General
Competitions are open to members only and will be either Projected Image (PI) or Print competitions. There are also league and non-league categories for each. Non-league will have a set subject or theme. Several of the non-league competitions reward the winner with a trophy (presented at the end of the season).
Print competitions may be designated as Colour, Mono or either. Home and trade processed prints are eligible and no distinction is made between them. Prints are brought along on the evening of the competition by 7:45pm, but must also be pre-registered – see Print and PI Submission section.
Competition Leagues
The league has a total of 12 images/prints across 3 rounds. League positions will be determined from the 9 best results for each member. Note, during COVID print competitions were suspended and are returning gradually to the 3 rounds level. 2023-24 will have 2 rounds (total of 8 prints) and the 2024-25 will return to the full 3 rounds. The print league for 2023-24 will take the best 6 scores.
Entries, which achieve first, second or third place in any one round, may not be resubmitted.
An image/print, or part of that image, entered in any of the club's competitions can be re-entered if it fails to get a place on the first showing. No image/print can be entered more than twice. Only one image/print from a sequence can be entered in a competition in any one season. (A sequence is a set of images taken within a short space of time and are very similar in composition and lighting.)
Prints
Print entries must be mounted, titled and bear the photographer's name on the back. These MUST NOT appear on the front. Most Inter-Federation competitions and exhibitions require prints to be mounted on a 40 x 50 sq. cms board. Any size of board is acceptable for club competitions up to this size.
Marking
Judges will be asked to mark out of 20. In the event of two or more entries achieving the same score and being potentially in the top three positions, the Judge will be asked to choose first, second and third place.
Print of the year & Projected Image of the year
Prints and Images that score above a threshold throughout the year in league and non-league competitions will be entered into the Print of Year (PoY) and Project Image of the year (PIoY) competitions. The threshold will be set based on how generous the judges have been with their marks during the season, but is typically 19 and above. At the committee’s discretion members without and entry in this grouping may also be invited to submit their considered best image/print submitted during the season.