Photography Merit Badge History

Earned through 2020590,968

Best year199336,389 earned

All-time popularity#65official, as of 2020#61by 2025 (estimate)

Earned by Year

First earned in 1912. Peak year 1993 with 36,389. Hover over or tap a year for its numbers.

19110 earned

19129 earned#40 of 51

191315 earned#43 of 56

191446 earned#44 of 58

191528 earned#47 of 58

191614 earned#51 of 56

191776 earned#41 of 58

191861 earned#45 of 58

1919169 earned#45 of 59

192078 earned#53 of 59

1921168 earned#54 of 61

1922193 earned#55 of 61

1923261 earned#52 of 63

1924343 earned#48 of 64

1925319 earned#51 of 64

1926727 earned#51 of 65

19271,311 earned#48 of 68

19283,836 earned#37 of 88

19291,614 earned#52 of 89

19302,889 earned#39 of 92

19313,696 earned#40 of 96

19323,198 earned#39 of 98

19333,301 earned#41 of 101

19342,991 earned#41 of 101

19353,284 earned#45 of 101

19363,072 earned#37 of 101

19373,131 earned#37 of 102

19385,589 earned#29 of 105

19394,718 earned#32 of 106

19403,834 earned#42 of 106

19412,927 earned#46 of 106

19422,424 earned#48 of 110

19432,161 earned#56 of 112

19442,090 earned#61 of 111

19451,799 earned#67 of 111

19462,458 earned#54 of 111

19473,378 earned#42 of 111

19483,533 earned#38 of 111

19493,412 earned#43 of 111

19503,510 earned#48 of 111

19513,478 earned#53 of 111

19523,452 earned#58 of 120

19533,461 earned#52 of 105

19543,711 earned#54 of 103

19553,756 earned#54 of 100

19563,492 earned#58 of 100

19573,438 earned#58 of 100

19583,700 earned#60 of 101

19593,439 earned#62 of 101

19604,006 earned#63 of 100

19614,131 earned#61 of 101

19623,914 earned#61 of 101

19633,847 earned#60 of 102

19643,844 earned#61 of 107

19654,057 earned#60 of 109

19664,174 earned#59 of 110

19674,419 earned#59 of 112

19684,177 earned#59 of 112

19694,606 earned#61 of 113

19704,984 earned#59 of 113

19715,032 earned#59 of 113

19725,522 earned#67 of 124

19735,927 earned#66 of 122

197410,193 earned#61 of 121

19758,755 earned#62 of 128

19768,616 earned#61 of 130

19777,370 earned#59 of 130

19787,596 earned#57 of 131

19795,637 earned#59 of 132

19803,505 earned#62 of 132

19815,460 earned#57 of 134

1982No data available

1983No data available

1984No data available

1985No data available

1986No data available

1987No data available

1988No data available

1989No data available

1990No data available

1991No data available

1992No data available

199336,389 earned#20 of 123

1994No data available

1995No data available

19964,167 earned#74 of 134

1997No data available

1998No data available

1999No data available

20006,106 earned#69 of 128

20016,266 earned#63 of 129

20028,409 earned#58 of 129

20038,345 earned#57 of 130

20049,230 earned#55 of 121

20059,302 earned#53 of 121

200610,448 earned#48 of 121

200712,447 earned#45 of 121

200814,429 earned#42 of 121

200917,543 earned#39 of 122

201017,479 earned#35 of 125

201118,042 earned#35 of 129

201218,879 earned#32 of 132

201317,800 earned#26 of 129

201417,804 earned#33 of 136

201516,931 earned#34 of 138

201615,142 earned#36 of 138

201713,550 earned#39 of 139

201814,161 earned#36 of 139

201914,057 earned#36 of 139

202011,618 earned#18 of 137

2021No data available#33 of 137

2022No data available#32 of 138

2023No data available#31 of 138

2024No data available#26 of 138

2025No data available#27 of 141

Known count No data available

"—" means merit badges were earned that year but the exact number is not currently known. "#27 of 141" means the badge was number 27 of the 141 merit badges earned that year. National counts have not been published since 2020, but the rankings have. The grand total comes from official reports and includes the years without a known count. The 2025 all-time place is an estimate, because the counts for 2021 to 2025 are worked out from each year's official ranking and the total number of merit badges earned that year.

