Starting in January 2010, the FWPPA print competition has undergone some changes.
The most significant change has been to accommodate multiple categories each month.
This will encourage more entries into the print competition. A given print can
be entered in one category only. Listed below are the categories for each month:
- Portrait – Includes the following: individuals, seniors, families, children, and
animals.
- Wedding – Can be a Bridal or Engagement portrait or any image taken at a wedding.
- Illustrative – Includes: landscapes, scenery, buildings, commercial, photojournalism,
etc.
- Albums – Can be any album, either bridal, wedding, engagement, or senior. Must
consist of a minimum of 10 images represented in the album. The album entrant must
have created all the images within the album. No other photographer’s images are
allowed.
- There will be a monthly print competition/evaluation at every monthly meeting except
the December Holiday party.
- Prints may be any size or any shape with an image area of not less than 80 square
inches and not more than 480 square inches, with the largest dimension no longer
than 24 inches. Image must be permanently mounted on standard mount material (matte
board, gator board, foam, sintra). No masonite, glass, stretcher or conventional
frames are allowed.
- The judging for 1st, 2nd and 3rd will be done by a three person panel, usually consisting
of the guest speaker, and two master photographers from the guild. The scores from
all three will be added and the highest average scores will be assigned. All the
guild members will vote for the member's choice. The judging will still be on the
12 elements of a good print but with an emphasis on lighting, posing, composition,
color harmony and impact (the things that will help us all improve and increase our
sales).
- Ribbons will be given out in all four categories for 1st Blue, 2nd Red, and 3rd White,
plus the overall ribbon for member's choice Gold. Winners must meet the minimum
score requirements.
- The speaker will give a brief evaluation of each print after the program has ended.
- One month each year will be designated as Folio Month where entries will be at least
eight prints in a folio. These images are to be proofs with no retouching.
- One month each year will be for albums (feel free to bring a studio sample just cover
the studio name where ever it occurs.
- Each participating member will get one entry into the Texas School Scholarship drawing
for every entry.
- Each participating member will receive fellowship points at the rate of one half
point for each entry and one point for each ribbon. If a member enters every month
the total number of entry points (5 1/2) will be increased to 8 points.
- As an added incentive to continue to participate in the evaluations and FWPPA activities,
once you have achieved a Full Fellowship you will begin to earn clips for your ribbon,
25 points per clip - like the PPA merit clips.
- Taking the judging class will count as a special meeting towards your Fellowship.
- You cannot judge if you have a print entered so each time you judge you will receive
one half point counted under competition.
- The evaluations given each month by different people with different view points should
help us to get a better idea of how our customers view our work.
••• SPECIAL NOTE •••
Under the new rules, in order for a print to earn a ribbon its overall score must
be a 76 or higher. What does this mean? Let's say you are the only entrant in
the illustrative category and your overall score is a 75. That means no ribbons
will be given for that category and it will not have a winner. What we don't want
to do is give a ribbon to everyone that enters. We want to only give ribbons that
meet the minimum score.
The Board of Directors may cancel a scheduled competition for any month. Entries
MUST be received by 7:00 p.m. to qualify.
ELIGIBILITY
- Any Active or Associate member, in good standing, may enter a monthly competition.
- The member must be present to have their entry judged. Print scores will not be
recorded for those not present.
- New Active and Associate members may participate in monthly competition beginning
the month following their approval as member by the general membership.
- Only one entry can be submitted per entrant per month.
- A transparency (minimum size of 4x5) may be entered instead of a print. Entrant
must furnish a light box for viewing.
- A folio with at least eight (8) proof size prints of the same subject (in the appropriate
month).
- A wedding album containing prints from the same event.
- The entry must have been captured and created by the entrant.
- The entrant's name or studio name shall not appear visible anywhere on the face of
the entry.
- No entry will be eligible that has been made under the supervision of an instructor
or as a class assignment.
- Entries previously merited at any PPA affiliated Judging are not eligible, including
any image from a merited album.
- All prints must have a title.
SPECIAL CATEGORY COMPETITIONS
From time to time, the Vice President of Skills Development will declare a particular
month's competition a Folio Night, or a Wedding Album Night. When this occurs,
entries that are voted on must comply with the category and ribbons will be awarded
to those entries only. However, any entries that comply with the regular competition
rules will be recorded as counting towards the FWPPA members Texas School Scholarship
eligibility requirement.
PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR
- The Photographer of the Year Award is based on monthly competition from January through
November.
- Competition scores for each month are tabulated and maintained from month to month
by the Vice President of Skills Development or his/her competition chairperson.
- The person with the highest total score after the November monthly competition will
be named Photographer of the Year and will receive a plaque at the December FWPPA
meeting.
DAVE CISCO MEMORIAL TEXAS SCHOOL SCHOLARSHIP
- To honor Dave Cisco, a long time FWPPA member, a Texas School Tuition Scholarship,
limited to tuition fees will be awarded at the December FWPPA meeting annually.
- Competition for this award is based on 11 months of competition from January through
November of the current calendar year.
- Each entry in the monthly competition will be eligible for one(1) entry into the
drawing for the Texas School Scholarship.
- New Active and Associate members approved for membership during the period of a Texas
School Scholarship eligibility year may enter beginning the month following their
approval as members by the general membership.
- The winner of the year's Texas School Tuition Scholarship will be determined by a
drawing held at the December meeting of FWPPA with the names of all the eligible
participants being placed in the drawing with the appropriate number of entries -
1 month entered = 1 entry, 4 months = 4 entries, etc. The winner need not be present
at the drawing to win.