Each contest will be judged using the following procedure:
The judge will provide comments that will provide the maker with suggestions on improvement. In reaching a score the judge will consider “story telling” aspects of the image, technical attributes, difficulty in making the image, as well as overall creativity and impressions.
Since this is not a nature competition; we ask that any photograph that appears to be a nature photograph be judged to ‘open competition’ standards, and not to ‘nature contest’ standards.
We expect the judge to differentiate scoring considerations for the various classes of members.
When judging prints, we ask the judge to not look at the image projected on the screen, but to critique and score only the print.
When initially presented with the images the judge will comment and will grade the image with a 5, 6, or 7 score using the outline below. After all of the images of the contest have been presented the judge will re-score only the 7’s which may remain a 7 or receive an 8 or 9 This second pass will be without comments. Eights will receive an Honorable Mention and all nines will receive an Equal Merit / POM award.
Images that receive a score of 5 or 6 may be resubmitted using the comments of the judge and/or other corrections. Images receiving a score of 7 or more may not be resubmitted in an open competition. All images in open competition receiving a score of 8 or less may be used in a themed competition. Ribbons will only be issued for images that score a 9.
Scoring: 5 – 9
| 5 | Not up to club competition quality. |
| 6 | An ordinary competition quality image. |
| 7 | Better than 6 but eligible for consideration of an upgraded score. |
| 8 | A well executed image but others stand out more. |
| 9 | Equal Merit – no limit on number. Only images that score a 9 will be awarded a ribbon. |
A photograph of another’s artwork is not permissible, and should be disqualified. In assessing whether an image violates this rule, the Judge should consider:
(a) What is the dominant subject in the image?
(b) Is that subject something that is generally recognized as having a purely artistic purpose?
A significant modification of someone else’s artwork may be acceptable by the Judge.