COMPETITION GUIDELINES

OBJECTIVE: To encourage the development of photographic skills, both technical and artistic, through competition entry for judging, critique, and discussion, through display for discussion and through the experience of being a judge.

CALENDAR / TIMES

1.         Competition nights are held the first Monday of each month from October through June.

2.         Entries, including digital entries sent by email ahead of time, must be signed inby the entrant by6:45pm to be eligible for competition.

3.         Judging begins at 7:00pm.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

1.         Members in good standing (current dues paid) may enter up to a combination of three images.

2.         No more than two images may be entered in any one category.

3.         Images may be submitted in the following formats:

a.      Slides:  slides submitted for competition must be marked with a legible dot on lower left corner when upright with your name, category, title, and skill level on the slide.

b.      Prints

·           Must be no smaller than 8 inches on a side, nor larger than  20” inches on a side.

·           Must be securely mounted on white board which may exceed size of the print.

·           Cannot be matted or framed.

·           Must have on the back of the print your name, the category (open, nature, people, assignment), the print title, the skill level (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Master).

c.       Digital images  -

·           Image files  must be submitted by e-mail to digital@tacconline.org by midnight Saturday prior to the competition.  If circumstances prevent  sending ahead of time, files may be brought to the meeting on a CD, mini data drive, or  card as long as they follow the naming convention listed below. 

·           Files should be submitted as JPGs of high quality at 1024 pixels wide by 768 pixels tall with proper sharpening for this resolution. 

·           Files should be saved with a file name in the following format:   a – ImageName – Last Name – b.jpg, with the first letter being “a” for assignment, “o” for open, “p” for people, or “n” for nature, and the last letter being the skill level designated as “b” for beginner, “i” for intermediate, “a” for advanced, or “m” for master. 

CATEGORIES

1.     Nature -  an honest presentation of a nature subject (whether animate, inanimate or a phenomena) in the realm of natural history and in its natural state.  No human elements (except rare occasion when human elements enhance the nature story).  Ineligible: people, fences, wires, jet trails, cultivated plants, roads, man-made paths, domestic animals.  Eligible: scientific bands on wild animals.  Image manipulation that changes the honest presentation of the subject is not allowed (such images should be entered in another category, such as open).  Eligible:  cropping, adjusting color to match reality (ie removing color cast or tweaking saturation), removing minor blemishes or distractions.  Ineligible:  moving an animal or object in its landscape, adding an object of any kind or use of artistic filters. 

2.        Open - Any image that does not fit one of the other  

3.        Assignment – The main subject must fit the assignment for the month. Photos entered under assignment must have been taken in the prior 12 months. We encourage members to submit entries taken specifically for the club assignment.

·            The assignment sheet will be issued in June for the coming year. 

·            All members are welcome to suggest assignment topics.

4.        People - Main subject is a person or people

5.        Show – photos that members want to show for discussion, but not for competition points.

CLASSIFICATION LEVELS OF COMPETING MEMBERS  New members may compete in either the Beginning or Intermediate class, based on their own judgment.  A member competes in their classification level until one of the following conditions occurs:

·     The individual accumulates Club Accumulated Total points:  Beginner: 60, Intermediate: 120, Advanced: 180.  Point accumulation starts over in the new classification.

·     The individual requests to be moved to the next classification (Beginners only).

·     The club competition committee recommends a transfer to the next level based on an unusual amount of skill or talent.

Beginner - Those who have little or no experience in the photographic process and/or technique. 

Intermediate - Those with a general knowledge in the photographic process and/or technique.   

Advanced - Those who have considerable experience and have demonstrated expertise in photographic techniques.   

Master – Those who have consistently demonstrated a mastery of a wide variety of photographic techniques and artistry.  Classification is for recognition of skill. Points are scored at the Advanced level.

JUDGE SELECTION  Judges will be selected on the night of the competition from the membership. Judging is part of the learning experience, and Beginners are encouraged to participate, but no more than one of the three judges should be in beginner class.   All Intermediate, Advanced, and Master participants are expected to take turns as judges.  Occasionally a guest judge may be invited to participate.

