Guidlines

Judges, please view this short video before you arrive to judge. It will familiarize you with the scoring system our club uses. And thank you for judging and critiquing our images!  ***Please note: we are adding 1/2 points to our scale.   Ex. 6.0, 6.5. 7.0, 7.5….***

GUIDELINES FOR USING THE 5-POINT SCORING SYSTEM  **plus half points(ex: 6.0, 6.5,7.0,7.5 etc)

Scroll to #8 and #9 for Entry Requirements

0*   Use this score to disqualify an image.  An image may be disqualified if you feel that it clearly does not meet competition rules, including adequately meeting the spirit of the Assigned Subject category.

5     The image is acceptable in most respects but creates no significant interest.

6     The image is reasonably solid, creating at least some interest.  Technical aspects and image contents are all reasonably well handled but not exceptionally.

7     The image has good artistic value and continues to hold the viewer’s interest. The technical handling is very good, with minor flaws at a minimum.

8    The image is extremely interesting – unique, and worthy of recognition.  There should be no noticeable technical flaws.

9     The image has exceptional impact, and the technical quality is impeccable – one of the best you have seen at the Wild Rivers Photography Club.

IMAGES SHOULD BE JUDGED PRIMARILY ON THESE ELEMENTS:

Technical Quality

Exposure & lighting  –  Are areas over or underexposed?  Is the image too light, dark, or just right?  Is the lighting too flat, too contrasty, or just right?  Does the lighting enhance or detract from the subject?  Is the time of day beneficial to the image?

Focus & depth of field  –  Is the image sharp?  If not, is it intentionally soft and successful?  Is the focus appropriate for the situation?  Does the depth of fieldwork in this shot, or should more (or less) of the photo be in focus? Is it free of scratches, dust spots, lens flares, etc?

Tonality or colors  –  In a black & white image, is there a true black and true white with a good range in between?  Is the image too gray?  Regardless, does the tonal range work for this photograph?  In color, are the colors saturated appropriately for the image, or are they too vivid or not vivid enough?  Is the white balance correct?  Is there an interesting use of primary, secondary, and complementary colors?

Composition

Balance  –  Is the image aligned correctly, or is it crooked?  Is the main subject in the center of the frame?  Is it on a third?  Somewhere else?  Does the chosen composition work?  Would it be better if the “weight” of the subject(s) were placed differently or if the light or dark areas were handled differently?

Design  –  Is the arrangement of the visual elements effective?  Is there a strong center of interest, pattern, or design?  Is the cropping effective, or should it have been cropped tighter or given more space (if possible)?  Is the arrangement of the visual elements effective?

Leading lines  –  Is there good use of visually interesting elements such as diagonal lines or S curves?  Does the photo have a fore, middle, and background if applicable to the subject?  Does the overall composition make you want to look deeper into the photo?  Is your eye drawn into the image or out of it?

Emotional Appeal

Impact  –  Does the photograph get your attention and interest?  Is there a mood conveyed through the image to the viewer?  Do you like the photo?  Does it excite your imagination and have a “wow” factor? Creativity  –  Was the photo taken at the “right” moment?  Does it show a familiar subject in a new and unusual yet effective way?  Is there an interesting creative process shown in the image?  Does it show a very unusual subject effectively?  Is the image artistically provocative or just a missed attempt at something different?  Is it unique and memorable?

Be Positive  –  Remember you are looking at someone’s pride and joy.  Always start with a positive point in the photograph, such as “you have placed the subject very well in the frame” or “the ____ leads my eye directly to the subject without any distraction.”  Then, let them know what little thing might have improved the photograph, such as “I think that late evening light might have given you a richer color and looked better; don’t rush the time of day.”

Don’t Find Fault  –  Remember that you don’t have to find something wrong with the photo.  If it isn’t an above-average photo, you can just let them know how it could have been improved.  Sometimes, they can’t change what would have helped the photo (they can’t move a mountain or a tree), but you can ask if they could have changed the angle or location when they took the photo and explain how that would improve it.

Personal Bias  –  Don’t inject your personal bias into the judging and critique of the photograph.  We all know that babies and bunnies are cute, but a landscape or an abstract is just as beautiful and should be given the same respect.  This is probably the hardest thing to leave behind when you judge.  Just remember you must be fair.

Difficulty Level  –  Don’t let your personal perceived level of difficulty enter into the scoring of the photograph.

