Guidelines

Please read the full set of competition rules! This guide is a summary and doesn’t replace your need to read and understand the official SRPS rules.

  • Members may enter up to three entries per month. Competitions are held the second Thursday of each month, entry deadline is the previous Wednesday at 11:59 p.m.
  • Images must originate as photographs made by the entrant; any composited elements must also be the photographer’s own work. This prohibits the use of images that may be available online or provided in software, such as a sky that you didn’t shoot yourself.
  • Digital darkroom techniques such as dodge and burn, sharpening, levels, saturation, HDR and others are not explicitly prohibited in any category, however, Journalism, Nature and Travel require images to appear “natural” so be judicious in their use.
  • Techniques that add to, relocate, replace or remove any element of the original image are not allowed in Journalism, Nature or Travel.
  • Graphic elements (not created from photographs) may be used in Pictorial, Monochrome, and Creative, but they may not predominate in the image. No clipart, textures, or other digital objects that exist ‘ready to use’ in a graphics program are permitted, except for text (you may use an existing font).
  • Titles are important for conveying story telling and/or factual information, especially in Journalism, Travel and Nature categories.
  • The same image (or substantially similar/derivative versions) can be entered only once per competition, and only 3 times ever, unless it places 1st/2nd/3rd atwhich point the image (or its substantially similar/derivative versions) can’t be entered again.

Certain image types are allowed depending on the category:

Image typePictorialMonochromeJournalismNatureCreativeTravel
Monochrome –
greyscale
xxxxxx
Monochrome –
sepia, cyanotype,
single color tones
xxx
Infraredxxx

X
Sequencesxx
Divisions into
sections (eg triptych)
xxx

Pictorial and Monochrome: Emphasis on interest, visual impact, composition and technical excellence. Not confined to any specific subject, type, or style of photography.

Creative: Use of imaginative skill or originality of thought including the altering of reality. No image should be eliminated from competition simply because it looks realistic, provided it shows originality of concept.

Journalism: Informative content and emotional impact; human interest, documentary and spot news. No set up of situations. The journalistic value of the photograph shall be considered over pictorial quality.

Travel: Images must express the feeling of a time and place; portray a land, its distinctive features or culture. Must appear natural.

Nature: The informative/story telling value of a photograph must be weighed more than the pictorial quality, while maintaining high technical quality:

Allowed: Landscapes, geologic formations, weather phenomena, and extant organisms as the primary subject matter. Controlled conditions, such as zoos, game farms, botanical gardens, aquariums, any enclosure where the subjects are totally dependent on humans for food are allowed.

Not Allowed: Anthropology, archeology, mounted specimens. Cultivated plants or human-created hybrid plants (even if those plants are found in the wild). Domestic or formerly domesticated animal species, even if living in the wild, or feral animals. This prohibits honeybees, “wild” horses, and a lot of plants that appear in our natural environment.

Limited human elements may appear: wild animals with tags/bands/radio collars; as part of the nature story; within situations depicting natural forces (like hurricanes, tidal waves, etc).

Critique/Feedback: Any image “in good taste”; for members to receive feedback without competing. Member must be present for image to be shown.