SCORING    As each image is displayed, each of the three judges will award one (1) to nine (9) points for each entry.  Five (5) points is considered to be an average score.  To achieve a score higher than 5, images must have qualities that set them apart from other images.  Any image with low impact, poor compositional elements or technical problems cannot be given a score higher than 4.  A total score of 27 is possible, but rare.  Judges are to score each image based upon the following criteria:

PLACEMENT AWARDS - Monthly competition placement awards are achieved at each classification level.

CRITIQUEING

1.         Comments by judges are given for each entry as to the positive and negative aspects which affected their scoring.  Generally, comments about the good use of technique, artistry, and/or compositional elements are made first.  Then suggestions about possible ways to improve the image are given.

2.         Following Judges’ comments, comments, questions, and information sharing from the membership are welcome as time allows.

 CLUB STANDINGS - Standings are determined at each classification level: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced and Master.  A competitor’s total of Entry, Merit, and Place points for all entries each month results in their Competition Total.  This is added to their Previous Accumulated Total to result in their Club Accumulated Total for the Club Standings.  A record of the standings is maintained by the competition chairperson and is submitted each month for publication to the newsletter chairperson.  The record sheet for Standings each month will show competitors separated into the four Classifications: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced and Master.  Points for each competitor will include Entry Points, Merit Points, Place Points, Competition Total, Previous Accumulated Total, and Club Accumulated Total since last date of joining.

1.         Entry Points - Every individual entering club competition will receive one (1) entry point.  Only one (1) entry point is possible per club competition meeting.

2.         Merit Points -   Four (4) merit points are possible per club competition meeting.

·            Beginner - All pictures receiving a score of 16 (Honorable Mention in the Beginner Classification) or more will receive one (1) merit point.

·            Intermediate - All pictures receiving a score of 18 (Honorable Mention in the Intermediate Classification) or more will receive one (1) merit point.

·            Advanced - All pictures receiving a score of 20 (Honorable Mention in the Advanced Classification) or more will receive one (1) merit point.

·            Master – All pictures receiving a score of 22 (Honorable Mention in the Master Classification) or more will receive one (1) merit point.

3.         Place Points will be given to each slide/print based upon the following:

·            First Place   -   3 points

·            Second Place-   2 points

·            Third  Place-   1 point

·            Honorable Mentions will not receive place points.

COMPETITION NIGHT TASKS:

1.         Coordinator (usually the competition chairperson)

·            Arranges for scheduling the room, setting up and cleaning up competition equipment.

·            Selects volunteers to assist: registrar, a projectionist, a print displayer, a recorder, and three judges.

·            Hosts the meeting.

·            Explains procedures.

·            Has the discretion to make changes that will move competition along if it is getting late.

·            Maintains a record of individual standings on a monthly basis.

·            Locks the building after the meeting.

2.         Entry registrar

·             Manages sign-in tables for entering images. 

·             Members are responsible for logging their images on the proper registration form

3.         Projectionist(s) 

·            Projects slides for competition and for critique.

·            Projects digital images for competition and for critique.

·            Digital projectionist provides select images to the newsletter chairperson for inclusion in the next newsletter.

4.         Print Displayer

·            Announces category, and title of prints for competition and for critique.

·            Displays prints for judging and for critique.

5.         Recorder

·            Records individual and total score, and announces total points after each entry.

·            Announces category and  titles of slides and digital entries for judging,

·            During a short intermission determines nightly placement awards using the PLACEMENT AWARDS chart in this document.

·            After intermission, he/she will announce the points and placement awards to the membership as the  images are displayed again. 

6.         Judges (3)

·            Evaluates and scores each entry based on the criteria listed in this document.

·            Critiques each entry after the intermission.

7.         Statistician

·            Updates statistics and sends to webmaster for display on the website.

·            Prepares notice for Newsletter regarding members who “graduate” from one level to the next.

8.         Print Hanger for Church Lobby

·            After the competition 8-10 prints are displayed: 7 in the lobby, 1-3 in the secretaries’ offices.

·            Labels are to be provided indicating the photographers name, the place, the category, and the title.

·            Prints that are taken down are placed on top of TACC’s cabinet.