RULES AND PROCEDURES FOR COMPETITIONS

I. Introduction.

The primary objective of the club’s competition is the further education of those who compete, rather than for individuals to garner honors; however awards exist because they help measure progress. The Club has voted to become an Exhibition Type Club rather than a Competitive Type Club. To that end, images judged that receive tie scores will result in multiple 1st, 2nd and 3rd places. Example: If there are three images tied for first place, all three will receive the first place award but second and third place will be eliminated for that competition. The number of honorable mentions will be contingent on the number of entries received for that particular category of competition. Club competition will include friendly rivalry, but should never become a more serious contest, or the purpose will be defeated. Club competition will include digital and print competitions. If a person shoots slide, he/she will convert the slide to a digital image for competition.

Competition can encourage photographers or it can stifle their ambition. Obviously, NCC wants its competitions to do the former. All competitions will operate with fairness and proper procedure, but also with a sense of humor and light-hearted fun. Not every photograph is a winner, but to the maker his or her photograph is very important. Each member can expect to and deserves to have his or her work impartially and constructively evaluated with respect.


II. Process of competition.

Members should submit their entries to the competition chairperson and his/her helpers at least 15 minutes before the meeting begins. Digital entries should be submitted via email before 6:00 p.m. the Saturday before the meeting.

Digital images or Print images for each competition, will be shown, for judging (scoring by judges). An image will be shown for at least five (5) seconds. Titles and maker’s names will not be read during the judging.

Prints will be judged using a print light box. The maker’s name must be covered if on the front, but the maker’s name, class, category, title must appear on the back of the print in the lower back corner. An assigned number will be given when the print is entered into the competition and will appear near the lower back corner. Judges will study and score the prints.

Later, after the scores are determined, all images will be shown a second time and/or all images will be displayed and their titles read. Names will be read for those photographs receiving honorable mentions or places. At this time judges or commentators will comment on the entries, when feasible.

Each member is responsible to pick up his or her entries at the end of the meeting. Prints are not the responsibility of club officers or committee chairpersons.


III. Rules of competition.

Rule 1: Members will submit their entries in Class B (novice) or Class A (other). New members will automatically enter into Class B unless they tell the competition chairperson that they wish to be in Class A. (See point VIII for information on progressing to Class A). Members may submit image(s) in each of the categories of competition (further defined in the Category Definition Document) each evening when listed on the schedule [(1) Nature -- Birds (Birds Only), (2) Nature - Other (No Birds), (3) Assigned -- subject matter listed on the website schedule, (4) Open – this is a general category where anything can be entered including nature that has been altered or has the “hand of man” and cannot be entered into nature, (5) Creative-Altered must be obviously altered.] Guests may submit images for commentary, however, awards will be given and award points will be kept only for NCC members in good standing.

Rule 2: Electronic Images – All projected images will be digital. Transparencies must be converted to digital images. Digital entries will be shown as sent to the digital coordinator and must be sent using the instructions for submitting digital images available on the NCC website.

Rule 3: Prints must be mounted and can include mats, however, they must not be framed. Prints must be a minimum of 11 x 14 to a maximum of 16x20 not including the mount. If matted, total size must not exceed 20 x 24 (20" vertical). Signatures must be covered, but makers’ names should appear on the back of the print with their title, class and the category entered.

Rule 4: Members may submit entries when they are not present at the meeting by sending them with a friend or email.

Rule 5: A digital image or print that has won a place in a Naples Camera Club competition once may not be submitted in an NCC competition a second time. Honorable mention digital images or prints may be submitted again the next year.


IV. Judging the images in a competition.

Images may be judged using two methods: 1] by a single outside judge, and 2] by a panel of three judges who are or are not club members. The judges will use the scoring box during judging. The judging method used each evening will be at the discretion of the Competition Chairperson.

Guest judges: From time to time it will be possible to recruit guest judges to judge our competitions. These judges and the Competition Chair will discuss the preferred methods prior to the actual judging, to make the guest judge comfortable with the process.

