Guidelines for Judging

Delaware Photographic Society

Competitions 2024-2025

August 3, 2024

To be considered for competition, images must be uploaded to the DPS website by 11:59 p.m. on the image dates specified on the DPS website.

Note to Judges: All images have been reviewed in advance of the competition by Projected Image Director, Mark Leary and Print Director, Karl Leck. The images presented to judges for scoring have met the criteria established for the competition and are to be scored with the criteria noted in this document.

SCORING:
The scoring system we use permits each of the three judges to score an entry from 1 to 9. Thus, the total score for each entry can range from 3 to 27. We realize that judging photographic images is largely subjective. However, we would like judges to adhere to the following approximate scoring guidelines:

GENERAL JUDGING GUIDELINES:
These guidelines are provided to acquaint you with the judging procedures for DPS projected image competitions,and some general expectations for our invited judges.

• A 3-4 rating is used for images where there are two or more flaws, and this rating would be used for assigned subject evaluation where the entrant does not follow the assignment.

• These guidelines use “6” as a baseline of a good image: good focus, exposure, composition, lighting, depth of field, etc. A ”5” is at the low end of the good scale where one of the elements listed was inadequate or poor. A “7” is the top of a good rating where one of the elements was very good but not enough to elevate it to a score of “8”.

• An 8-9 rating is used for an image where the judges feel strongly that the image should be accepted, and if awards were given should receive one of these scores. So, an “8” or 9 should be used where all the elements come together to make an excellent image.

Disqualification:
A score of “1” is used for disqualification only (name, title, copyright info or other text placed on image.  Only the Projected Image/Print Competition Directors will disqualify an image for any of the following reasons: image previously selected in a prior competition, the same image entered more than once in different categories (Assigned, Open and Creative) for the same competition night, name or title or copyright info or other text placed on the image, image capture date prior to assigned subject requirement, or image completely failed to meet the criteria for the competition (assigned subject, creative).

COMPETITION CLASSES:
According to experience and skill levels, the contestants have been assigned to one of three proficiency classes: ClassB, Class A and Salon. Salon is the class for the most proficient members and Class B for the least proficient. However, judges should not automatically assume that images submitted in Class B are necessarily of less quality than images in Class A or Salon but judge each image on its own merits.

Entries in each group (i.e., a given class and subject category) will be viewed and judged together, and separately from other groups. The only exception is Creative where all images entered are judged together, regardless of Class.

COMPETITION CATEGORIES:
We have four different image categories: Assigned Subject, Color Open Subject, Creative and Monochrome Open Subject.

ASSIGNED SUBJECTS (Color and Monochrome)
Assigned Subject competitions are conducted in all classes. Color and Monochrome images compete together in Assigned Subjects. For the Assigned Subject images, it is the judges’ responsibility to determine the extent to which each image fits the assignment, and to score accordingly. An appealing image that does not fit the assigned subject very well should not score above a less striking image that fits the assignment.

Scoring of Assigned Subject Images:
Judges will be scoring images, grouped by assigned subject for each month, (September, October, November) and (January, February, March and April) since the assigned subject provides the context for scoring such images.

ASSIGNED SUBJECTS:
SEPTEMBER 2024: LONELY (Single subject in an environment that evokes a feeling of loneliness)
OCTOBER 2024: STRING INSTRUMENT (Musical instrument with strings)
NOVEMBER 2024: EYES ALIVE (Image featuring the eyes of a live creature)
JANUARY 2025: LANDSCAPE WITH MOON (Landscape featuring our moon)
FEBRUARY 2025: HALLWAY (Image of or in a covered space between rooms)
MARCH 2025: WOOD FURNITURE IN USE (A critter or human using wooden furniture)
APRIL 2025: ARCHITECTURE (Exterior view of a structure designed and built by humans)

All images that are to be entered in the Assigned Subject category for the 2024-2025 DPS year must have been captured on or after September 1, 2023.

COLOR OPEN SUBJECT (Color Only)
Any image taken by the club member, at any time, may be entered in the Color Open category, except for images, previously marked as selected in earlier competitions. Club members are requested to use discretion and propriety when submitting images in this category. The Open category has no date, technique, or subject requirement.

MONOCHROME OPEN SUBJECT: (Monochrome Only)
An image is considered to be Monochrome if it gives the impression of having singular color.  In other words, it contains only shades of gray which can include pure black and pure white OR it gives the impression of being a grayscale image that has been toned in one color across the entire image. (For example, sepia, blue, red, gold, etc.).  While the Monochrome Open category has no date, subject, or technique requirement other than being monochrome, images are expected to demonstrate a sense of propriety because they are shown publicly.

CREATIVE:
Creative (also known as Altered Reality) is intended to encourage experimental or non-traditional work. Images should clearly exhibit unusual or creative techniques in the original capture and/or post processing.  Images must have been manipulated to a form that could not have been captured in the camera. There are no date requirements for the creative category.

Judges, who are not current DPS members, will receive an honorarium of $50.00 for judging the images inthese competition.

If you have any questions about these guidelines, please contact Karl Leck, Print Director at karleck@verison.net or Mark Leary, Projected Image Director at jumbobluecrab@yahoo.com.