Competition Goals and Guidelines

The monthly intraclub competitions are intended to be fun and educational. Every attempt will be made to be fair and kind in scoring and critiquing the images. It should be noted, however, that judges’ opinions are just that, and should not be viewed as a verdict. Our hope is that most of the time these competitions will be both enjoyable and enlightening. However, since the judging of art is far from an exact science, disagreement and disappointment are bound to be a part of the process. We will do our best to minimize this.

Below are the guidelines for submitting images. These along with category definitions found under Contests will help you be sure that your images meet requirements. For more detailed information, you are encouraged to read Guidelines for Judges, particularly the section on Elements of Photography.

The overarching rules for all our competitions are:

  1. All elements of your image must be created by you, and photographic elements must predominate. Images should be in good taste.
  2. No image may be submitted more than once (simple conversion to monochrome and re-submission is not allowed).
  3. No logo or watermark is allowed on a submitted image (a watermark will be added to your image for display on the website if you request that on submission).
  4. In an attempt to maintain anonymity during the judging process, neither the maker’s name nor their recognizable image are allowed in a submitted image going forward.

5.  Artificial Intelligence: Advances in artificial intelligence have resulted in their incorporation in many post-processing applications that may be employed in image editing legitimately. However, any function that employs elements from anything outside the original image is not allowed. This includes but is not limited to, the use of any “text to image” application, as these likely incorporate elements from an outside source and therefore is not permitted. 

For details on the mechanics of submitting images, click on How to submit images at the bottom of the left column on our website homepage

Maximum image size is:

1,400 px wide for landscape formatted images.

1,050 px high for portrait formatted images.


MAX file size is:

1,200 kb

  Categories
  Open Portrait Creative Travel Nature
Outside Organization Definitions followed, so we can compete in interclub competitions NECCC-Pictorial PSA/NECCC
All elements of image must be the work of the maker Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
All adjustments must appear natural and realistic Yes Yes N/A Yes Yes
Using commercial clip art, parts of commercial photographic collections or work of another photographer, or fractals generated by image editing programs or accessories NOT Allowed NOT Allowed NOT Allowed NOT Allowed NOT Allowed
Adding commercial stock elements such as skys, textures, lighting, borders, frames, generated by image editing programs or accessories NOT Allowed NOT Allowed NOT Allowed NOT Allowed NOT Allowed
Composite photographs allowed – All parts of the image must be the work of the maker Yes Yes Yes NOT Allowed NOT Allowed
The use of maker created textures Allowed Allowed Allowed NOT Allowed NOT Allowed
Strokes (5 pixels or less, white or gray only) – Used to delineate the edge of a photo – from software or user created Allowed Allowed Allowed Allowed Allowed
Strokes (5 pixels or less, any color) – Used to delineate the edge of a photor – from software or user created Allowed Allowed Allowed NOT Recommended NOT Recommended
Use of either maker of software created border(s) – not a stroke Allowed Allowed Allowed NOT Allowed NOT Allowed
Artwork or computer graphics created by the maker may be incorporated as long as the photographic content predominates Allowed NOT Allowed Allowed NOT Allowed NOT Allowed
Techniques that add, relocate, replace or remove any pictorial element of the original image Allowed Allowed Allowed NOT Allowed NOT Allowed
Cropping and removal of dust, noise and film scratches that were added by the camera Allowed Allowed Allowed Allowed Allowed
Complete conversion to greyscale monochrome Allowed Allowed Allowed Allowed Allowed
Complete conversion to any color monochrome Allowed Allowed Allowed NOT Allowed NOT Allowed
Images from events/ activities arranged specifically for photography Subjects directed or hired for photography Allowed Allowed Allowed Allowed Allowed
See Note 1
Infrared images Allowed Allowed Allowed NOT Allowed NOT Allowed
Images of hybrid plants, cultivated plants, feral animals, domestic animals, mounted specimens Allowed See Definition Allowed Allowed NOT Allowed
Placing your Logo, Watermark, or your name on the Image NOT Allowed NOT Allowed NOT Allowed NOT Allowed NOT Allowed
Blurring backgrounds Allowed Allowed Allowed NOT Allowed NOT Allowed

Allowed Adjustments for all Categories

  • Exposure Adjustment (Selective and Global)
  • Dodging and Burning
  • Adjust Highlight and Shadow Detail
  • Adjust Contrast
  • White Balance/Color Correction
  • HDR allowed – Images need to appear realistic
  • Black and White conversion (Greyscale only)
  • Adjust Saturation
  • Dust Spot Removal
  • Flare Removal
  • Noise Removal
  • Correcting Lens Distortion
  • Straightening
  • Cropping
  • Reversing (AKA flipping Horizontal)
  • Resizing
  • Chromatic Aberration Removal
  • Sharpening
  • Layer Stacking
Note 1:
All PSA and NECCC Rules/Guidelines still apply for nature.