Two students from Bulahdelah Central School have made the finals of the 2019 Moran Contemporary Photographic Prize.
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Raylee Kierans' photo was selected as a finalist in the Year 9 - 10 division while a photo by Olivia Evans was selected for the Year 11 - 12 division.
Raylee now stands to win $3000 if her photo is selected as the winner while Olivia stands to win $5000.
Bulahdelah Central will also be awarded money to go towards the development of arts at the school if either student wins.
Head teacher of humanities, Vanessa Schultz, said the announcement was very exciting.
"It's an amazing achievement for two young girls from a small school like Bulahdelah," she said.
Raylee admitted she was shocked when she found out she'd made the final, but believed she was in with a chance of winning because of the natural style of her photo.
"It's different from all the others," she said.
"It wasn't setup."
The Year 9 student took the photo of her two friends Tom and Jarrad on her iPhone 8+ earlier this year.
"I thought it looked cool with the reflection and just took it," she admitted.
She said her dad had introduced her to photography when she was little and she'd maintained an interest in it ever since.
Interestingly, she took the photo before she started the school photography subject, but was encouraged by teacher Tara Smith to enter it into the competition.
Mrs Schultz said the students were lucky to have a photography teacher as experienced as Ms Smith, and believed she was a big factor in the subject being so popular at the school.
A number of other Bulahdelah Central students did well in the Moran Prize, with Lara Bouskill, Kalani Minns, Amia Murphy and Lana Pringle making the semi-finals.
The winners of the prestigious prize will be announced on May 7 and both Raylee's and Olivia's photos will feature as a part of an exhibition at Juniper Hall in Sydney.