Safety  –  Don’t make comments that might encourage the photographer to take chances to improve a photo, like “Bears aren’t dangerous; you should have gotten closer.”

Competition and Photo Sharing  Objectives:
The objectives of The Wild Rivers Photography Club Photographic Competition is to develop better our member’s photographic skills and editing techniques on images taken by their own photographic efforts.

1.   Competition Calendar:   Photographic competitions will be held quarterly in November, February, and May.  Please check the calendar for submission dates. You must be a member in good standing to enter images into the monthly photo sharing or quarterly competition. Yearly awards are presented at an Annual Awards ceremony in June.   We don’t meet formally in June, July and August.

2.   Subject Matter:   Subject matter will be the photographer’s choice between two categories – Open or Assigned Subject. Explicitly pornographic or libelous material will not be accepted.

3.  Assigned Categories: Assigned categories will be created by no later than the current year’s May meeting. The Assigned subjects will be chosen with an educational purpose in mind, encouraging the member to push their own boundaries and try different subjects or aspects of the art and skills of photography. The assigned subjects will be posted on the club’s website.  Assigned category images should be shot after May  15th, 2023.

4.   Entries:  

a.  All members may enter digital and prints, please see below. There is only one Print Category and it is OPEN.  By virtue of entry, the entrant certifies the work as their own.

b.  A total of 4 entries per month may be entered by a member… **Members can enter up to  3 images in digital or up to 3 images in prints. 

c.  The total of all entries is limited to FOUR. You will be allowed to submit up to THREE electronic images. For example, you can submit 3 electronic images and 1 print or 3 prints and one digital, or 2 in each category, etc.  All prints are in an Open category. The smallest print size is 35 square inches (equivalent to 5″ x 7″ inside dimensions).  The largest print size including matting and mounting can be no larger than 24″ x 24″.

d.  If there are less than two members with a total of three entries in any category, there will be no competition in that category for that quarterly competition.

e.  For our Quarterly Competitions an entry that did not win a place (1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd place plus Honorable Mention) may be entered in any subsequent monthly competition.  Any entry that has won a place in its respective competition is not eligible for re-entry in a subsequent competition in any medium.  (The spirit of this rule is for a winning image to not be shown in another competition, allowing others to have an opportunity for winning.)

f.  Entering an image assumes giving the Club the right to display the image for the club’s purpose (e.g., publicity, educating, informing in the newspaper and website).  The copyright remains the property of the entrant.

g.  All entries that have won a place, including Honorable Mention, during a competition year are eligible for the Annual Awards Competition at the end of that year.

5.   Categories: A member may enter an image of any subject matter in either Open or the Assigned Subject categories in the club quarterly Competition or Photo Sharing or monthly Print competition.

1. Monthly Assigned Subjects can be anything at all…..as long as they fit the assignment. :0)

2. 4C’s have adopted the following rule which we will also adopt concerning textures and brushes.

“The 4C’s allow the use of textures and brushes from any source if they “do not have specific objects or shapes in them.”

**Reminder – If you are making composites, sky replacements and the like you need to use images taken by you.

3. You can enter images in the new (2021) 4C’s Supplemental Category which is for images using “other source” material such as sky replacements generated by software by sending them to Jim Ingraham. He will then enter them in the 4C’s Supplemental Competition. Wild Rivers is not using this category this year in our monthly competitions.

6.   Judging:   

***will take place prior to Competition night.  

a.  Entries will be scored by three judges. The three judges may vary among outside guest judges and trained member judges. Efforts will be made to vary the guest judges as well as member judges. Member judges must score their own or any entries they have knowledge of by entering “0.” The average of the other two judges will be used for that member’s score.

b.  Critique and scoring will be based on these three photographic elements:

i.  Technical Excellence  —  Exposure, lighting, focus, depth of field, tonality or colors, cleanliness, etc.

ii.   Composition  —  Balanced arrangement of elements, design, leading lines, etc.

iii.   Impact  —  Initial effect on the viewer, creativity, effectiveness of the image.

c.  Each entry will be scored on a scale of 5 to 9 points. *** We will use 1/2 points in our scale.  The maximum total that an entry may receive is 27 points (9 per judge). The minimum total is 15 points. When the total members present are voting, the scores will be tallied by the judging staff. Supplemental handouts provide further clarification of the scoring.

