Transportation officials and railroad companies are sounding a warning: Active railroad tracks are a bad backdrop for prom pictures or selfies.

With the season for graduations and prom portraits underway, North Carolina's transportation and public school agencies this month are urging high school yearbook staff advisers to reject student photos taken on or near railroad tracks. They're emphasizing that railroad selfies can be as dangerous as stopping for a snap in the middle of an interstate or airport runway.

Paul Worley is rail division director at North Carolina's Transportation Department. He says if you trespass on railroad tracks "you put your life at risk." He and other officials are urging photographers, school administrators and parents "to educate students about the potential danger of taking photos on railroad tracks."