A copy of the Stevenage Photographic Society Competition Rules is available to all members and should be read before entering competitions.

Presentation

To gain maximum marks, your image must be presented to the judge in a way that pleases them.  You can use card mounts or frames in our club, but be aware that some judges frown on glass mounted frames.  They can offer protection for your print, but if they fall from the display stands and are broken, the club cannot be held responsible.  Mounts or frames must be clean and undamaged.  The picture should be mounted straight and securely. 

Fingerprints and dust should be removed before the competition.  Lighter fuel is very effective for cleaning stubborn marks from prints.  Canned compressed air or puffer brushes are both useful for removing dust from slides.

 Coloured mounts can be extremely effective with prints, but should be used with care.  The colour should be complimentary and not distract from the image.  Champagne or cream card is neutral and is probably the safest bet for most images.  Black card can be effective, too.

 Cropping

 Most judges suggest cropping the image to make the subject stand out more.  Remember that you are trying to keep the judge’s eye in the picture.  Cropping out any distractions from the background always helps.

 For slides use tin foil to reduce the size of the image.  It does not show fuzzy edges like paper or card.  Shaped masks are available to enhance your slide, but be economical with their use.  One oval mask in a competition will grab the judge’s attention.  Three will bore them.

 Preparation

 Prints should be labelled clearly on the back with:

1. Your Name
2. Your Membership Number
3. The Title of the Print
4. The Number of the Print (Usually 1,2 or 3)
5. The Number or Name of the Competition.
6. Stevenage Photographic Society (In case they are entered at other clubs)

 This will help the Chairman to announce the title confidently and clearly to the judge.  It also tells him which way up to show the print.  Most are obvious, but with reflections or abstracts, for example, he may need guidance.

 Slides need the same information, but you may need to abbreviate.  All slides should also be “Spotted”.  You can buy small round stickers that will do this job.  The spot should be placed in the bottom left hand corner of the image as you look at it.  If you “Turn or Invert” a slide, make sure that the spot is on the side that you wish the slide to viewed from.  A projector looks at a slide upside down, so, when placed in the magazine or cartridge, the spot must be on the top right hand corner.

 Titles 

Titles are essential for an entry, so that they can be indentified in future, and they can help the judge to understand your picture.  They can be humorous or factual, but please keep them brief.  Some members find it easy to give their pictures the right name, where others find it extremely difficult.  For natural history shots, the full name of the species will help the judge to identify it, but Latin names will give your chairperson nightmares! 

 “Boat”, “Bird”, “Tree”, or “Flower” is better than nothing, but how different you would view an image called “Sailing Home”, “Flying Free”, “The Mighty Oak”, or “Poppies at Dawn”.

 Timing

Competition nights are always busy, so please have your entries ready before that evening.  Try to decide the week before what you are going to enter and prepare them in plenty of time.  Clean them and store them safely for transportation to the club.

 Themed Competitions

We decide these topics or themes more than a year in advance to give you as much time as possible to decide what sort of picture you want to take.  Do not leave it to the last minute!  Make a note of the topics before you go out anywhere with your camera.  Judges can always tell when a picture has been taken specifically for a competition and when someone has just had a root through what they have in the drawer.

Composition

Composition is probably the most important aspect of your image.  Decide what your subject is going to be and use every trick you can to draw attention to that subject.  I.e.  "Frame" it, put a red hat on it, lead up to it with a path or something, throw the background completely out of focus, just make sure that the judge has nothing else to look at! 

 Stop and Think

When you are composing your shot, think about what you are doing.  Search the viewfinder for distractions.  Look around and see if there is another way of getting a better picture.  Get as close as you can to your subject.  Use your legs!  (The photographer’s most under-used tool…)  Judges often ask for a sense of perspective, too.  They need something that tells them how big the subject is. 

 Colours

I mentioned red just now, because it is one of the strongest colours that you can use.  A splash of red in a picture can turn it into a winner.  The eye is led straight to it.  A scene or landscape can be transformed by the inclusion of a person in a red jacket.  Do not overdo it, though.

 Rewards

 In Stevenage Photographic Society, we award a £10 Alta Image voucher to the winner of a “Ten”.  We also ask you to speak a little about your picture.  This is not done to embarrass you, but so that the judge and the other members learn how you took your picture.  What camera you used, where it was taken, how difficult it was to take.  Just a few details to inspire others.

 What does that judge know anyway?

The most important thing to remember is that when judges give their opinion of an image, it is just that.  Their own, personal view!  Inconsistency among judges is legendary.  One judge will rave about a picture and give it maximum points.  The next one will slate it and award it a five!  What matters is that you like the picture.