Image by: Susan Doherty

KPPA Image Competitions are events that are held to better ourselves and our techniques by competing with others, both within our KPPA family and outside the KPPA association. KPPA offers two (2) image competitions and one image review. An entrant can enter all three events or just ones that pertain to their liking. Please see rules for each of the events on this site.

Image by: Nathan Ham

It is often said about an image that, "It's in the eye of the beholder". This is partly true, impact to the eye plays a very large role in the scoring of an image. However, there are quite a few more elements that make up a great image. This link will take you to a great article from the PPA (Professional Photographers of America) in regards as to what makes up a great image. The 12 Elements of a Merit Image

KPPA's image competitions are judged on the basis of the 12 Elements of a Merit Image and often during judging of a competition, you might hear a judge reference the 12 elements.

Image by: John La Barge

Only digital images are accepted in the KPPA competitions and image review.

Image by: Ashley Metler

You may enter any style you are comfortable with as long it will fit into one of the KPPA categories which can be explored by clicking the "Categories" button below. Your style might be whimsical, moody, realistic. Make it what best suits your persona. Enjoy the process!

Image by: John La Barge

MASTER of PHOTOGRAPHY - This is a degree achieved through the Professional Photographers of America (PPA). Multiple qualifications must be achieved before one can be awarded the MASTER OF PHOTOGRAPHY DEGREE.

In the KPPA competitions, entrants with the MASTER DEGREE will compete with other MASTERS and are not allowed to compete with NON-MASTERS except for in the Artist Division where both devisions compete together.

NON-MASTER - Is an entrant who does not hold a MASTER DEGREE through the PPA. Non-Master entrants will compete against other Non-Master entrants to keep the competition more of an even judging scale.

MASTER ARTIST - This is a degree achieved through the PPA. Multiple requirements must be fulfilled prior to being awarded the MASTER ARTIST DEGREE.

KPPA does have an ARTIST CATEGORY for entering images but this does NOT refer to the ARTIST DEGREE. The entrant DOES NOT have to have the ARTIST DEGREE to enter the ARTIST CATEGORY. The ARTIST CATEGORY in KPPA's competitions is open to Master and Non-Master and all images are judged all together as one group.

CPP (Certified Professional Photographer) - This title is awarded by PPA to those who pass the Certification Criteria provided by the Professional Photographers of America.

KPPA offers a CPP Trophy to the highest scoring image of 80 or higher during the KPPA Annual State Shutter EXPO competition. The entrant must have received and be up-to-date with their certification through the Professional Photographers Association.

ASP - ASP is a society of professional photographic artists who aspire to maintain the highest level of excellence by adhering to ethical standards, stimulating creativity and continually refining technical competence. The goal of the organization is to promote education, foster fellowship and perpetuate the ideals of photography as a science and an art. To hold the title of ASP, the photographer must have received a Master's Degree from the PPA and be an active member the American Society of Photographers (ASP).

Image by: Greg Pollock

No, you do not. HOWEVER, you MUST be in direct supervision of the person doing the work. The person doing the work is not allowed to make any changes or work on the image without your direct supervision and guidance and this ONLY APPLIES to the Photographic Categories.

In the ARTIST Division/category the maker MUST do ALL of the work on the image themselves and the image MUST be self-directed.

Image by: Jamie Lange

A category is a designated group that is best suited for the style of image being entered into the competition. KPPA has many categories for the entrant to select from to best fit their image style. Images in a specific group compete for awards within that group as well as overall State Elite awards. Entrants do not have to compete in only one category, they can have a different category for each different image entered. Some of these categories include; Pets, Landscapes, Women, Children, Men, Wildlife and more.

Please refer to the category options in the IMAGE COMPETITION section of the KPPA website. (Button Below)

VERY IMPORTANT!!!!!

Categories and their rules change often! Be sure to read and understand ALL SPECIFIC category rules. Each rule may be different between each category. Failure to abide the category rule as well as basic rules can lead to disqualification.

Image by: Linda Hamlin

All images entered into the KPPA competitions and Review must have a title. Lack of a title will result in disqualification.

You may title your image anything you would like. A title can either speak for the image (help the image) or speak against the image (hurt the image). Plan your title carefully.

A clever name that relates to your image goes a long way with the judges. Example: You have an image of a Toad. Poor title: My pet toad or Better Title: Toadally Awesome. During competitions, the title will be read aloud so the judges can relate it to the image when scoring the image.

Titles such as; Image 01, Image 02 or Image 001x34384 are not considered image titles and may be disqualified.

Image by: Cathy Colborn

An image presentation can best be described as an added effect to display your images for a pleasing overall look.

