas, a first-year participant. Although inexperienced compared to other students, she managed to score a first place award in the iPhone photography category.

“Since this was my first year participating in photography, it was my first year participating in ATPI,” Thomas said. “I didn’t think I would place. I was completely surprised.”

Although skill and hard work are important components of photography, many photographers believe emotion is the most important part of a great photo.

“Sometimes it’s just the way the light hits an object or a specific feeling that comes from looking at something,” Etherington said. “It’s trying to capture something beautiful and wanting to share that with people.”