Panel of judges: When a panel of judges uses the scoring box to judge the images, each judge will score the photograph 3 through 9. One of the judges will comment on each slide or print during the final showing with titles and results, if time allows. If the panel is composed of members of the club, an alternate judge will score the judging member's entry.

Club scoring: Each member can individually score the images for their own learning experiences but these scores will be solely to enhance their judging experience. Images are evaluated for photographic technique, quality of composition, interest and impact, and extra points are given for a truly outstanding and exceptional image.


V. Number of awards.

Each category exhibition (greater than 6 entries) will have first, second and third place award. The number of honorable mentions will be determined by the number of entries in the particular category as listed below.

Entries - Number of Places - Number of HM’s
Greater Than 30 - 1st, 2nd, 3rd - 10
29 to 30 - 1st, 2nd, 3rd - 9
27 to 28 - 1st, 2nd, 3rd - 8
26 - 1st, 2nd, 3rd - 7
24 to 25 - 1st, 2nd, 3rd - 6
20 to 23 - 1st, 2nd, 3rd - 5
15 to 19 - 1st, 2nd, 3rd - 4
11 to 14 - 1st, 2nd, 3rd - 3
9 to 10 - 1st, 2nd, 3rd - 2
7 to 8 - 1st, 2nd, 3rd - 1
6* - 1st, 2nd, 3rd - 0
5* - 1st, 2nd - 0
Less Than 5* - 1st - 0

*If Class B has less than 6 entries, the images will be judged and critiqued. If the images receive a score of 24-27, they will be eligible for a first place. If they receive a 20-23, they will be awarded a second place. If the images receive a score of 17-19 they receive a third place. If they receive a 15 or 16 they will receive an honorable mention.


VI. In the case of ties.

If the scores of two or more placing entries are the same, both individuals will receive the number of points of the place, and the next place(s) will be eliminated. For example, if two people tie for 2nd, they both receive 7 points, and the 3rd place will be eliminated. When there are ties, the number of HM’s will be at the discretion of the competition chair.


VII. Points earned in competitions for club awards.

The award points secretary will record the points earned by each member each year to discern the “Photographer of the Year”. Cumulative plateau awards (at 25, 50, 100, 200, 300, 450, 600 and 750) will be awarded to individual members. Both Class A and Class B will receive points for their entries. Points earned for competitions will be:

Place - Points
1st - 8
2nd - 7
3rd - 6
HM - 2
All entries - 1
Disqualified entries - 0 - Can be entered again in other competitions.


VIII. Competition awards.

All awards for a specific fiscal year (November 1- October 31) will be made at the January meeting of the following year.

Accumulated Points. Members may receive awards for their accumulated points in club competitions. Awards will be given for 25, 50, 100, 200, 300, 450, 600 and 750 points earned in NCC competitions. When a member has earned 75 points and has at least 5 first, second or third places in Class “B” this person will move to Class “A” at the end of the season after end of year competition is completed. The person progressing to Class “A” will begin the next season’s competition in Class “A.” When a member has earned 750 points he or she will become a “Fellow” of the Club, and point records will no longer be kept. Awards may be certificates or plaques.

Photographer of the Year. One “Photographer of the Year” award (two if there are two skill divisions) will be made to the person receiving the most points in any given year. A member may not receive a “Photographer of the Year” award for two consecutive years. If the point count has this result, the person with the second highest number of points will receive the award that year. If there is a tie in points accumulated, two awards will be made.

End of Year (EOY) wins will consist of a First (1st) Place win in Open Projection, Nature Projection and Creative/Altered Projection and Open Print, Nature Print and Creative/Altered Print. This will be done for Class A and Class B. We will also have a Projection Image of the Year and Print Image of the Year.

* End of Year Images. The only images eligible to be entered into the end of the year competition are images entered by the maker during the fiscal year. If the image was entered as a PRINT, it must be entered into the end of the year competition as a PRINT, with no modifications. Same for PROJECTION.