Competition Rules

H&DPS Club Competition Rules

*Cumulative Competitions:

Projected Digital Image
Monochrome Print
Colour Print

*Each cumulative competition will comprise of two individual rounds held throughout the season

Annual Competitions:

Projected Digital Image (PDI) of the Year
Print of the Year (Colour and Monochrome)
Panel of Six Competition
The Top Dog PDI Competition (comprising of themed rounds)

Competition Entries: Preparation, Presentation, and Registration.

Monochrome and Colour Definitions:

Monochrome: a black and white image or one which has been modified by the addition of a single tone to the entire image.

Colour: any image that is not monochrome.

Print and Mount Sizes

Minimum print size* = 300 square centimetres
Maximum mount size = 50cm x 40cm
*Maximum print size will be limited by the maximum mount size and what you can reasonably fit within its dimensions.

Print Mounting

All prints must be mounted.
Print mounts may be of any colour.
All prints must be labelled with the Club’s name, the author’s name and the image title on the back of the print, at the top left hand corner. Labels must be legible and can be either hand written (in ink) or preferably computer generated.

Registration

Prints:

All print entries must be pre-registered by the deadline and in accordance with the instructions set out in the “Call for Entries” email that will be issued by the competition secretary approximately two weeks prior to the competition date. Registration will require digital images of all print entries to be submitted in JPEG format, prepared in accordance with the criteria set out in “Preparing Digital Files for Competitions”.

Please note prints cannot be registered on the night of the competition

Projected Digital Images (PDIs):

All PDI entries must be pre-registered by the deadline and in accordance with the instructions set out in the “Call for Entries” email that will be issued by the competition secretary approximately two weeks prior to the competition date. Digital images must be presented in JPEG format and prepared in accordance with the criteria set out in “Preparing Digital Files for Competitions”

Competition Entry Criteria:

Competitions are open to fully paid up members only. Country Members are excluded from all print competitions, but may enter PDI competitions.
All entries must originate from a photographic image or images taken by the Club member.
While manipulation is allowed on the image, this must be the work of the author. See below for more detailed information regarding AI & image manipulation.
Prints may be home produced or printed by a third party.
Members unable to attend print competitions personally may submit entries via another member.
The copyright of all elements of a picture must be at the disposal of the author. Clip art, third party purchased and royalty free images are not permitted.

Cumulative Competitions:

Prints and Projected Digital Images (PDIs) may be entered once only in all cumulative competitions. Images made from crops of previous entries and/or mono and colour versions of the same image are not eligible.
Members may submit a maximum of three entries per round of a competition unless stated otherwise by the Competition Secretary in the “Call for Entries” notice.

Print of the Year and Digital Image (PDI) of the Year Competitions:

All entries must be pre-registered by the deadline and in accordance with the instructions set out in the “Call for Entries” email issued by the competition secretary approximately two weeks prior to the competition date.
Members may submit a maximum of two prints and two PDIs. All entries must be selected from prints or PDIs entered in club competitions during the same season.

Panel of Six Competition:

Members may submit a maximum of two panels, each consisting of six separate images, or as otherwise advised.
The images can be of any subject, but they must sit happily together as a set within the panel and follow a theme that can be explained.
Each panel may be entered once only in its entirety.
Individual images from a panel may be entered in cumulative competitions including Print and PDI of the Year competitions.
Panel entries will be submitted and judged as PDIs.

Marking:

In all competitions, except the The Top Dog Competition, marks will be awarded out of 10 at the discretion of the judge(s).
In competitions where no judge is appointed or the judge is unable to attend, members present will be eligible to form a panel and award marks to each entry except to their own, a family member’s image or any entry submitted through them on behalf of another member. Totalling the given marks and taking the average will determine the final mark for each entry.
In cumulative competitions all 3 image scores will be totalled and used to determine the winners at the end of the season. In the event of a tie all 6 images per author will be assessed by the Judge of the Top Dog final to determine the winning author.

The Top Dog PDI Competition:

The aim of “The Top Dog” competition is to encourage a greater range of photographic skills and styles enabling members to be more creative and adventurous with their photography without the pressures of competing in cumulative club competitions.

Members who choose not to enter the maximum number of images in each round or indeed enter all rounds still have the chance of becoming “The Top Dog”, just one entry in one round could be enough to win the trophy.

Format:

The competition is for projected digital images (PDIs) and consists of “Themed” rounds
Members may submit up to a maximum of two images in each round.
All entries must be pre-registered by the deadline and in accordance with the instructions set out in the “Call for Entries” email that will be issued by the competition secretary approximately two weeks prior to the competition date.
Digital images must be presented in JPEG format and prepared in accordance with the criteria set out in “Preparing Digital Files for Competitions”

The Club will invite an independent judge to judge “The Top Dog”.

Rules relating to AI & Image Manipulation

The HDPS has always stated that any images put into the club's competitions should be the work of the author, and only the work of the author.

With the advent of AI and the confusing array of things that can be done to change images, the HDPS is setting out the following rules to help club members understand what the club considers to be 'your own work', and, conversely what it doesn't.

All creative effects produced in camera are acceptable. This includes panoramic stitching; HDR; filters (such as Nik effects and Topaz); multiple images, layers, and textures (provided all are the work of the photographer).
Third party clip-art, textures or overlays are not deemed to be the work of the photographer and are therefore not acceptable.
Editing tools which use AI, (such as Photoshop and Lightroom) are acceptable provided the use of these tools does not override the photographer’s work or add extra components.
The use of tools, such as Photoshop's Remove and Generative Fill is allowed, but must be limited to a small area of the image, around 10% maximum.
It is acceptable to remove minor distractions and/or extend the canvas in any direction by a small amount.
The use of any tool to introduce a visual element which is not the author's original work is unacceptable.
The Club's Committee will trust the members to abide by these rules, but the Committee reserves the right to check any images which may appear to be in breach of them.

Alteration of Rules:

These rules may be added to, or amended, by the Committee at any time. Copies of the amended rules will be made available to Members at least two weeks before they are applied.