Image Competition Guidelines

PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHERS OF COLORADO ANNUAL IMAGE COMPETITION

 

Images by makers (left to right): Carrie Cleghorn, Cheryl Moore, Elane Graves, Alexa Kiel, & Kim Nordby

Judging: October 15, 2023 | Awards: December 9, 2023
Entry Deadline: Regular Registration October 8, 2023 | Late Registration October 10, 2023

The purpose of this event is to offer image competition, scoring, feedback, critique possibilities, and awards for our PPC members. The competition is for individual digital images, and/or digital albums. These entries are judged against a standard of excellence using the 12 Elements of a Merit Image as a guide. These guidelines closely follow those
used by PPA (Professional Photographers of America, Inc.).

These rules pertain to images entered as digital files created by any photographic process. AI (Artificial Intelligence) is not an excepted process. All entries must be registered with PPC via PrintCompetition.com.

  1. PPC members may submit up to 8 digital files*. They may consist of individual digital files or a digital album, (minimum 10 pages, an album counts as one entry) or a combination of both for judging.
  2. Competition registration starts at PPColorado.com. Please follow directions from there to PrintCompetition.com for payment and upload. (Maximum of 8 entries at Annual Conference.
  3. Awards are based on the 6 highest scoring entries per individual.
  4. No changes to your entry are permitted once the entry deadline has passed. No refunds will be issued after the entry fee is paid.
  5. At the time of entry, participants must be a current member of PPColorado to qualify for trophies and other image competition awards.

Prepare up to a max of 8 of your best images for entry. *Please note: The best 6 images will be used for your final scores. Some of the awards are based on your total cumulative score so it’s best to enter at least 6 images. Only your top 6 scores will count if you enter more than 6.

PPA Masters (Photog. and/or Artist) MUST enter into the Master Categories, NO EXCEPTIONS. Not yet a PPA Master yet? Enter in the General Categories.

Registration & Entry Fees

Registration opens 9am – September 1st – October 8th at 11pm 

PPColorado Member $10 per image 1 – 8 images
Non-Member $15 per image 1-8 images
(Plus a $7 registration fee at printcompetition.com if you are not a member).

Late Registration | Midnight October 8th to 11pm – Tuesday October 10th

PPColorado Member $20 per image 1 – 8 images
Non-Member $25 per image 1 – 8 images

Critiques: $7.50 for each image critique requested. Check which images you want to be critiqued when you create your entries and be sure to include the $7.50 when you calculate your payment. Entries are not considered complete until paid.

Eligibility

  1. Entrant must have captured and created the original exposure or exposures.
  2. All processing, manipulation, or rendering must be done by the entrant or under their direct supervision.
  3. The entrant has obtained and has access to all necessary releases (model or property) and agrees to hold PPColorado harmless against all claims and liabilities arising out of PPColorado’s display, publication, and promotion or other use of each image submitted to PPColorado.
  4. The entrant’s name shall not appear anywhere in or on the face of the entry.
  5. A maximum of eight (8) entries may be submitted per entrant for the Annual Image Competition.
  6. No entry will be eligible if it has been made under the supervision of an instructor or as a class assignment. All images submitted must be self-directed. Images created in an educational environment under direct supervision from an instructor are ineligible.
  7. Any entry that has been created from an existing photograph, portrait, graphic, or any other artwork produced by another person is a violation of the competition rules and will not be judged, accepted, or displayed. If an entry, in the good-faith opinion of the PPColorado, violates copyright, trademark, or any other applicable law, that entry shall not be displayed or published.
  8. Entries of the same subject in multiple images will be allowed, if the images are entirely different concepts.
  9. Any image/photograph previously entered into a PPColorado Annual Conference image competition scoring 80 or higher may NOT be reentered into the annual conference or any other image competition governed by PPColorado.
  10. Images receiving the Merit or Imaging Excellence (formerly Loan Collection) status at any of the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) MIR monthly Competitions or the International Print Competition (IPC, GIA), may NOT be entered into any PPColorado image competition. Images so entered may be disqualified at the discretion of the Image Competition Committee Chair without notice to the entrant.
  11. Images, not of acceptable exhibition content will be judged for score and awards consideration but may not be displayed on the PPColorado website. The decision of acceptable content will be based on the standards set by the National Gallery in Washington, DC and at the discretion of the PPColorado Board and Image Competition Committee.

FAQs
Please see the PPC Print Competition FAQs

Download 2023 PPC Image Competition Rules for reference.