Photographic Society of Northwest Arkansas
Judging a Photographic
Competition
Photographic Society of Northwest Arkansas
What is a Competition?
Competition: the act of competing in a given environment based on set criteria.
Photographic Society of Northwest Arkansas
Why enter a
Competition?
• Increase your skill and confidence in your craft. Preparing to submit entries to the
Print Competition forces you to look deeper at your own photography. It helps you see
techniques to improve and ideas to try.
• Earn points. Starting in 2009 PSNWA has begun a point system to acknowledge the top
competition photographers by year.
• Be seen. Your image could score high enough to secure a spot in the Gallery Collection,
which travels to different locations around Northwest Arkansas, and is printed in a 16x20
gallery format by PSNWA.
Photographic Society of Northwest Arkansas
Qualitative vs
Quantitative Observations
Photographic Society of Northwest Arkansas
Qualitative vs
Quantitative Observations
Qualitative observations use your senses to observe
the results. (Sight, smell, touch, taste and
hear.)
Photographic Society of Northwest Arkansas
Qualitative vs
Quantitative Observations
Qualitative observations use your senses to observe
the results. (Sight, smell, touch, taste and
hear.)
Quantitative observations are made with instruments
such as rulers, balances, g raduated cylinders,
beakers, and thermometers. These results are
measurable.
Photographic Society of Northwest Arkansas
Qualitative vs
Quantitative Observations
Judging an image is like judging gymnastics. You set the criteria, but
then it is up to the judges to interpret how those criteria relate into a
numeric score. There is a lot of difference in local amateur
gymnastic scores both because of the quality of gymnast and the
judge as compared to top national competitions. The same can be
said of local photographic competitions.
Photographic Society of Northwest Arkansas
Who Sets the Criteria?
Unlike the laws of Physics, the
criteria for any particular
competition may be different and
often change based on the level of
photography expected. Different
organizations have vastly means of
judging a competition.
Photographic Society of Northwest Arkansas
Who Sets the Criteria?
Photographic competitions have expected levels of quality much in
the same manner that baseball has various levels. In baseball the
rules may change based on level but the basic concept remains the
same.
T-ball = Fairs or simple promotional competitions. No Score
Little League = Many local clubs Simple 1 to 5 score on impression
NCAA Baseball = PSNWA with a 100 point score on 5 criteria
Pro Baseball = PPA with a 100 point score on 12 criteria and 6 judges
Photographic Society of Northwest Arkansas
Who Sets the Criteria?
The Photographic Society of Northwest Arkansas board has settled
on a 5 criteria modified from PPA 12 criteria for judging a
photograph in a competition.
Impact
Subject Matter / Creativity
Composition
Technical Mastery
Print Presentation
Photographic Society of Northwest Arkansas
Criteria Defined
Impact: is the sense one gets
upon viewing an image for the first
time. Compelling images evoke
laughter, sadness, anger, pride, wonder
or another intense emotion. There
can be impact in any of these twelve
elements.
Photographic Society of Northwest Arkansas
Criteria Defined
Subject Matter
/Creativity: Subject Matter
should always be appropriate to the
story being told in an image. Creativity
is the original, fresh, and external
expression of the imagination of the
maker by using the medium to convey
an idea, message or thought.
Photographic Society of Northwest Arkansas
Criteria Defined
Composition: important to the design of an image, bringing
all of the visual elements together in concert to express the purpose
of the image. Proper composition
holds the viewer in the image and
prompts the viewer to look where
the creator intends. Effective
composition can be pleasing or
disturbing, depending on the intent
of the image maker.
Photographic Society of Northwest Arkansas
Criteria Defined
Technical Mastery: print
is the quality of the image itself as it
relates to sharpness, exposure,
retouching, manipulation, and correct
color balance are some items that
speak to the users skills in producing a
top image.
Photographic Society of Northwest Arkansas
Criteria Defined
Print Presentation: affects
an image by giving it a finished look.
Is the print quality of the image itself
as it is presented for viewing? The
paper, printing and borders used
should support and enhance the
image, not distract from it.
Photographic Society of Northwest Arkansas
Quantize Facts
Placing a score: three judges
view the image and place a score
between 0 -100 on how well the image
accomplishes each of the five criteria.
Those 5 scores for each judge are
added together and divided by 5 to get
a single score per judge that is between
0 -100 points.
Score Card:
IMPACT:
82
SUBJECT MATTER/
CREATIVITY
76
COMPOSITION
92
TECHNICAL MASTERY
84
PRINT PRESENTATION
95
TOTAL
429 /5 = 85.8
Photographic Society of Northwest Arkansas
Quantize Facts
Placing a final score: the
image score from each of the three
judges are added together and divided
by three to give a final competition
score.
Image Score:
Judge 1
85.8
Judge 2
79.5
Judge 3
88.4
TOTAL
253.7 /3 = 84.6
Photographic Society of Northwest Arkansas
Quantize Facts
Scores Defined:
Exceptional 100-95
Above Average 84-76
Superior 94-90
Average 75-74
Excellent 89-85
Acceptable 73-70
Below Exhibition Standards 69-00
Photographic Society of Northwest Arkansas
Jury Rules
Juror and Chairman Responsibilities:
• PSNWA Competitions Chairman is directly responsible for the
conduct of their respective Juries.
Photographic Society of Northwest Arkansas
Jury Rules
Juror and Chairman Responsibilities:
• Jurors will not see any entry before the actual judging begins.
Photographic Society of Northwest Arkansas
Jury Rules
Juror and Chairman Responsibilities:
• There must be no comment or discussion, implied or spoken,
before the entry has been judged and the score announced.
Photographic Society of Northwest Arkansas
Jury Rules
Juror and Chairman Responsibilities:
• The lights may not be turned on and off by a Juror to see if a
print looks better with less lighting.
Photographic Society of Northwest Arkansas
Jury Rules
Juror and Chairman Responsibilities:
• Each entry will be passed in front of each Juror. Time shall be
limited to a few seconds unless a judge requests more time for fair
judgment.
Photographic Society of Northwest Arkansas
Jury Rules
Juror and Chairman Responsibilities:
• All entries must be judged in the classification requested by the
entrant. The PSNWA Competitions Chairman and the jury may feel
that the entry has been classified improperly, but choice of
classification is purely at the discretion of the entrant.
Photographic Society of Northwest Arkansas
Jury Rules
Juror and Chairman Responsibilities:
• Entries mis-classified or that do not meet any one of the criteria
for the competition may be disqualified by the Competition
Chairman or at the request of any judge.