ENTRY REQUIREMENTS FOR PROJECTED IMAGE COMPETITIONS 

Notes on how to prepare digital images for club competition entry

1   Resize and re-name your entries

Maximum image size in the horizontal axis is 1920 pixels and in the vertical axis 1080 pixels.

Images must be in sRGB mode (even for monochrome images).
Images must be saved in the Jpeg format at Maximum Quality.

Name your entries
Two digit number (space) title    -  01 Title          02 Title      03 Title   (numbered in order of preference)
Titles must have no more than 35 characters including spaces
(do not use any other keyboard characters or add T or C to your title - see note below)

Please note: Entries to Open competitions must be declared as either “Traditional” or “Creative” by the photographer at the time of entry, by means of a suffix of “T” (Traditional) or “C” (Creative) added to the entry class and on the email list sent to the Competition Secretary - see Competition Rules 

"Traditional” images shall be those that are created in camera with post-production limited to cropping, minor retouching of blemishes, selective lightening and darkening, and removal of minor distracting or unwanted objects by digital cloning.  Focus stacking and High Dynamic Range (HDR) processing are allowed.  Stitching together multiple images of the same scene to create a panorama is also allowed.  Images where the essential truth of the photographic statement has been altered in processing, including digital alterations of the main subject matter or selectively incorporating elements from more than one original photograph (including importing main subjects, background or skies that were not present in the original scene) shall NOT BE ELIGIBLE to be classed as “Traditional” images.
“Creative” images shall be those depicting “altered reality”, defined as images which do not fit the description of “Traditional” images.
If an entrant fails to declare entries as “Traditional” or “Creative”, the competition secretary shall assume they are “Creative” and mark them accordingly for judging.
 

2 Create a New Folder and rename it with your Name and Section

e.g. Joe Bloggs Beg   or Josie Bloggs Int
Sections are Advanced (Adv), Intermediate (Int) or Beginners (Beg)   New members please see Competition Sections

3 Drag or copy & paste your entries into the folder - for emailing send your folder as a Zip file
(On a PC right click, select 'Send to' and select 'compressed zipped folder - on a Mac right click 'Compress'macworld jpg'.)

4 Send in your entry. 

Prefered method - Attach your zipped folder to an email.   Add a list of the titles of your entries to the email including T or C  

The subject of the e-mail should state which competition the attached folder is an entry for.
Send email addressed to Competition Secretary
(or bring on a USB Memory Stick or CD labled with your name and a written list of entry titles including T or C to a Club meeting.)

 

Notes - Please read the rules for each type of competition carefully.

Check the maximum number of entries and rules for each type of competition.

Check your entry is correct before emailing or sending to USB

Before entering a competition for the first time please decide which Section you are entering.


All entries received by email will be acknowledged.
If an acknowledgement is not received within a day of the deadline please contact the Competition Secretary.
You can follow the 4 steps in the following graphic
 folder graphic
If you are not sure if you have compiled your competition folder correctly please email or hand in your CD or USB well before the final closing date so that it can be checked. 
If you have any problems please contact the Competition Secretary
Resizing images for DCC Projected Image Competitions
Please ensure that your digital images are resized correctly before submitting them for competitions.
The following guidelines may be helpful to you.
The Club's digital projector has a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and it is necessary to resize all digital images that are entered into any of the Club's Projected Digital Image competitions so that images fall within those pixel dimensions.
To re-size your image:
The resizing instructions that follow have been based on the procedures used in Photoshop Elements – other versions and other editing software may look slightly different but most will work in a very similar way.
If you do not have any image editing software on your computer then you may wish to try Picasa which can be downloaded from the internet free of charge.
resize 2Click ‘Image’ select ‘Resize’ and then ‘Image Size’

The ‘Image Size’ dialogue box (shown left) will now open
(versions vary so yours may look slightly different)

Check that 'pixels' is shown - otherwise change to 'pixels as shown.

Check that 'Constrain Proportions' and 'Resample Image' are both ticked. In the drop down resample menu choose 'Bicubic'

If your image is a landscape shape - delete the highlighted figure in the Height box & type 1080 in the box.

