KPPA Fall Image Critique Competition Rules

Image Submission Opens: September 1, 2024

Entry Deadline: October 8, 2024 - Midnight

Image by: Jamie Lange

IMAGE CRITIQUE is open to Everyone.
Semi-formal competition.
Typically in the fall during the KPPA Annual Fall Shutter Expo Event
Images are judged by KPPA Master Degree holders.
ACTIVE Members eligible for awards.
Ribbons for the top place per Category with scores of 80 or higher.
Image discussion NOT allowed during competition but welcomed afterward.
All entries are digital files.
Enter up to ten (10) files.

ACTIVE MEMBERSHIP - Eligible for awards - No Image fee

SUSTAINING and STUDENT MEMBERSHIPS - Not eligible for awards - No image entry fee

NON-MEMBER-Not eligible for awards - $10.00 per image fee

KPPA Fall Image Critique Competition Rules

Grab a cuppa-JO and HAPPY READING!

Entries will be judged on photographic artistry and craftsmanship utilizing

PPA's 12 Elements of a Merit Image

KPPA uses the "Point System" as our scoring method so entrants can better understand

how the image ranked overall.

Exceptional Image 100-95

Superior Image 94-90

Excellent 89-85

Deserving of a Merit 84-80

("Merit" referring to PPA scoring system.

KPPA does not award Merits)

Above Average. 79-75

Average. 74-70

Below Exhibition Standards. 69-65

ELIGIBILITY for KPPA Fall Image Critique Competition

ACTIVE MEMBERSHIPS (In State) - Eligible for awards.

SUSTAINING MEMBERSHIPS (Out of state) - Not eligible for awards.

STUDENT MEMBERSHIPS - Not eligible for awards.

NON-MEMBERS - Not eligible for awards.

See Specific membership rules under ENTRY RULES below.