19110none earned

19129#40 of 51

191315#43 of 56

191446#44 of 58

191528#47 of 58

191614#51 of 56

191776#41 of 58

191861#45 of 58

1919169#45 of 59

192078#53 of 59

1921168#54 of 61

1922193#55 of 61

1923261#52 of 63

1924343#48 of 64

1925319#51 of 64

1926727#51 of 65

19271,311#48 of 68

19283,836#37 of 88

19291,614#52 of 89

19302,889#39 of 92

19313,696#40 of 96

19323,198#39 of 98

19333,301#41 of 101

19342,991#41 of 101

19353,284#45 of 101

19363,072#37 of 101

19373,131#37 of 102

19385,589#29 of 105

19394,718#32 of 106

19403,834#42 of 106

19412,927#46 of 106

19422,424#48 of 110

19432,161#56 of 112

19442,090#61 of 111

19451,799#67 of 111

19462,458#54 of 111

19473,378#42 of 111

19483,533#38 of 111

19493,412#43 of 111

19503,510#48 of 111

19513,478#53 of 111

19523,452#58 of 120

19533,461#52 of 105

19543,711#54 of 103

19553,756#54 of 100

19563,492#58 of 100

19573,438#58 of 100

19583,700#60 of 101

19593,439#62 of 101

19604,006#63 of 100

19614,131#61 of 101

19623,914#61 of 101

19633,847#60 of 102

19643,844#61 of 107

19654,057#60 of 109

19664,174#59 of 110

19674,419#59 of 112

19684,177#59 of 112

19694,606#61 of 113

19704,984#59 of 113

19715,032#59 of 113

19725,522#67 of 124

19735,927#66 of 122

197410,193#61 of 121

19758,755#62 of 128

19768,616#61 of 130

19777,370#59 of 130

19787,596#57 of 131

19795,637#59 of 132

19803,505#62 of 132

19815,460#57 of 134

1982—

1983—

1984—

1985—

1986—

1987—

1988—

1989—

1990—

1991—

1992—

199336,389#20 of 123

1994—

1995—

19964,167#74 of 134

1997—

1998—

1999—

20006,106#69 of 128

20016,266#63 of 129

20028,409#58 of 129

20038,345#57 of 130

20049,230#55 of 121

20059,302#53 of 121

200610,448#48 of 121

200712,447#45 of 121

200814,429#42 of 121

200917,543#39 of 122

201017,479#35 of 125

201118,042#35 of 129

201218,879#32 of 132

201317,800#26 of 129

201417,804#33 of 136

201516,931#34 of 138

201615,142#36 of 138

201713,550#39 of 139

201814,161#36 of 139

201914,057#36 of 139

202011,618#18 of 137

2021—#33 of 137

2022—#32 of 138

2023—#31 of 138

2024—#26 of 138

2025—#27 of 141

Grand total through 2020:

This page keeps growing. More of this badge's history, including its patches and pamphlets, is being checked and will be added once it is confirmed.

Photography: workbook data

Printings (105)

Have	Year	Month	Cover	Back	Run	©	BSA #	UPC	SKU	SA #	HC	Notes
x	1920		1C									hb 20th edition reference
c	1920		2									20c Radio
	1921	not made
	1922	not made
	1923		2
x	1924		2
	1924		3A									with pasted 1925 requirements
x	1925		3A
x	1926		3A
x	1927		3A
c	1928		3B
x	1928		3B									with pasted 1929 requirements
	1929	August	3B
x	1930	March	3B
c	1930	April	3B
x	1930	May	3B
x	1931	May	3B
x	1932	October	3B		2M
	1933	not made
x	1934	June	3B		1M
x	1935	January	3B		1M							these are pasted in requirements but it does not appear that there was a previous printing underneath
x	1935	August	3B		2M							these are pasted in requirements but it does not appear that there was a previous printing underneath
	1936	not made
x	1937	January	3C		2M
x	1938	March	3C		2M
x	1938	November	3C		2M
x	1939	July	3D		3M
	1940	not made
	1941	April	3D		3M
x	1941	April	4	back-4	3M	1937	3334
x	1942	May	4		2M
x	1943	July	4		3M
c	1944	July	5A		1M
x	1945	January	5B		3M
x	1945	December	5B		2M
x	1946	March	5B		3M
x	1947	February	5B		4M
	1948	January	5B		9M
x	1948	April	5B		3M
x	1949	January	5B		4M
x	1950	January	5B		4M
x	1951	February	5B		4M							does not have a complete code (400025)
x	1952	February	5B		4M
x	1953	January	6A		3M
	1953	May	6A		3M
x	1953	December	6A		4M
x	1954	May	6A		2M
x	1954	September	6A		2M
x	1954	December	6A		7M	1943
	1955	not made
x	1956	March	6A		10M	1956					HCJV1
x	1956	September	6B		8M	1956
x	1957	April	6B		12M	1956
x	1958	December	6B		9M	1956
	1959	not made
x	1960	March	6B		9M	1956					HCJV2
x	1960	October	6B		10M	1956					HCJV2
x	1961	August	6B		10M	1956					HCJ
	1962	not made
x	1963	January	6B		9M	1956					HCP
x	1963	December	6B		9M	1956
x	1964	September	6B		10M	1956
x	1965	August	6B		2.5M	1956					HCL, HCP
x	1966	October	7A		10M	1956
x	1967	November	7A		10M	1956					HCL
x	1968	July	7A		12M	1956
x	1969	May	7A		12M	1956					HCL
x	1970	August	7A		12M						HCM
x	1971	November	7B		13M	1971					HCM
x	1972	December	8A		15M	1971
x	1973	November	8A		15M	1971					HCT
x	1974	November	8A		10M	1971
x	1975	September	8		10M	1971
x	1976	July	8B		10M	1971
x	1977	July	8B		9.5M
x	1978	November	8B		9M
x	1979	December	9A		5.5M
	1980	not made
x	1981	March	9A		7M
x	1982	March	9A		7M
x	1983	March	9B		7M	1983
x	1984	January	9B		7M	1983
x	1984	November	9B		7M	1983
x	1985	December	9B		7M	1983
x	1986	August	9B		7M	1983
x	1987	September	9B		7M	1983
x	1988	August	9B		7M	1983
x	1989	August	9B		7.5M	1983
x	1990	August	9B		7.5M	1983
x	1991	December	9B		7M	1983
	1992	not made
x	1993	April	9B		6M	1983
x	1994	June	9B		6M	1983
x	1995	July	9		6M	1983
x	1996	April	9C		6.3M
x	1997	September	9C
x	1998		9
	1999	not made
	2000	not made
x	2001		9C
x	2002		9C
x	2003		9C
x	2004		9
x	2005		9D-1			2005
x	2006		9D-1			2005
x	2007		9D-2			2005
x	2008		10A			2005
x	2009		10B
x	2010		10C
x	2011		10C
	2012	not made
x	2013		10C
x	2014		10C
	2015	not made
x	2016		10C
	2017	not made
	2018	not made
x	2019		10D
x	2020		10D
	2021	not made
x	2022		10D
	2023	not made
x	2024		10D			2016	35930	730176351452	655192	300062768
	2025	not made