Your software will automatically calculate the dimension for the width and will be shown in the Width box.
With panorama shaped images the width may exceed 1920 pixels, if so reduce the width down to 1920 pixels.

If your image is  portrait shape or square -  type 1080 in the Height box. Your software will automatically calculate the dimension for the width.

Check that your image is the correct size before sending.
Your image can be any size up to the maximum 1920 pixels wide x 1080 pixels in height. 
You do not have to crop your image to make it exactly 1920 x 1080
Think of it as fitting your resized image into an imaginary box, as shown below. Examples shown are all correctly resized.
resize
To save your image:
From the ‘File’ menu, select ‘Save As’ - a dialogue box will open. (Mac users may do this differently)
Re-name your image to 01 space and the title of your image. e.g. 01 Sunset  (number your second entry 02 title)
Check the file format is JPEG, jpeg or jpg in the ‘Format’ box below, Save as sRGB

Specify a ‘Save in’ location and click ‘Save’
Note: It is best to have a separate  folder on your hard drive for resized competition entries just to be sure that you don't overwrite the original (full size) image file!
( If using Picasa - click File - Export picture to folder - Resize 1920 for 'landscape' images- 1080 for 'portrait' or square images - quality- Maximum- Export.  If using Gimp 2.8 - check that you can save image as a Jpeg. Other programmes may vary.)
To submit your competition entry:
Follow the instructions in step 4 above. Send your folder to a zip file & email your zip file to the competition secretary before the final entry date. or save the images onto a CD or a USB Flash Drive (Memory Stick) and bring to a club meeting on or before the final entry date. Add the titles and T or C (for Open competitions) to the email when sending.

Summary of the competition rules
All elements of a photographic image must have been taken by the photographer by whatever photographic medium is used.

     The following are eligible to enter competitions: 

     Life Members  -  All members who have paid their annual subscription - Returning members until 31st October. 
However, returning members who do not pay their annual subscription by 31st October will be deemed to have left the club and any points gained in competitions up to that point will be annulled.

     Manipulation of images is acceptable in all competitions except where the entry rules of the competition state otherwise.

      All entries must comply with the relevant competition entry requirements determined by the Committee from time to time and notified to all members.  In addition:

      All print entries must be clearly titled and show the members competition number and section.  They must not show the member's name.

     All Projected Image entry files must be titled with the title, entrant's name and section in accordance with the format determined by the Committee from time to time.  

     Closing dates for entries will be specified in the programme or otherwise notified to all Club Members by email or via the Club Website.  The Chairman and Competition Secretary may change a Closing Date at their discretion but notification of the change must be circulated to all Club Members ahead of the original closing date.

     Entries which do not conform to these Rules or are submitted after the Closing Date will not be accepted.

    The Committee reserves the right to limit the entry for any Competition where the total number of images received for judging exceeds 80; or not to run a competition where there are fewer than 3 images entered. 
This requirement does not apply to any audio visual competition.
An image or AV (or one that is significantly similar) which has been placed or Highly Commended may not be entered in any other club competition in the same or subsequent years except the Projected Image League, the Biennial Print Exhibition competitions and the Print and Projected Image of the Year
An image or AV (or one that is significantly similar) entered in a projected or print competition may not be re-entered in another club competition in either medium in the same competition year except for the Projected Image League, the Biennial Print Exhibition competitions and the Print and Projected Image of the Year
An image which did not receive a placing or Highly Commended may be entered (in either format) in one further competition, but not in the same club year.  Please check carefully before submitting your images for club competitions. 
The Competition Secretary will have the final say in determining if an entry is eligible.
All competitions shall be judged by judges selected by the Committee unless the rules specify otherwise.  The judges' decisions are final in all cases.
All competition entries will be presented to the judge anonymously but the Competition Secretary may announce the name of the photographer after the judge's comments have been given unless anonymity has been requested.
While all reasonable care will be taken by the Club, the entry of work into a Club Competition, Exhibition or external competition representing the Club is entirely at the risk of the member and a copy should be taken if the work is irreplaceable.

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