Congratulations to Vincent Hsiao, a Ladue Horton Watkins High School (LHWHS) junior, for being named one of eight winners in the 2025 St. Louis Public Radio (STLPR) Teen Photojournalist Prize contest!

Vincent’s striking photo, which earned Best Portrait in the competition, features Karan Vatwani standing beside his bike inside the St. Louis Rowing Club boathouse at Creve Coeur Lake in Maryland Heights, Missouri. It captures the spirit of the triathlete and the energy of sport powerfully and artistically.

This marks the second consecutive year Vincent has been honored by STLPR. In 2024, he won Best Sports Feature for a photo of Ladue softball players celebrating a win over rival Clayton. 

“It’s a pleasure to have won a category in the STLPR Teen Photojournalist Prize for the second year in a row,” Vincent said. “Joining the Yearbook Club in sixth grade, I found that I could use photography to document moments of my classmates to publish in the yearbook. I later discovered that I could expand on this idea of visual storytelling through the high school journalism program.”

Vincent serves as Photography Editor in Chief for Ladue Publications, leading the school’s visual journalism efforts. His journey in photography began in sixth grade, when he picked up his dad’s 2007 Canon Powershot and began experimenting during the pandemic through online tutorials and self-study. 

“My dad has owned several basic consumer cameras over the years, but never did anything too serious or professional with photography—neither has anyone in my family,” he explained. “Over the pandemic and virtual learning, I read over the manual and started to watch video tutorials on camera settings and fundamentals. This, combined with noticing professional photographers with their big cameras capturing photos at various events, such as Cardinals games, really piqued my interest, and I just kept moving forward with it.”

By the time he entered high school, Vincent was already photographing sports from the stands—sometimes sneaking down to the field for a closer shot. “One game, I even got onto the field, sneaking past Ms. Takami, so I could get close up to the game action and shoot beside the high schoolers. Little would I know, I would meet these photographers, seniors working on the Rambler yearbook staff, the following August,” he recalled.

He formally joined Ladue Publications as a freshman through an independent study block and quickly impressed his peers and advisers. “After shooting photos at my first few events as a freshman, I think the staff was very impressed by my work,” he said. “Mrs. Kirksey recalls when the yearbook staff were asking who I was and how I got that shot.”

Now in his third year on staff and second year in the editorial role, Vincent oversees a team of photographers. At the same time, he continues to shoot major events—from homecoming to prom to sports and student life features. 

A clear sense of purpose guides Vincent as he manages many roles, such as captain of the LHWHS swim team, public relations co-chair of the National Honor Society, freelance sports photographer for MaxPreps, and owner/operator of his photography business.

“Balancing my various occupations quite honestly is and can be a tough challenge,” he admitted. “I believe in sacrificial success and have had to reduce my activities in other areas to achieve highly in journalism. I am motivated because my work is my learned talent and passion. As they say, ‘if you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life.’”

Vincent's photography philosophy emphasizes both ethics and authenticity. “I never alter the likeness of my images in post-production,” he said. “No Photoshop object removal, unethical cropping, or adjusting the colors and tones to something different than what the human eye sees. Instead, learning off-camera flash has helped me tremendously.”

As an STLPR Teen Photojournalist category winner, Vincent will receive a $200 Visa gift card and participate in a master class with STLPR photojournalist Brian Munoz. In addition, his winning portrait will be featured in a framed gallery exhibition and giant screen display at the Public Media Commons at St. Louis Public Radio; the exhibition will launch with a complimentary, celebratory reception at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 13. 

His accomplishments extend beyond STLPR. In April, Vincent won first place in the Feature/Portrait category of the 2025 Walsworth Yearbooks Photo Contest—his very first entry. His winning portrait of freshman Alex Zhang, a rising chess star, was among only 10 images selected out of 7,600 submissions.

Adding to his growing list of accolades within Ladue Publications, Vincent was recently named the 2025 Missouri representative for the Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference, an elite national program run by the Freedom Forum. Each year, one student journalist from every state and Washington, D.C. is selected to attend the summer conference in Washington, D.C. “ I can't wait to attend and network with high-level industry pros and make lifelong connections with my fellow scholars,” he said. “Being accepted into the program further indicates my passion for journalism and advocacy for the First Amendment as a Free Spirit.”

Vincent plans to pursue photography and journalism in college and as a career, crediting Ladue Publications with giving him a strong foundation. “I hope my time here serves as an inspiration for younger students,” he said. “My photos have spoken for themselves in showcasing the student body, but more importantly (as part of my philosophy), documenting a small slice of our school's history for future generations to look at.

Please join Ladue Schools in congratulating Vincent on these outstanding recognitions—and for using his talents to elevate student voices, document meaningful moments, and leave a lasting legacy at LHWHS.