Preparing Images for Competition - Guidelines



©2006 Susan Diederichsen
DIGITAL IMAGE DISPLAY & RETENTION POLICY (as of Aug 17, 2007)

All members submitting images (print or digital) to PACC competitions do so with the understanding that in the event these images receive awards, the members are granting permission to the club to display small versions of the images (currently no greater than 250 pixels high) on the club's website. Digital images submitted by club members for club competition and/or display on the club website will not be shared with others, except for affiliated clubs such as MPPA (Midpeninsula Photographic Alliance), and they will not be used by the club for any other purpose without written permission of the maker.

The full policy is available as a PDF file here. It includes information about opting out of this policy.


GENERAL

  • Make sure subject meets criteria for the category. See definitions and guidelines.
  • Is there a central focus or point of interest? 
  • Is it technically satisfactory - composition, exposure, focus? 
  • Members must be present at meetings where they have submitted images (for digital competitions, if a member after submitting an image finds it impossible to attend the meeting, the image will be shown for comment but not ranked)
DIGITAL IMAGES

(limit 3 per member, no more than 2 per category)
  • See separate page for preparation and submission of digital images
PRINTS

(limit 3 per member, with no more than 2 in any one category)

New members who are not yet able to make digital prints and mounts should consider:

Here's a great PDF document from RMSP on how best to present your prints - matting, mounting & framing (2008)


  • Prints must be mounted on a mat board, and preferably covered with an overlying window mat. No plastic envelopes/sleeves or glass frames please. The maximum allowable height for mounted prints is 24 inches (due to constraints of viewing light enclosure); panorama prints wider than 24 inches are acceptable, but the maker should know that illumination may be compromised at the far sides. In order to protect the surface of others' prints that may be in contact with your prints the bottom (back) board on which your print is mounted must be no smaller than the outer edge of the front window mat, and there should be no protrusions on this board that might cause damage to the surface of another print . If you have any questions please consult the Print Chair. ( - Aug 24, 2007)
  • Do NOT enter your NAME anywhere on the front of the mount or window mat. Entering the title beneath the left lower corner is optional.
  • Use PACC labels to enter Title, Category, your name, and date of entry. Place the label on the back of the mount, in the nearest empty space to the top left corner. ("Level" not applicable at present.). A pre-printed sheet of these labels can now be generated after entering your print data online, using the new procedure below.
  •  Beginning in Jan 2010 members must enter the data pertaining to their print entries (Title, Name, Category, etc) online, using the guidelines link (entitled 'Online Submission of Data for PRINT Competitions") in the blue box on our home page.

    If you decide to 'recycle' your mats for other prints, remember to save the ID labels in the event you decide to enter the original print in another competition (e.g., PACC Annual, or MPPA)

    The same image may be entered on more than one occasion (provided it has not previously received a 1st, 2nd or 3rd place award), in the same or different (& suitable) category

JUDGES
 Judges are volunteers who are usually experienced amateur (or occasionally professional) photographers and are generally members of other camera clubs in the Bay Area. They are familiar with the rules for entries, (most) undergo training as judges thru N4C, and they do their best to provide an informative and constructive assessment of the pros and cons of each entry. Like all of us, their assessments are to a certain extent subjective, and this may explain why good entries that meet all the rules may receive different assessments and awards. Some judges are more adept at discussing the artistic merits and weaknesses of an image than others, while others are fussy about seemingly minor technical 'flaws'. This is a fact of life we must accept. We are very fortunate that these individuals take the time to travel here, often from a great distance, to spend an evening at the club to help us all improve our photographic skills and images. 
Questions or comments? info at pacamera dot com (change words to punctuation in email)

Updated:  Dec 5, 2011

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