ENTRY RULES

ACTIVE MEMBERSHIP HOLDERS

Member must be registered and paid for the full KPPA Fall Image Critique Expo event PRIOR to uploading their images to Printcompeition.com.
If member has not registered and paid for full KPPA Fall Image Critique Expo event prior to uploading images, the images will be entered into the SCORE ONLY category and will not be eligible for awards.
Image score must be 80 or above to be eligible and considered for awards.
Member may enter up to 10 images total.
NO IMAGE FEE - KPPA Member Benefit / A Learning Experience. There will be no image fee for the KPPA Fall Image Critique Expo when uploading your images onto Printcompetition.com since this is one of the KPPA Member Benefits we offer.
Active Member may enter 4 images (case), with categories assigned, into the Photographic Open Division of competition. Image fees apply. Entrant cannot enter more than 1 case (four images) into the Photographic Open Competition.
Active Member may enter 4 images (case) into the Artist Division of competition (there are no categories in the Artist Division). Image fees apply. Entrant cannot enter more than 1 case (four images) into the Artist Competition.
Active Member may enter BOTH - Photographic Open & Artist as follows:
** 4 images (case) into Photographic Open Division - Assigned categories
** 4 images (case) into the Artist Division - No categories
Image fees apply.
Member may enter additional images up to a total of 10 entries - Image fees apply.
Example:
1. If you enter 4 images into Photographic Open, you may enter up to 6 additional images in the score only category for a total of 10 images entered.
2. If you enter 4 into the Artist Category, you may enter up to 6 additional images in the score only category for a total of 10 images entered.
3. If you enter 4 images into Photographic Open AND 4 images into Artist, you may enter up to 2 additional images in the score only category for a total of 10 images entered.
Total number of images may not exceed 10.
First place in each category will receive a ribbon award.
First (1st) place will be determined by score. If there is a tie, the highest score from the judges' will be used to determine 1st place.
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SUSTAINING MEMBERSHIPS & STUDENT MEMBERSHIPS
1. May enter up to 10 images.
2. All entries must be placed in the category of SCORE ONLY. Not eligible for awards.
3. NO IMAGE FEE - KPPA Member Benefit / A Learning Experience. There will be no image fee for the KPPA Fall Shutter Expo when uploading your images onto Printcompetition.com since this is one of the KPPA Member Benefits we offer.
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NON-MEMBERS
1. May enter up to 10 images.
2. All entries must be placed in the category of SCORE ONLY and are not eligible for awards.
3. Image fee of $10.00 per image is due when loading images onto Printcompetition.com. Non-refundable once paid.
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1. All entries for this competition will be in electronic form.
2. Non-photographic filters and actions produced by third parties that enhance characteristics of an image but do not add elements to an image are permitted; these may include 3rd party software for denoise, sharpening, grain etc.
3. Textures, overlays for lighting or nuance effects, as long as they DO NOT add any elements or objects/image of any type to the piece, are allowed.
4. Makers can add supporting images to their entry but they must all be created by the maker only.
5. Tools such as the healing, clone tool, and others that use ai technology within Photoshop are permitted as long as they DO NOT add any image of any type to the image.
6. All elements of the image are by the maker only.
7. NO Third-party images or Ai
  NO GENERATIVE AI is allowed.
  No third-party imagery or stock photography is allowed. No adding elements unless photographed by maker.
8. No entrant's name shall appear anywhere in or on the entry.
9. Images must be saved in “.jpeg” format with compression quality of 10. **Exception to RAW Category. See RAW CATEGORY RULES.
10. Image must be sized to 4000px on the longest edge including matting/border and key line. **Exception to RAW Category. See RAW CATEGORY RULES.
11. Each file must contain an embedded color profile of either sRGB or Adobe RGB 1998. **Exception to RAW Category. See RAW CATEGORY RULES.
12. Image titles are required. When entering your image, be sure to enter the title. Titles such as; Image 01, Image 02 or Image "FILE_NAME" are not considered image titles and may be disqualified.
13. Entries of the same subject in multiple images will be allowed, as long as the images are entirely different concepts, attire, setting and lighting.
14. Each image must be assigned to a category. Click "Category Button" below to visit the category options.
15. Images will be judged by KPPA Master Degree Holders in the Critique Competition
16. Tasteful nudes are acceptable and will be juried by the Image Chair to be held to the KPPA Standards. Images and titles that do not hold to a tasteful standard is at the discretion of the image chair(s) and may be disqualified.
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  SPECIFIC QUALIFICATION RULES
  1. All entries are uploaded into the KPPA competition through Printcompetition.com. NO EXCEPTIONS
  1. Image deadline for entry is final and will not be extended. Please plan ahead to have your entries uploaded prior to the deadline. NO EXCEPTIONS.
  2. No changes to your entry are permitted once the entry deadline has passed. 
  3. Entrant is responsible for setting up and maintaining personal membership account with Printcompetition.com. Multiple membership accounts are available for entrants to choose from. KPPA is not responsible and / or liable for any portion of membership accounts with Printcompetition.com.
  4. KPPA takes no responsibility for loss/damage to files uploaded to the competition site if such would happen. Please plan ahead to allow enough time for entering your files and uploads prior to expiration date/time.
  5. No refunds will be issued after the entry fee is paid. 
  6. Any image that has been entered into the KPPA Image Competition in the past is NOT ELIGIBLE and will be disqualified.
  7. Images that have received a PPA Exhibition merit (have merited) before January 1, 2023 will not be eligible to enter.
  8. Images entered into IPC (PPA's International Photographic Competition) AFTER January 2023, are eligible as long as all KPPA Image Competition rules are met.
  9. Entries previously merited in PPA’s Merit Image Review  (MIR) ARE eligible as long as all KPPA rules are followed.
  10. Images that do not abide by the category rules may result in being disqualified.
  11. All processing, manipulation, printing, or rendering must be done by the entrant or under their direct supervision except in the ARTIST Category where ALL WORK and DESIGNS must be done by the entrant.  
  12. No entry will be eligible if it has been made under the supervision of an instructor or as a class assignment.
  13. If an entry, in the good-faith opinion of the KPPA Image Chair(s), violates copyright, trademark or any other applicable law, that entry shall be disqualified.
  14. The image chair(s) has/have the right to question/reassign the category of any entry if image is in the incorrect category. The judges also have the right to question the category of any entry. Entries that do not fit the category may be reassigned.
  15. The image chair(s) has/have the right to question, do inquires and request any and all RAW files needed to evaluate a potential inquiry and/or situation that may arise in the question to integrity of the image.
  16. The image chair(s) has/have the right to disqualify images that have not abided by the rules set forth.
  17. Entrants must have obtained and can produce proof that they have all necessary releases and agree to hold KPPA harmless against all claims and liabilities arising our of KPPA's consideration, display, publication and promotion or other use of each image.
