COMPETITION RULES
You should also read the article on Preparing Competition Images additional information on submitting images for competition.
GENERAL COMPETITION REQUIREMENTS AND ELIGIBILITY
All members are eligible to enter competitions. The photographer must have shot all images submitted for competition. Class B and Class A competitors may use a lab to make prints, providing that there is no further manipulation. Members competing in Class M must print their own images.
A member may enter a maximum of one projected image, one monochrome print and one color print in each monthly competition. A photographer may not submit the same image in projected image, monochrome print or color print formats in the same monthly competition. All images for a given month, whether projected or print, must be different.
The subject for each monthly competition is either open or a special topic. The special topics alternate with the open subjects and are listed on the Competition Topics.
An image that has placed first, second or third in a monthly club competition is not eligible for re-entry in any future monthly club competition regardless of changes in media, cropping, orientation, processing or title. If the photographer has taken other similar exposures of the same scene, these images are considered duplicates of the winning image and are not eligible for competition.
CATEGORIES
Monochrome Prints
An image is considered to be Monochrome only if it gives the impression of having no color (i.e. contains only shades of gray which can include pure black and pure white) OR it gives the impression of being a grayscale image that has been toned in one color across the entire image. (For example by Sepia, red, gold, etc.) A grayscale or multi-colored image modified or giving the impression of having been modified by partial toning, multi-toning or by the inclusion of spot coloring does not meet the definition of monochrome and shall be classified as a Color Print.
Color Prints
Any print that doesn’t meet the definition of a Monochrome Print as defined above may be entered as a Color Print.
Projected Images
Projected images are submitted in digital format only. The source may be from a digital camera or from a scanned negative, slide or print. See instructions for preparing and submitting images on the Preparing Contest Images page.
COMPETITION CLASSES
- Beginner photographer (B)
- Advanced photographer (A)
- Master photographers (M)
NEW MEMBERS
New members may begin in either Beginner or Advanced Class when they first enter competitions. Once the class is chosen, the photographer is expected to remain in that class for the rest of the club year.
ANNUAL REVIEW OF CLASSIFICATION
After the last competition of the year is judged in March, the Print and Projected Image Chairpersons review results of the year’s competitions and submit recommendations for member advancement to the Executive Committee. Recommendations for advancement are based on the photographer’s consistent production of high quality work as evidenced by average score and winning record in monthly competitions. Final approval is by the Executive Committee.
ADVANCEMENT
The club Executive Committee may recommend that certain photographers move from Beginner Class to Advanced Class at the end of the competition year. A member who is recommended for advancement may choose to remain in Beginner Class for one additional year, and must advance the following year. A Beginner may choose to participate in the Advanced class at the start of the new competition year even if a recommendation is not offered by the Executive Committee.
Advancement to Masters is by invitation only. The Executive Committee annually reviews and approves worthy photographers for advancement from Advanced Class to Master Class. These recommendations are announced at our Annual Awards Banquet in April each year. A member recommended for advancement to Master Class may choose to remain in Advanced Class until recommended again for advancement.
JUDGING AND AWARDS
The competition chairpersons will select photographers from outside the club to judge entries. The judges are asked to evaluate images based on impact, composition and technical merit. Competition scores may range from 65 – 100 based on the general criteria below. A score of 75 is considered to be a good image.
95 - 100: Exceptional
90 - 94: Superior
85 - 89: Excellent
80 - 84: Commendable
75 - 79: Above Average
70 - 74: Average
65 - 69: Below Standard
Judges are asked to consider the following when scoring an image.
Impact – the sense one gets upon viewing an image for the first time. Compelling images evoke laughter, sadness, anger, pride, wonder or another intense emotion.
Composition – important to the design of an image, bringing all the visual elements together in concert to express the purpose of the image.
Technique – the approach used to create the image. Printing, lighting, posing, capture, presentation media, and more are part of the technique applied to the image.
Certificates are awarded to the winners in each class and category. There is only one award for each place; however, it is possible that an honorable mention, a third or even a second place may not be awarded.
HIGH POINTS AWARDS
High Point Awards are presented to those photographers who have the highest total scores in each class and category for the May through February Competition Year. The high point total is the sum of their 10 highest scores from the 10 monthly competitions for the competition year. If a member fails to turn in an image in any monthly competition, he or she will receive a zero for that month. First, Second and Third Place High Point Awards are presented at the Annual Awards Banquet in April.
IMAGE OF THE YEAR COMPETITION
Images placing 1st, 2nd or 3rd in any category and class in a monthly competition, are eligible for Print or Projected Image of the Year awards. Members with winning images are encouraged to make them available to the Print or Projected Image Chairpersons for the Image of the Year competition. Any photographer not wishing his or her images to be entered should contact the Print and/or Projected Image Chairpersons. Eligible prints are submitted for judging at the first meeting in March. First, Second and Third Place awards for Image of the Year in each class and category are presented at the Annual Awards Banquet in April.
NUDE PHOTO POLICY
Photographs of nudes are not accepted in any competition or contest held by the Dallas Camera Club. The Print or Projected Image Chairs may also disqualify other photos on the grounds of distastefulness.
DIGITAL IMAGING POLICY
Digital imaging is defined as any manner of creating images directly with a digital camera, scanning images and/or digitally processing images with or without additional digital manipulation to produce a single image. All elements of the final image and any digital manipulation performed on such images must be totally of the submitter’s own creative efforts and may not embody, in any form, digital imagery derived from other sources.
Projected images and prints generated using digital techniques shall be judged based on the content of the image, not the process by which it was created. Digital images may be submitted in all categories and classes of competition.
WATERMARKS
Images should not have any identifying information that is visible on the image or mat, such as watermarks, signatures, logos, etc.
ACCEPTANCE OF RULES
Submission of prints or projected images in a club competition implies acceptance of all of these Competition Rules.
ESTABLISHMENT AND CHANGE OF RULES
These rules were established and approved by the Executive Committee and are subject to change by the Executive Committee as warranted.