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Photo Society - Competitions

COMPETITION RULES, RESULTS AND ENTRY GUIDELINES

PURPOSE:
By way of constructive critique, photographs will be studied and scored with possible suggestions for improvement given. The goal is to improve the photographic skills of the Central Coast Photographic Society (CCPS) members and expand their opportunities into the digital realm, all done in an atmosphere of friendly competition.

See results of the latest competition below. 


Upcoming Competition: June 20, 2024  at 7PM on Zoom. Judge TBD.


April 2024 CCPS Competition Results:  
     Judge: Mark Nakamura 
     High Scores Video  ->  
     Results & High Score Listings below.  

 

Guidelines

GENERAL

1. There are six competitions in each calendar year. 

        a. The first five are held on the third Thursday of "even numbered" months (i.e., February, 

            April, June, August, and October). 

        b. The sixth and final competition will be held on the second Thursday of December (in 

            place of the normally scheduled General Meeting) and will consist of photographs 

            shown in the five preliminary competitions only. 
2. Each member will be assigned a "competition/member number," to be used on all

    competition entry forms and file names.

3. The following rules apply to all entries at the time of competition:

        a. Entries submitted must be by members in good standing.

        b. Entries must be the original photo-based work of the competitor, both the original

            capture and any post processing.

        c. Each competitor may enter up to three (3) images per competition.

        d. Submission of an image, or any derivative, that was previously submitted is allowed

            ONLY if it has been changed from color to black and white (mono) or vice versa, AND

            it is a new competition year (e.g. For any image total times it can be entered is twice).

        e. All entries and their signed entry forms must emailed to ccpscompetition@gmail.com in

            advance of competition, no later than the Tuesday before competition.

        f. Member’s name must be on all submitted CDs and Flash Drives. *(N/A for ZOOM

            competitions)

        g. Any member caught submitting an image, or portion of an image (e.g. a composite) that

            was not taken by member, will be banned from CCPS competitions forever going

            forward. Member (found to have plagiarized, or copyright infringed someone else’s

            image (or portion of an image), will have all previous entries for the current year

            disqualified.

4. Member’s images will be handled with reasonable care; however, CCPS is not responsible

    or loss or damage to the member’s entries.

SUBMISSION

1. Images should be submitted:

        a. By email to ccpscompetition@gmail.com , in jpeg format (.JPG)

        b. sRGB color space

        c. For best display on Zoom, resize image to 1800 pixels on the longest side of the image

        d. File size no greater than 3MB

        e. No name or other identifying watermark included on image

2. Files shall be named starting with the letters A, B, and C followed by the photographer’s 3-

    digit competition/member number. For example, competitor number 099 would name their 

    three (3) images as follows:

        • A099.jpg

        • B099.jpg

        • C099.jpg

    Please ensure file names have the .jpg extension, in lower case letters.

3. A signed Competition Entry Form (Score Card) identifying the image titles and the 

    photographer are required prior to the start of competition.

4. More detailed information on preparing images is available How to Prepare Digital Images

JUDGING

1. Judges will be selected by the Competition Chairperson and announced (where possible) at a
   general meeting, and posted on the CCPS website, prior to competition. Judge may be a single
   individual from outside of the Photo Society membership or a panel of three Photo Society
   members.
2. A preliminary “run-through” of all images will be presented prior to judging.
3. The image’s title will be announced to the Judge(s) as each are presented.
4. Judges will be asked to award from three (3) to nine (9) points for each entry, with allowances
    for half points when deemed necessary.
5. When a panel of three CCPS members is used as Judges, each Judge will score (without
     knowing the other Judges scores) and then the three scores will be totaled and averaged for a
     single score within the 3 – 9 point range.
6. Criteria for judging will be based on Technique, Composition and Impact:
      a. Technique – the technical aspects such as focus, exposure, depth of field, quality of
          print/presentation (1-3 points)
      b. Composition – the arrangement of objects within the format (1-3 points)
      c. Impact – the “wow” factor or how it affects the viewer (1-3 points)
See the Judge’s Guide for more information
7. Criticism of the judge is never appropriate during the competition, or after the competition.
     IF there is a problem or issue with a judge, the issue MUST be addressed with the
     Competition chairs, NOT the judge.
8. At the Final Competition, the Judge(s) will select the following:
     a. Image of the Year
     b. Runner-up Image of the Year

AWARDS

At the second General Meeting of the new calendar year the following will be awarded:
    1. Image of the Year
            • Image of the Year
            • Runner-up Image of the Year

    2. Highest Total Scores
            • First Place
            • Second Place
            • Third Place
        a. Each competitor may enter up to 3 entries in each of the 5 bi-monthly competitions in Feb,
            Apr, Jun, Aug, and Oct.
        b. To be eligible for entry in the Highest Score calculations the competitor must enter 3 images
             in the end of year competition in December. The 3 images entered in the end of year
             competition must be chosen from images already entered in the 5 bi-monthly competitions
             by the competitor.
        c. To determine Highest Total Score for the Year, the scores for the competitor’s images
             for the whole year including the end of year competition will be summed.
*Any competitor who does not meet the requirements to be eligible for any of the Highest Total
Score of the Year awards is still eligible to win the highest total score award in those individual
competitions they do enter, as well as the Image of the Year as awarded by the judge at the final
competition of the year. 
  3. Members' Choice Award
          • First Place
          • Second Place
          • Third Place
A Members’ Choice web page will be posted after the year-end competition where members
are asked to assess all images and submit votes via email for their top three (3) choices. Votes
will be tallied and the winners will be announced at the same time as the other year-end
awards.

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