Rules of Competition
Charlottesville Camera Club Rules of Competition
1. Categories
Assigned
- Entries must fit the designated monthly theme.
- Restrictions on editing and manipulation of photos in this category are detailed in the chart below. These restrictions are intended to provide an opportunity for photographers of all levels to compete more fairly.
- Each member may submit one entry.
- Photos of Class A (advanced) and Class B (beginner/intermediate) members are judged separately.
- The date of photo capture must be within the past 12 months.
Open
- Entries are not restricted to a theme.
- To allow our members to fully achieve their vision for a photo we encourage all entrants to make full use of software tools that can optimize the visual quality of a photo.* Any enhancement must be done by the entrant.
- Significant changes to the pictorial content (deleting, resizing, moving, and adding main components)—which are not allowed in the Assigned category—are allowed in the Open category, with the following exceptions:
--Any pictorial content added to the photo (a moon, clouds, better sky, less-distracting background, etc.) must be from a photo taken by the entrant and not from any other source, including creation via Artificial Intelligence. (See note about AI-generated content below.)
--Photos in which the pictorial content has been altered must retain the overall realism of the original photo. For example, a moon may be added to the night sky, but not more than one moon. (Photos with significant distortions of reality must be entered in the Abstracts and Altered Reality competition, which is held once each year.)
- Any filters that are applied, either during capture or during editing, must retain the overall realism of the subject. Any photo that appears unnatural must be entered into the Abstracts and Altered Reality competition. (For example, slightly enhancing the starburst effect of a light at night is OK, but if the effect is so extreme that it appears unnatural, the photo is not allowed.)
- Abstract photos (“found abstracts”) that retain the original characteristics of the subject (shapes, textures, patterns, etc.) and where no major distortion has been introduced, can be entered in the Open competition.
- Each member may submit one entry.
- Class A and Class B are judged separately.
- There is no limit on the capture date for the photo.
* Tutorials on photo editing are available on the Internet. Also, you can get helpful advice on editing by attending our photo review sessions, and experienced members of the club may be willing to work with you to improve your photo editing. Feel free to ask!
2. Who can enter what
- All members whose dues are fully paid may enter one photo in each of the two competitions (Assigned and Open) each month. New members cannot enter at the first meeting they attend. Members may enter competitions even if they do not attend the meeting.
- Members are assigned to Class A or B by the club, based on the member's level of skill as a photographer. The executive committee may promote a member from Class B to Class A if it feels that person is misplaced. Any member may request to be moved from Class B to Class A at the end of the year. The Class B member who has earned the highest number of points in the monthly competition by the end of the year will be automatically promoted to Class A. The winner of the Shyan Award, as well as those who have won a preponderance of high scores, will be considered for promotion by the executive committee.
- Photos that scored a 4 or 5 cannot be reentered in a subsequent competition, but the subject can be re-photographed. Photos that scored a 1, 2, or 3 in a previous competition, and that have correctable flaws that were noted by a judge, can be reentered once with those corrections made.
- The photo must be your own work rather than a team effort. You can have help, but it must be your vision and your execution.
- A designated member of the executive committee screens entries prior to judging and, after consultation with the photographer, can disqualify or re-categorize an entry.
3. Photo-editing restrictions for the Assigned competition
Assigned entries are subject to photo-editing restrictions to:
- Emphasize the quality of the initial capture.
- Enable members with less advanced skills in photo editing to compete more fairly.