There are multiple styles of presentations that photographers add to their images. Some of these include; a faux mat look, a key line, a single Mat or a double two-color mat and more.

Like a title, a presentation, can "speak to" or "against" an image. It's a good idea to try a few looks before settling on a final decision.

Image by: John La Barge

KPPA uses the Standard Numerical system for scoring images. Each judge will look over the image and score it to their liking. The scores are then averaged together from each judge and the average becomes the images score. The chart below is a list and title of the SCORING STANDARD SYSTEM.

SCORING STANDARDS

-Exceptional 100-95

-Superior 94-90

-Excellent 89-85

-Deserving of a merit 84-80 ("Merit" referring to PPA scoring system. KPPA does not award Merits)

-Above Average 74-70

-Below Exhibition Standards 69-65

At times, during judging, you might hear a judge speaking "to" the image in the effect of, "...I would like to see the image come up to the next category." This means that the judge speaking thinks the image is better than the current category that the average score landed it in. This scenario can also apply to dropping the image score down a category.

Image by: Susan Doherty

A case is a collection of four (4) images from one entrant. The images do not have to be similar or even in the same category. They DO have to all be in the same division of competition; all in the Photographic Open Division or all in the Artist Division.

Some of KPPA's awards depend on a "Case Score". This means that the four scores from the images in that photographer's case will be added together to create the total Case Score.

It is recommended that an entrant enter at least four (4) images when competing so they have a full case to better the average case score rather than receiving a zero (0) for no image and thus lowering their final case score.

Image by: Greg Pollock

You CANNOT receive a merit for your image at a KPPA competition or Review. KPPA does not award merits. Please refer to PPA (Professional Photographers of America) for inquires regarding how to obtain merits from an image; specifically their Merit Image Review Program (MIR).

Image by: Peggy Fischer

The "Jury Chair" is an individual invited to the competition to help keep the judging and flow of the competition on track and settle scoring disputes and challenges within the scoring process.

Image by: Cathy Colborn

A challenge is if a judge disputes the score for an image, they may "challenge" it. The challenging judge will announce their score, speak "to" or "against" the score given to the image and state their reasoning for the challenge. Each judge will then be called upon to announce their score and speak their intentions toward the image. Once all judges have spoke, the challenging judge is given the option to speak a rebuttal to their comments. The image is then scored again and the new score is announced. There are a few other challenges that may occur during a competition which depend solely on the scores the image receives.

**When a judge's score is two or more categories off the average score, the Jury Chair is obligated to ask the juror to challenge the image.

**An AUTOMATIC CHALLENGE will occur when any judge scores more than ten (10) points off the final score.

Image by: Linda Hamlin

1. Prior to starting, the room is set up according to judging standards.

2. The Judges' monitor is calibrated for color and viewing specifications.

3. Judges, Image Chair and Jury Chair have a short meeting to review rules and specific guidelines.

4. Competition is announced to start. Talking and visiting is very minimal.

5. The Jury Chair will begin the competition. The "Jury Chair" is in charge of keeping the judging and flow of the competition on track and settling uprising situations if they occur.

6. Title of the image is announced to the judges and audiance.

7. Image is displayed on monitor for judges and projected on screen for audience to view.

8. While judging the image, the image cannot be enlarged, rotated or changed for viewing in any manner. HOWEVER, you will see the judges approach the screen to see it up closer when examining a small area.

9. Each judge will enter a score on their scoring device.

10. The judges' scores will populate the scorekeeper's device electronically.

11. The judges' scores will be averaged and the average will be announced as the final score.

12. At this time, if a judge disputes the score, they may "challenge" it. The challenging judge will announce their score, speak "to" or "against" the score given to the image and state their reasoning for the challenge. Each judge will then be called upon to announce their score and speak their intentions toward the image. Once all judges have spoke, the challenging judge is given the option to speak a rebuttal to their comments. The image is then scored again and the new score is announced.

13. The next image is announced and continuing the process for approximately 10 images. After approximately 10 images have been scored, the Jury Chair will announce for a "Rotate" to happen. Each judge will then rotate their physical position one place to allow for different viewing angles throughout the competition judging.

14. This process is repeated until all images have been judged.

15. After all images have been judged, everyone is asked to leave the room except for the Jury Chair, the judges, Image Chair(s) and personal appointed to help with the Head-to-Head judging and record keeping.

16. Behind the closed doors, images that received a score of 80+ are brought up for every category and the judges will decide 1st, 2nd and 3rd place for all categories.

17. Judges will at this time also select their overall favorite image from the entire competition for awarding a "Judge's Choice Ribbon" to the maker.

18. Competition is complete.

19. KPPA Awards are awarded during the KPPA ANNUAL STATE SHUTTER EXPO BANQUET.