Earned and rank by year

Year	Earned	Rank	Of
1911	0
1912	9	40	51
1913	15	43	56
1914	46	44	58
1915	28	47	58
1916	14	51	56
1917	76	41	58
1918	61	45	58
1919	169	45	59
1920	78	53	59
1921	168	54	61
1922	193	55	61
1923	261	52	63
1924	343	48	64
1925	319	51	64
1926	727	51	65
1927	1,311	48	68
1928	3,836	37	88
1929	1,614	52	89
1930	2,889	39	92
1931	3,696	40	96
1932	3,198	39	98
1933	3,301	41	101
1934	2,991	41	101
1935	3,284	45	101
1936	3,072	37	101
1937	3,131	37	102
1938	5,589	29	105
1939	4,718	32	106
1940	3,834	42	106
1941	2,927	46	106
1942	2,424	48	110
1943	2,161	56	112
1944	2,090	61	111
1945	1,799	67	111
1946	2,458	54	111
1947	3,378	42	111
1948	3,533	38	111
1949	3,412	43	111
1950	3,510	48	111
1951	3,478	53	111
1952	3,452	58	120
1953	3,461	52	105
1954	3,711	54	103
1955	3,756	54	100
1956	3,492	58	100
1957	3,438	58	100
1958	3,700	60	101
1959	3,439	62	101
1960	4,006	63	100
1961	4,131	61	101
1962	3,914	61	101
1963	3,847	60	102
1964	3,844	61	107
1965	4,057	60	109
1966	4,174	59	110
1967	4,419	59	112
1968	4,177	59	112
1969	4,606	61	113
1970	4,984	59	113
1971	5,032	59	113
1972	5,522	67	124
1973	5,927	66	122
1974	10,193	61	121
1975	8,755	62	128
1976	8,616	61	130
1977	7,370	59	130
1978	7,596	57	131
1979	5,637	59	132
1980	3,505	62	132
1981	5,460	57	134
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993	36,389	20	123
1994
1995
1996	4,167	74	134
1997
1998
1999
2000	6,106	69	128
2001	6,266	63	129
2002	8,409	58	129
2003	8,345	57	130
2004	9,230	55	121
2005	9,302	53	121
2006	10,448	48	121
2007	12,447	45	121
2008	14,429	42	121
2009	17,543	39	122
2010	17,479	35	125
2011	18,042	35	129
2012	18,879	32	132
2013	17,800	26	129
2014	17,804	33	136
2015	16,931	34	138
2016	15,142	36	138
2017	13,550	39	139
2018	14,161	36	139
2019	14,057	36	139
2020	11,618	18	137
2021		33	137
2022		32	138
2023		31	138
2024		26	138
2025		27	141