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ADJUSTMENTS ALLOWED in the Assigned Category
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ADJUSTMENTS NOT ALLOWED in the Assigned Category |
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Correct white balance and color shifts (temperature and tint) Exposure/brightness, dodge and burn Sharpening, clarity, and texture Noise reduction |
Color and brightness changes that significantly alter the original look and feel of the subject as originally captured |
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Contrast, saturation, and vibrance Conversion to black and white or sepia |
Color substitution to provide an unnatural effect Conversion to infrared |
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Cropping, scaling, flipping, and rotating the entire photo |
Movement, enlargement, or reduction of elements within a photo Seam editing |
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Combining multiple photos or elements of photos to: -- form a panorama (stitching) -- blend exposures (HDR or manually) -- extend depth of field (focus stacking) -- emphasize highlights, shape, tone, and texture of components of photo via light painting |
Making composite photos by combining photos or components from other photos or duplicating components within the same photo (including background and sky replacement and the Orton effect) |
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Cloning and using Content Aware Fill, Generative Fill*, or equivalent tools to remove unwanted items that: -- you could not remove or avoid at the time of capture -- you would have removed or avoided if you had noticed them at the time of capture |
Removing or altering major components of the main subject |
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Blurring distracting elements (including the background)**, spot healing, healing brush, or patch tools** |
Using a blur filter to create an ethereal mood or a special effect that wasn't part of the original subject |
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Panning a moving subject and using a slow shutter speed to blur a fast-moving subject |
Moving or adjusting the camera during exposure to create abstract, artistic interpretations of the subject |
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Perspective correction with tilt/shift lenses or software Transform, Free Transform, and Puppet Warp** |
Use of on-camera filters and other tools, such as Lensbaby, that produce special optical or color effects and significantly alter the original look or feel of the subject |
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Using artificial light to brighten parts of an existing scene or the entire scene. |
Light painting using artificial light to create designs, patterns, and other effects within the photo |
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Use of a flatbed scanner or photocopier to produce a photo, unless the resulting photo is as realistic and true to the subject as if taken with a camera |
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Adjustments that go beyond those listed in the left column, including filters that distort forms and alter texture or create artificial optical effects (such as lens flare, fog, or star bursts) |
* For more about the use of tools powered by Artificial Intelligence, please see below.
**Only if they do not significantly alter the appearance of the main subject or a major part of the subject
4. How to prepare and enter your photos
On the club website (www.cvillcameraclub.org), go to Competition Info and review the instructions in the sub-menu.
5. Judging & scoring
Photos are graded by using the following five-point rating system. (You may see the compiled results by requesting them from the registrar.)
5—Outstanding, of a quality that would merit inclusion in a juried exhibition; significant “wow” factor.
4—Very good technically and compositionally but lacking the quality that makes it unforgettable.
3—Average, having some minor deficiencies.
2—Some good points, but with some major deficiencies.
1—Needs significant improvement.
Audience members are not allowed to speak to the judge while photos are being evaluated. A member designated by the executive committee may assist the judge regarding our rules or the assigned theme and may answer any of the judge’s questions.
Members serving as judges are not permitted to enter the competition that they are judging. As compensation, they will be awarded nine points. A member may not act as a judge more than once in any calendar year.
6. End of the year awards
Members must have entered at least three monthly competitions during the year in order to compete for any of the end of the year awards.
Judges’ Favorites
A panel of three judges will choose and critique their favorites from photos entered during the current year. The photos must be unchanged from when they were entered previously.
The James W. Simmons Photographer of the Year Award
Presented in memory of Mr. Simmons’ outstanding contributions to the club. This award is presented to the Class A photographer who has accumulated the highest number of points during the year.
The Howard Rothman Class B Photographer of the Year Award
Presented in memory of one of our club’s founders. This award is presented to the Class B photographer who has accumulated the highest number of points during the year.
Shyan Award
In memory of founders Ted and Rita Shyan, this award is open only to Class B photographers. Three photos, taken during the current calendar year, may be entered. Photos may or may not include those previously entered in any of the club competitions. Club members will choose the winner by voting.
If photos are entered for both the Shyan Award and the Assigned and Open categories above, separate photos must be entered for each category.
The Registrar compiles and distributes a list, for all members, of the number of entries and all earned points for the year. Please check your name carefully if you are entering the competition.
Photos that were previously entered in a competition must be unchanged if entered again for the end-of-year competitions.
All certificates, prizes, etc., will be presented during the January meeting.
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What About Artificial Intelligence?
An increasing number of photo-editing tools are now powered by what is known as “artificial intelligence.” While many of these tools do little more than make earlier methods of editing faster, easier, and more effective, they can also add major components to photos or even create entire original images, with just a few prompts by the user.
AI is rapidly advancing, and there’s no way to know what will be coming our way. However, our overall guidance on the use of AI in photos being entered into our competitions is as follows:
- In the Assigned category, you can use AI tools only to help you accomplish what is already allowed in the rules listed above.
- In the Open category, you can be more liberal with the use of AI tools, but please remember that any significant components added to a composition must be of your own creation, not something generated by prompts to AI. For example, you may add a horse to a meadow, but the horse must be taken from one of your own photos and not be one generated by prompting AI.
