Menu

Prompts

Contests

Stories

Blog

Menu

✕

CONNECT

Editing Design Marketing Publicity Ghostwriting Websites

BLOG

Success Stories

APPS

TOOLS

Book Promotion Sites Book Review Blogs Booktube Channel Guide Book Title Generator Character Name Generator Independent Publishers Literary Agents Literary Magazines Pen Name Generator Plot Generator Publishers Directory Short Story Ideas Writing Contests Writing Exercises Writing Scholarships

ABOUT

About Reedsy Terms Privacy

CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#144: Take a Picture, It'll Last Longer

Whether you pose happily or are a serial camera dodger, there are probably some photographs you treasure. Photos are a way of connecting us with our past, capturing a special memory, or even giving us a peek into each other’s lives — albeit through a filter.

This week’s stories explore the unique art of photography, and how it impacts our lives in big ways, and tiny ones.

This week's prompts

Start your story with somebody taking a photo.

Adventure – 75 stories

Write a story about a wedding photographer.

Valentine's Day – 31 stories

A character finds an old roll of film, and takes it to be developed. What do they find?

Middle School – 45 stories

Write about a character who’s pathologically camera shy.

Character – 21 stories

Write a story that centres around an Instagram post.

High School – 20 stories

Stories

“THE FACE IN THE DARK ROOM” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #144

THE FACE IN THE DARK ROOM Mark Ross, a bank clerk , liked very much taking pictures. He was a real enthusiast of the shot. Indeed it can be said that he couldn’t help but photograph. At home he had a well- equipped laboratory for developing the photos he took during his travels , during the holidays ( vacations), but even those he took on the street of his city every day as soon as he could, as soon as he glimpsed someone or something to frame, to capture in a photo. So it was ( had b...

Read story

“Roommates” by SEAN MILLER

Submitted to Contest #144

“You can’t be serious…” Ava groaned, scrolling through social media. She just saw the new post from her band teacher on Instagram. It was a picture of the band room with the caption: “Band Practice Tonight!” She hated that her band teacher used Insta to send out news. He was trying way too hard. She shook her head, it was so cringe. Jen, Ava’s roommate, looked up from her book, “What is it now?” Ava sighed, “Band practice got moved up to tonight instead of tomorrow…” Jen shrugged, “And?” Ava shook her head, “You never pay attention, ...

Read story

“Case Closed” by Daniella Vaugn

Submitted to Contest #144

Marisa Wright. She looked so normal to me, so painfully average. She was a young woman that posted pictures of her little white dog and her iced lattes from Starbucks. Who donated to homeless shelters and posted pictures of her volunteer work every other week. Missing? I couldn’t believe the stories going around. In all my years as a crime detective, I’ve never studied a case so mind-boggling. Disappeared, out of nowhere. Disappeared, out of thin air. Who would want this nice woman gone? I continued to scroll through her Instagram acc...

Read story

“The Relationship” by Deanna Weigel

Submitted to Contest #144

*The following story contains a scene of physical violence, as well as displays of mental illness* “Can you take a picture of us?” I had been reading a pamphlet about the history of the building, but at the question, I looked up. A young man was handing his phone over to me with a questioning look on his face. I smiled and nodded as I always did when a couple needed a picture taken. After all, this was not an unusual question when you traveled by yourself. “Say cheese!” I directed in a sing-song voice. They smiled and posed and I snapped ...

Read story

“The Mammoth” by Andrew Audibert

Submitted to Contest #144

Jen breathed in and exhaled halfway, slowly, her finger resting on the shutter-release button. At this distance, at this amount of zoom, even the lens’s vibration reduction would do little to prevent some motion blur. To compensate for her unsteady hand, she set her shutter speed to 1/300. To compensate for the shorter shutter duration, she lowered her f-stop to 5.6 and brought her ISO up to 400. The light meter read dead center. Then she stood still for ten seconds, waiting. She released her breath, lowered the camera, and shook her arms, c...

Read story

“The Photograph” by Kyla Anonymous

Submitted to Contest #144

"Looks Good," said Willis as he took the picture of his newborn baby niece. Willis was an aspiring photographer who was just starting his career. "You took way too many pictures," Marissa said, laughing as she looked lovingly at her baby. You can never take too many pictures. We might need them someday," he replied jokingly. Marissa put the baby to bed, and they quietly walked downstairs. They walked into the kitchen and sat down. “Have you heard anything from Brad?” Willis said sadly. Brad was Marissa’s ex-boyfriend, who had left when she b...

Read story

“One Photograph at a Time” by Cathleen Callahan

Submitted to Contest #144

One Photograph at a Time I was nearly ten-years-old when I saw the first photograph of my mother. She had died four years earlier and since then, I hadn’t seen her face. I was forgetting what she looked like. The photo was of her in a white satin wedding gown. And as I looked into her soft eyes, brown hair tucked under her lace veil, I could almost hear her voice, feel her touch. This one photo had brought my mother back to me. Prior to that all traces of my mom had been “snuffed out” in a blink of an...

Read story

“Shh Don't Tell Anyone” by Annette C

Submitted to Contest #144

Dear Reader, I have a secret to tell everyone. It could seem as though I am crazy, but I will give examples of my findings. I would also appreciate it if you tell no one about my findings because then I will be forced into an insane asylum. I will commence my telling. A few years ago I was given a camera, and not long after that camera’s digital imprint was copied into all cell phones. They said it was to drastically improve photo resolution. Little did they know that I had insider information on how that was possible. These scientists...

