Photo Guidelines for Explora Photographers

Account & Login

Photographers can log in or register on Explora in two simple ways. Existing photographers can use the same login options to access their account.

Once logged in, you can update your profile, submit new photos, check pending submissions, and manage your published photos.

What Kind of Photos Are Accepted?

Explora accepts original photos that show Mauritius in a meaningful way. The photo does not have to be a perfect postcard. A quiet village road, a cloudy mountain, a fisherman at sunrise, a wild beach, a festival, a waterfall or a small everyday scene can all work beautifully.

Important note about people in photos: Explora is not intended for portrait photography or photos where a person is the main subject. Photos focused mainly on one person or a small group of people may not be accepted, especially close-up portraits, posed portraits, children, private moments or images where people are clearly identifiable without proper context.

People may appear in a photo when they are part of the wider scene. For example, a silhouette walking on a beach, fishermen in the distance, visitors in a landscape, people at a public event, or small human figures that help show scale may be acceptable. The main subject should still be Mauritius, the place, the landscape, the activity or the atmosphere — not the individual person.

Photo Quality Guidelines

Please upload photos that are clear, well-composed and useful for visitors discovering Mauritius. A photo does not need to look over-polished, but it should feel intentional.

• Make sure the photo is sharp enough and properly focused.
• Check that the horizon is straight, especially for sea and beach photos.
• Crop only when needed; avoid cutting important subjects awkwardly.
• Keep exposure natural, with enough detail in shadows and highlights.
• Avoid photos that are too dark, too noisy, too compressed or visibly pixelated.
• Do not upload screenshots, heavily filtered images, memes or social-media graphics.

File Requirements

To keep photos sharp and fast-loading, please follow these file recommendations before uploading.

Photo Editing Guidelines

Basic editing is fine. In fact, it often helps. But the final image should still look natural and honest to the place.

• You may adjust brightness, contrast, saturation, sharpness and white balance.
• You may crop or straighten the image if needed.
• Avoid extreme HDR, over-saturation, unnatural skies or colours that misrepresent the scene.
• Do not add fake objects, fake skies, fake wildlife or misleading elements.
• Do not add borders, promotional text, logos or large signatures.

Avoid Uploading Similar Photos

Please do not submit several photos that are almost the same. For example, ten shots of the same beach taken from the same angle within a few seconds will not help visitors much.

Choose the strongest version. If you have multiple images of the same place, submit them only if they clearly show different compositions, weather, light, subject, viewpoint or story.

Titles & Descriptions Are Required

Every submitted photo needs a proper title and description. These help visitors understand the image, and they also help Google understand what the photo page is about.

Explora reserves the right to amend titles, descriptions and related information when needed, especially to improve clarity, accuracy, visitor experience and SEO. The photo will still remain credited to the photographer.

Choosing Tags

Tags work like categories. They help visitors find photos by place, subject, activity or style.

• Choose tags that genuinely match the photo.
• Do not add unrelated tags just to get more visibility.
• Use location tags when the place is clear.
• Use subject tags when the main topic is obvious, such as beach, waterfall, bird, boat or mountain.
• If you are unsure, choose fewer accurate tags rather than many weak ones.

Copyright & Ownership

Only upload photos you own or have full permission to publish. Do not upload images copied from other websites, social media, stock libraries or another photographer.

You keep the copyright to your photos. By uploading to Explora, you give Explora permission to display your photo on the platform, promote it as part of the Explora project, and credit it to your photographer profile.

Do not copy-paste descriptions from other websites. Write your own short description. It is better, cleaner, and safer.

Watermarks, Signatures & Text

Explora automatically credits photos to the photographer, so watermarks are not necessary. Large watermarks, logos, borders, promotional text or visible signatures can distract visitors and may prevent approval.

Small, discreet signatures may be tolerated in some cases, but clean images without added text are strongly preferred.

Approval Process

Submitted photos are reviewed before publication. This helps maintain quality and keeps Explora useful for visitors.

• Most photos are reviewed within 1 to 3 working days.
• If information is missing, approval may take longer.
• If a photo is rejected, the reason may be shown or sent to you.
• You can edit and resubmit when appropriate.

Photos may be rejected for quality issues, missing information, duplicate/similar uploads, copyright concerns, unsuitable content, misleading edits or lack of relevance to Mauritius.

After Your Photo Is Published

Once approved, your photo appears on Explora with credit to your photographer profile. It may also appear in photo listings, tag pages, search results, related photos, popular photos, latest photos, and selected editorial sections.

You can manage your profile, update your information, and remove photos if needed. If you find a mistake or need help, please contact Explora.

Quick Submission Checklist

• The photo is yours.
• The photo is about Mauritius.
• The image is sharp, clean and properly exposed.
• The file respects the upload requirements.
• There is no large watermark, border or added text.
• You have added a useful title.
• You have written a clear description.
• You have selected accurate tags.
• You are not submitting several nearly identical photos.
• If people appear in the photo, they are not the main subject unless the image clearly shows a public scene, activity or wider Mauritius context.

Ready to share your work? Submit a photo.