Photo rules

Last updated: 8 November 2026

40ms is a film made of points of view. These rules are here to make a good film and to respect the people in it and around it.

The idea

Photograph what you see, not yourself. A plate, a street, a ceiling, a window, the sea. Your point of view in that minute.

Rules

1. Taken by you, in your minute. The photo must be yours and taken in the minute you chose. We check the time it was taken. If your phone doesn't record it, we may ask you to confirm.
2. No selfies and no faces in close-up. If recognisable people appear, you need their consent. A person far away, from behind or not recognisable is fine.
3. Never recognisable children, not even with parental consent.
4. No readable personal data: number plates, documents, screens with messages, addresses, phone numbers.
5. No other people's work as the subject: paintings, posters, screens showing films or videos, album covers. In the background it's not a problem.
6. No brands or logos in the foreground.
7. No violent, sexual, offensive, discriminatory or illegal content.
8. No other people's private places without permission from whoever lives or works there.
9. No added text, heavy filters or collages. The photo as you took it.
10. For a whole second: a burst of photos taken in a row within your time window, under the same rules.

Format

• Landscape works best: in the film the photo is cropped to 16:9.
• At least 1280 pixels on the long side.
• JPEG, HEIC or PNG, up to 25 MB.

How we check

Every photo is looked at by a person before it goes into the film. If it doesn't work we tell you why and you can upload another within 7 days. If you'd rather not, we refund you.

Reports

If you see a project photo that breaks these rules, or in which you recognise yourself without having agreed, write to [email protected]. We reply within 72 hours.