Read story

“A Disagreeable Woman” by Kay Myranda

Submitted to Contest #144

CW/TW: This story contains subject matter pertaining to sexual assault, substance abuse, and suicideTwenty-eight started with a photo. Not like the pictures you see on Instagram of sequin-donned birthday girls flanked by 2 or 3 equally sparkly friends, all celebrating with hard seltzers or brightly colored, sickly sweet mixed drinks. Smiles and silly faces in abundance, you can almost hear the mediocre club music pounding in the background. No, well…maybe earlier in the night…definitely earlier in the night. But, no, this wasn’t one of ...

Read story

“Ohi’a Lehua” by Craig Westmore

Submitted to Contest #144

According to Hawaiian legend, the Volcano goddess, Pele, fell in love with a young man named Ohi’a. She tried to flirt with the handsome man but he rejected her. He was already in love with a young woman named Lehua. No one ever refused Pele and in a fit of jealousy, she turned Ohi’a into a tree. Lehua was devastated by the transformation and remained inconsolable. The other gods took pity on Lehua. They turned her into a flower and placed her on the tree of her lover. Hawaiians believe when someone plucks a flower from the Ohi’a Lehua tree,...

Read story

“Hazel's Secret” by Tammy Berry-Castleman

Submitted to Contest #144

The phone jarred the interior of the cabin early afternoon that Spring day in 2018. Sara Lou was unprepared for the news. The woman spoke in a voice that was unknown, yet vaguely familiar. Sara Lou had to sit down.The call took Sara Lou back in time to sweltering childhood days in brambly green pastures surrounded by swamp. Time stopped and lightening bugs danced around immense Cypress trees in the balmy dusk. A mysterious journey, whisperings, and the deepest of family secrets. It all started swirling back to her as if in a dream. But she w...

Read story

“Through my eyes” by Jessamie R.

Submitted to Contest #144

Dappled sunlight glistens off dew speckled petals and the shimmering jewels of the bride’s tiara. They laugh, the sound tinkling in the warm air as the groom catches his love in his arms, lifting her off the ground and spinning around. I shift the lens, snapping candid shots whilst the caterers prepare the meal in the nearby marquee. The bride and groom are a stunning couple, eyes for no one but each other. Children run about, flouting the frantic tutting of their parents as their pristine outfits crease just that little bit more with ...

Read story

“Treasure in A Photo” by Elizabeth Lee

Submitted to Contest #144

Stomp. Crush. Stomp. Crunch. A dreadful march to our doom. There's no way in and no way out Of this place our nightmares call Home. "You said it would take an hour." she grumbles under her breath. You sigh in defeat, weary of the antics and the crying and the tantrums. There was no way to know exactly how long the hike up the mountainside would take or guarantee this was the right place to be hiking. The map was cryptic, old and hand drawn by a schizophrenic treasure hunter after years of isolation. Or, that's what the woman t...

Read story

“Lilacs in The Garden with Snow” by Bridget Meier

Submitted to Contest #144

I have seen a lot of things through the eyes of inanimate objects. Snakes minding their own business slithering across sidewalks in Florida, geckos lounging on the sides of buildings in Florida, and cacti in Arizona. Finally, I have seen snow. Photography can put you in a lot of different places when your business is a large one…My business isn’t large. My business still struggles to not be late and pay for travel. My business is all of Orlando, half of Tallahassee, and two towns in Arizona. Now, my business is in Peoria, Illinois. My ...

Read story

“From This Day Forward” by Rochelle Miller

Submitted to Contest #144

Warning: some profanity There is magic in capturing a moment forever. It can live outside and independent of the individual memory. Yet, those reminders often end up being housed and stored away within books, secured by cellophane pages, and trimmed in ribbon and lace. Because of what happened, we never had a ceremony making promises to one another before our friends and the Lord. We vowed to each other that our relationship was a celebration in itself; we didn't need the "show" to validate our love. The moments I have shared wit...

Read story

Load more stories

$250

Prize money

192

Contest entries

114

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - May 06, 2022 EST

Won by Rebekah Jordan 🏆

Title: Unseen

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

Explore more writing prompt ideas:

Adults Writing Prompts ⭢

Adventure Writing Prompts ⭢

Angst Writing Prompts ⭢

Character Writing Prompts ⭢

Christmas Writing Prompts ⭢

Dark Writing Prompts ⭢

Dialogue Writing Prompts ⭢

Dramatic Writing Prompts ⭢

Dystopian Writing Prompts ⭢

Fall Writing Prompts ⭢

Fantasy Writing Prompts ⭢

Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Fluff Writing Prompts ⭢

Funny Writing Prompts ⭢

Halloween Writing Prompts ⭢

High School Writing Prompts ⭢

Historical Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Holiday Writing Prompts ⭢

Horror Writing Prompts ⭢

Kids Writing Prompts ⭢

Middle School Writing Prompts ⭢

Mystery Writing Prompts ⭢

Narrative Writing Prompts ⭢

Nonfiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Novel Writing Prompts ⭢

Poetry Writing Prompts ⭢

Romance Writing Prompts ⭢

Sad Writing Prompts ⭢

Science Fiction Writing Prompts ⭢

Short Story Writing Prompts ⭢

Spring Writing Prompts ⭢

Summer Writing Prompts ⭢

Teens Writing Prompts ⭢

Thanksgiving Writing Prompts ⭢

Thriller and Suspense Writing Prompts ⭢

Valentine's Day Writing Prompts ⭢

Vampire Writing Prompts ⭢

Winter Writing Prompts ⭢