General

2023 RULES & FORMAT FOR COMPETITIONS

Photo Club competitions are for SCC photo club members (per CA rules). These are friendly and fair events where we can share and compare our work.  All levels of photography skill are welcome, and we hope that your participation will lead to improving your photo abilities.

You must be a member in good standing of the SCC Photo Club to enter.

Only photos or images that are the exclusive work of the maker may be entered. Therefore, the image  must be taken and edited by the  member, advice and minor assistance is acceptable

The number of competitions – five (5) – that are currently in place, will remain the same. Competitions will be held in the same months as they are now- JANUARY, MARCH, JUNE and SEPTEMBER. with the Best of the Best  in DECEMBER

In each competition there are four Main Competition categories: Color , Monochrome , Creative , and Documentary, and two Themed Competition categories, Mono and Color

In January the Main Competition will be Digital, and the Themed Competition will be Print   Theme Birds

In March the Main Competition will be Print, and the Themed Competition will be Digital  Theme Faces

In June the Main Competition will be Digital, and the Themed Competition will be Print  Theme Still Life

In September the Main Competition will be Print, and the Themed Competition will be Digital Theme Composite

For the 2023 year, in each competition, a photographer may submit up to 4 entries total in the Main Competition in any category .  In addition you may enter up to 2 entries in the Themed Competition  one must be Color the other must be Mono.    See rules for resubmission.

Judging will be based on a 1-15 score, with 15 being the highest

Ribbons will be awarded based on the judges score only and not on whether the image is the highest scored in a category.
– A score of 15 points will earn a Gold Ribbon
– A score of 14 points will earn a Silver Ribbon
– A score of 13 points will earn a Bronze Ribbon
If there are no scores of 15 in a category, then the highest ribbon that will
be awarded is a silver ribbon; if there are no 14 or 15 scores, then the highest
award will be bronze.
All Ribbon Winners (scores of 15, 14, and 13) will be entered into the –
Best of the Best Competition – which will continue to be held in December.
A score of 12 or below will not receive an award ribbon, even if it is the
highest score in a category.

Definition of Categories (Print or Digital):

  1. Color and Mono Category Content: The photograph, in its entirety, must be a work of original material taken by the Contest entrant. The photo components may be edited, enhanced, layered, “photo-shopped”, etc. but the entrant must have taken each component of the completed photo. photos may have frames, strokes or vignettes added
    • Color– This category includes color images, (except those defined as “Creative” below) whether or not they have undergone digital enhancement, but the image must maintain a realistic or natural look. Multi-colored infrared images are allowed.
    • Mono– This category includes monochromatic images (except those defined as “Creative” below), which are completely desaturated into black, white and gray or contain only one single color tone (e.g. sepia, blue, etc.). Digital enhancement is allowed but the image must maintain a realistic or natural look. Infrared images in one color tone are allowed
  1. Creative Category Content: The entrant MUST take all of the components of the photo. The photograph may be enhanced in many ways (example – add textures, backgrounds, frames, creative brushes).
    • Creative– This category includes color or monochromatic images that are recognizably altered. Creative images must not be constructed entirely in the computer, but must originate from the maker’s photograph or photographs.
  1. Documentary category content:  The photograph, in its entirety, must be a work of original material taken by the Contest entrant.
    • Documentary: This category includes images that portray “a moment in time.” Images must represent real life as it actually happened with its flaws and peculiarities. The art is in the story or the message using the existing lighting and surroundings. Some global correction on the entire image is allowed for exposure, contrast, clarity or sharpening, de-noising, and color balance. Corrections are to be kept to a minimum.The image can be straightened and cropped. Correcting only parts of the image is NOT Judges will use existing judging criteria to score images but will give the story the most weight. Subjects may include people, animals, sports, music events, night scenes, rural or urban environments, etc. NOT ALLOWED: Corrections in selected areas; Monochrome; filters on camera or in post-processing; Infrared; set-up situations or studio captures; HDR processing or blending images; vignettes, frames or borders.
  • (NOTE: Most cell phones use HDR processing and therefore those photos are not eligible for this category).

The competition committee is the arbiter of all club photo competitions.  Their role is to develop the rules, answer questions and clarify rules and criteria for members.

Clarification: The recent AI technology has not changed our rules – you may remove items from your photo but not add items you didn’t take.  We have always been able to edit our photos by changing the sky (with one we’ve taken), enlarging the canvas and add items from one photo to another using layers.  Now some of this is easier but we can’t use clip art or other items we didn’t take, regardless of how easy it is with AI.

In the rare event that a photo fails to meet the rules, a member may voluntarily withdraw it.  Otherwise, the committee can remove a photo after they have determined that it didn’t meet the competition rules.

If a scored entry is challenged (by the committee or another member) and found in violation, that member’s images must be pre-screened by the committee before competing for the next 3 competitions.

The photographer may appeal the committee’s decision to the BOD within 15 days of the committee’s decision or their decision is final.

In order to make a fair decision, the committee may ask the member to provide the original image for comparisons and rulings.  The committee may also use technology, such as AI detection software, in evaluating the photo being reviewed.

By submitting a photo, the entrant represents, acknowledges, and warrants that the submitted photograph meets the criteria.

Any score given for a photo found not to meet these rules will be deleted.

Note: These rules clarify the difference between the creative category and other categories. Simply put: if you did not take every element of the photo (with the exception of adding frames, strikes, vignettes, filters or other enhancements) put it in the creative category. The clarification also reminds us that the club’s goal is to promote better photography, not collages of other people’s photography – AI or not.

Submission

Your digital and print images must be submitted through this website

  • Your images must be in .jpg file format
  • The file name must match the Title EXACTLY
  • The file must be smaller than 10Mb
  • The image must be less than 3000 pixels on the longest side, and greater than 800 pixels on the longest side
  • Once submitted you may change your entries at any time up until midnight on the closing date of the competition
  • Print entries must then be mounted on a 16×20 mount board and brought to the competition (actual print can be any size, although anything less than 8×10 would be at a disadvantaged)
  • Print entries may not have any extension or protrusions from the print that might leave impressions on other prints in the competition.
  • There should be no identifying marks on the image, e.g. signature, logo, monogram etc.