5 points – Average
6 points – Better than average
7 points – Good quality
8 points – Very good quality
9 points – Excellent

d.  If a judge can’t see how an Assigned subject image reasonably meets the definition of the subject they will give it a score of 1 point. If at least one other judge agrees it will be disqualified from Assigned and the image will be moved to the appropriate category for judging.

e.  While a mat, mounting, or “stroke” (thin border on electronic images) affects the overall presentation of an image, the photographs are to be critiqued and scored on the image only (except as 8b below).  Strokes are encouraged for electronic images with dark borders but are not required.

7.   Places, Points, Awards:

a.  There will be places awarded in each category in each monthly competition.  The number of winning images will be determined by dividing the number of entries in each category by 3, rounded to the nearest whole number, or at the discretion of the judging secretary.

b. Ties will stand unbroken in the monthly competition. I.e., there can be as many 1^st places as having tied for 1^st, etc.  Allowing ties may result in not all places being filled out if the allotted number of winners has been used up.

8.   Preparing Color and Monochrome Prints for Competition:  

a. Entries may either be printed by the entrant or be processed by a commercial lab. Entries may include prints from negatives, slides, and from digital images. All photographic elements of the image must be photographed by the entrant, and post-processing must be done by the entrant. The use of commercially available textures and effects (e.g., Lightroom and Photoshop) is an acceptable post-processing technique. Member’s own processing may be by computer and printer or through the wet darkroom process.

b.   Prints do not have to be mounted for our club Print reviews.  Firm backing or mounting makes prints easier to view but is not required at this time.

c.  The smallest print size is 35 square inches (equivalent to 5″ x 7″ inside dimensions).  The largest print size including matting and mounting can be no larger than 24″ x 24″.

d.  Prints must be clearly identified on the back of the mount with:

i. The title
ii. Your Name

e.  This identification is to be in alignment with the viewing position to assure that the print is judged in the orientation that the member intended: Top right corner of the back of the image.

f.   Monochrome prints mean density variations of one color or tone. Color prints mean the use of more than one color or tone.

g.   All prints will be competing in an OPEN category…any and all prints welcome.

i. First name Last name, Image name
ii. Example: Jane Doe, Sunset,
iii. Example: John Smith, The Jackhammer Story

9. Preparing Color and Monochrome Electronic Images for Competition or Photo Sharing:

a.  All photographic elements of the image must be photographed by the entrant, and post-processing must be done by the entrant. The use of commercially available textures and effects (e.g., Lightroom and Photoshop) is an acceptable post-processing technique. The entry is not limited to images taken with a digital camera. Images may also be acquired on positive or negative film, modified (if desired), and submitted as a digital image for projection.

b.  Monochrome means density variations of one color or tone. Color means the use of more than one color or tone.

c.  Image file specifications:

i.  Images must be in jpg format.

ii.  There is no Image file size requirement, as these are met when using the prescribed size dimensions below.

1080 pixels is the maximum vertical (top to bottom) dimension allowed.

1920 pixels is the maximum horizontal (left to right) dimension allowed.

Image files must be properly named, as shown here. WILD is the proper abbreviation for Wild Rivers Photography Club.

i.  FirstnameLastname_YourClubsInitials_TitleOfImage.jpg
ii.  example: JohnDoe_WILD_PrettyFlower.jpg
iii.  example: JaneSmith_WILD_SeaScape.jpg

e.   Send the image file by email attachment to the Electronic Image Coordinator, Dave Church. Please include whether the image is in the Open or Assigned category. Three images per member.  The coordinator will assemble the entries for the competition staff.

10.   Annual Awards Competition and Awards Ceremony:

a.  It is the responsibility of the member to enter all place winning images (1st, 2nd, 3rd, and Honorable Mention) in the Annual Awards Competition, after the final quarterly competition in May and before the judging review date and as directed by the competition staff.

b.  The jury shall consist of three independent guest judges who are not members of the club.

c.  Based on this juried competition, awards in the following categories may be presented. These and other possible awards will be at the discretion of the Awards Committee and judges. Ties for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places will be broken by the outside judges.

i. Electronic Image of the Year – with up to 5 runner-ups at the discretion of the committee.

ii. Print of the Year – with up to 5 runner-ups at the discretion of the committee.

d. Photographer of the Year (POY) will be presented to the member who has accumulated the most points in all categories for the club year from September through May. (See section 7 above.). A minimum of one place winner in electronic and one place winner in prints and one winner in Assigned during the year is required to be POY. The same member cannot win POY two years in a row. The runner-up for POY will also be recognized.

e. High Points in the Assigned Subject Category will also be awarded.