General Contest Rules and Procedures

Eligibility – Only members age ten and over and in good standing are eligible to enter competitions.

Titles – All submitted work should bear a title unlike any other by the same photographer.

Identification – All work must be identified with the entrant’s assigned membership number. The photographer’s name must not appear on any material submitted.

Processing – Commercial processing of images, including mounts, is permissible. Otherwise, the creation of the image must be solely the work of the entrant.

Judging – Entries will be collected at the first meeting of the month. Judging results and critiquing will take place on the second meeting of each month or as otherwise announced. Judges are encouraged to attend and give constructive critiques.

Re-entry – You can re-enter any image up to three times for monthly competition or until it places 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place. Once the image places you can not enter it again in monthly competition. Once an image has won 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place, the winning photographer may not enter subsequent photographs of the same subject, even in another category unless they differ significantly in perspective, lighting, or composition. All entries are to be reviewed by the competition committee.

Closed Subject Contest – Entries in “closed” or “assigned subject” contest must conform to the assigned theme either literally or in a readily apparent, figurative sense. Only those images taken after the assigned subjects have been announced will be eligible for entry. The Competition Committee shall review all closed contest entries for compliance before the close of the “turn in” meeting.

Compliance – Once an image has won 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place, the winning photographer may not enter subsequent photographs of the same subject, even in another category, unless they differ significantly in perspective, lighting, or composition. All entries are to be reviewed by the competition committee. Any entry determined to be unacceptable under the above mentioned criteria will not be submitted for judging. Tasteful nudity is acceptable.

Awards – Ribbons will normally be awarded for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and Honorable Mention places in each class. When there is a limited turn-in, ribbons will be awarded as follows:

7 or more entries – all four ribbons
5 or 6 entries – top three ribbons
3 or 4 entries – top two ribbons
1 or 2 entries – 1st place ribbon

 In a contest with unusually high turn-ins, one additional Honorable Mention will be added for each increment of 10 entries over 20.

Award Points – A cumulative point system is maintained by the competition committee. Each entry will be assigned a numerical score from 6 to 15 points. The effort of submitting merits a score of no less than 6. A “fair” entry should receive a score of 7-9, a “good” entry should receive a score of 10-12, and “excellent” entries should receive 13-15 points. In addition to scoring the entries, the judge will assign 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and Honorable Mention awards.

Annual Awards - At year’s end the club member accumulating the largest number of award points from his/her top ten scores in each class will be acclaimed the Photographer of the Year in that class and awarded a plaque. Second place, third place and Honorable Mention Photographers of the Year will be awarded rosettes. In the event of a tie, the number of original entries submitted during the year will determine the winner. If a further tie breaker is needed the member with the greatest number of first places in the class will be declared the winner then, if needed, second places and so on.

Year end Contest – Entries winning 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in monthly contest are eligible for the year end contest. Awards will be given for the top four places in each class. 1st place in each class will be declared the Photograph of the Year in that class and awarded a plaque. 2nd, 3rd and Honorable Mentions will be awarded rosettes. In the print class, additional print of the year award plaques will be given for the best color print and the best black and white print of the year.

Retirement – Any entry winning 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in a regular scheduled monthly contest will be retired from scheduled monthly competitions but will be eligible for the year end contest in the current year as well as any other club sponsored competitions such as the annual competition with the Dallas Camera Club.

Competing in Classes –Members may choose to compete in the "B" (beginner), or "A" (advanced) classes of prints and/or digital. Members may enter the Master's classes after winning Class A Photographer of the Year or by invitation of the board of directors.

Progression – Class B Photographers of the Year will be required to move to Class A. Class A Photographers of the Year  may, at their discretion, move to the Master's Class. Anyone winning Class A Photographer of the Year two times will be required to move to the Master's Class. Progression will be within the print or digital classes. If someone is promoted to class A prints, for instance, they must also compete in class A digital.

Number of Entries – A member may enter no more than two (2) images in each monthly competition and no more than one (1) images in a category.

Rules and Procedures for Prints

Color and monochrome prints will be judged together in one category, “Prints”. Monochrome prints may be toned.

Number – Members may enter one (1) print in color or monochrome.

Mounts – All prints must be mounted on substantial backing or mat board. Framed prints or those with hanging devices attached are not permitted. Maximum print size and/or mat size is 20 x 24 inches. Maximum mat board thickness is 5/16 inch. No prints will be accepted in plastic bags or with paper attached.

Markings – All prints must be labeled on the back with title, membership number (no name), the orientation of the print (if not obvious).

Rules and Procedures for Digital

Color and monochrome digital images will be judged together in one category, “Digital”.

Number – Members may enter one (1) digital file.

Size – Images may be no larger than 1400 pixels wide by 1050 pixels high. Here are some instructions for sizing image files in Photoshop.

Format – Files must be JPEG. File name extension must be .jpg.

Color Space – For accurate color display, sRGB is recommended

File Naming: The following file naming convention is important to insure proper automatic sorting of our digital entires. Each file name will contain Class (A, B or M), Member Number, and Title as shown below. Use an underscore (NOT a dash) to separate each item. Title names shall contain spaces. In order to support the automation of our file gathering process, it is important NOT to add an underscore within your title names. Avoid the use of unsupported special characters such as \ / : * ? < > | in title names. I

• Example: B_1234_River Walk.

Submitting Digital File(s): You may email your files as attachments to: submit.digital@gmail.com anytime prior to the turn-in meeting. Please include “FWCC Digital Submission” in the subject line. You will receive a confirmation reply when your files are received and checked in. If you prefer, in lieu of email, you may bring a CD to the turn-in meeting.