  18. Decision by the KPPA Image chair is final.
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    RAW CATEGORY RULES
    The intention of this category is to evaluate the art created in-camera without any post-
    production applied, including RAW adjustments in or out of the camera. Only RAW files may
    be entered in this category.
  19. The purpose of this competition is to allow the entry of non-manipulated, camera-
    native imagery. This category is designed for images which come straight from the
    camera. You must enter your unedited, unmanipulated RAW image.
  20. The image must have been captured by the entrant alone.
  21. No images taken under the direction or supervision of an instructor or in a class
    setting are allowed.
  22. The entrant’s name, initials, business logo, watermark, or other identifying features shall
    not appear anywhere in or on the face of the image.
  23. If an entry, in the good-faith opinion of the KPPA Image Competition Committee, violates
    copyright, trademark, or any other applicable law, that entry shall not be displayed or
    published. Furthermore, this image will also be disqualified.
  24. RAW entries created using cell phone or drone images are not allowed.
  25. Only images submitted in native camera raw file format may be entered. No image
    submitted in jpg, tiff, or other “second generation” file format will be accepted in this
    category.
  26. RAW files will be accepted for the RAW category only. There is no file size limit for the RAW category.
    RAW FAQs
    1. How do I enter the RAW category? Select “RAW” as the category for an entry and upload the RAW file, in native camera format you wish to enter.
    2. How are the images judged? Every RAW file contains an embedded JPEG. This is used by cameras to show image previews in the camera (LCD/Viewfinder). KPPA Image Chair will extract the embedded JPEG, and this file will be used for judging.
    3. Can I apply presets in the camera? Yes, in-camera presets (picture styles) can be
    applied, such as Monochrome mode, etc. The embedded JPEG will have those presets
    applied and will be used for judging.
    1. Do I need presentation for RAW entries? No. As RAW files are entered, and embedded JPEGS are judged, no additional presentation is allowed or possible.
    2. What can I use to view the JPEG embedded in the RAW file? There are some free RAW preview extractors available or Photo Mechanics will also work.
    1. Are there any other ways to know what the JPEG looks like? While photographing, capture both RAW and JPEG, and the JPEG file can help visualize the image that will be judged.
    2. Can I enter images created with in-camera techniques like double exposure,
    gels, shutter drag, etc.? YES, absolutely! Your creativity with in-camera techniques
    is your limit.
    ARTIST COMPETITION RULES
    All rules above apply with the exceptions of the following:
    1. There are NO individual categories for this competition. Master photographers and Non-Master photographers will all compete against each other in the Artist category.
    2. Entries may be created in various artistic mediums. Photographs may be used in this category in creating an entry, but it is not a requirement. Entries may include freehand drawing or painting in traditional or digital applications. Entries can include stock photography, photographs, or artwork from another artist (s) with written consent to use those sources. This documentation may be requested by KPPA chair before, during or after competition. If any entry, in the good-faith opinion of the Image Chair violates copyright, trademark or any other applicable law and cannot be proven otherwise, that entry will be disqualified.
    3. Third (3rd) party stock images are allowed with the exception of Ai images.
    1. NO AI IMAGES are allowed - Be sure your 3rd party image IS NOT an AI image to avoid disqualification.
    2. Non-photographic filters and actions produced by third parties that enhance characteristics of an image but do not add elements to an image are permitted.
    3. Entrant must obtain all releases necessary.
    4. All images used in the artwork must be presented as guide image/thumbnails on the face of the image. Usually on a side, both sides and or the bottom of the image. Artist entries without guide images/thumbnails will be disqualified.
    5. ENTRANT ONLY is to do ALL processing, manipulation artwork or rendering.
    6. No entry will be eligible if it has been made under the supervision of an instructor or as a class assignment.
    7. All images must be SELF-DIRECTED.
    8. Entrants must have obtained all necessary releases and agree to hold KPPA harmless against all claims and liabilities arising out of KPPA's consideration, display, publication and promotion of other use of each image.
      SINGLE MAKER ALBUM RULES
  Album rules are the same as the ENTRY RULES and SPECIFIC QUALIFICATION RULES above. Be sure to read them.
  1. Album pages will be combined into a .zip file prior to uploading the album entry to
    www.printcompetition.com.
  2. You must include a gray spread with your album title on the page as your PAGE ONE.
  3. Maximum Viewable Canvas Size: 2560x1600 in a horizontal page format.
  4. A page may represent a single album page or a spread.
  5. A page may contain as few or as many images as desired.
  6. Entry may contain up to 36 canvases or spreads.
  7. Each page or spread must contain an embedded color profile of either sRGB or Adobe RGB1998 and be saved at a JPEG quality setting of 10.
  8. Identify pages sequentially in the order to be viewed using the following three-digit format.
    Example: (001.jpg, 002.jpg, 003.jpg, 004.jpg, etc.)
  9. All pages of an album must be in one folder. Please zip the contents into one file and
    upload to www.printcompetition.com.
  10. The entrant’s name, initials, business name, watermark, or other identifying features
    may not appear anywhere in the album title or on any spread in the entry.
  1. When uploading to printcompetition.com, you will need to select EVENT ALBUM or NON EVENT ALBUM. See category descripitions.
  ***REMEMBER TO REFER AND FOLLOW CATEGORY SPECIFIC RULES IN ADDITION TO THESE!
  Click button below for categories and rules.

***Rules subject to change at any time. Please check back often.***

HOW TO UPLOAD YOUR IMAGES

Confirm all images have a title or they will be disqualified as the title is considered into the judging process.
Make sure all images are sized per the competition rules to avoid disqualification.
Create an account at  www.printcompetition.com , using the ‘register’ button on the right side of the top menu. There is a nominal fee for creating an account. Be sure to select KPPA (Kansas) as your organization. You will need to accurately complete all the information requested during this process, including degrees you might hold (Master of Photography, Master Artist, etc) as well as organizational memberships such as ASP and if you hold the CPP Certification.
Select KPPA (Kansas) as the image competition being entered, then follow the prompts for the appropriate member category and whether this is your first time entering a KPPA competition.
Each image will be entered and uploaded one at a time. Begin this process by selecting ‘Create New Image Entry’. Ensure you enter a Title and Category as well as certify that all effects were done by the image maker (yourself) or under the direct supervision and guidance of the image maker.  
Upload your image file.
Repeat the process until you have all images entered into the event.
When you have completed, you may review, edit, and remove an image.  Once deadline for entering has been met, you may not edit and/or remove images.
The image chair(s) has/have the right to question/reassign the category of any entry and the right to disqualify any images that do not meet the criteria set forth in the competition event rules.