Rules & Documents

COMPETITION RULES

The Twin City Camera Club holds digital image competitions each month of the year with the exception of July and August. The competition year begins in September and ends in June. Any member in good standing may compete in all competitions.

RESOURCES

Descriptions of Select Subjects 2022-2023
Descriptions of Select Subjects 2023-2024
Competition Rules
Competition Card / Click here for multiple card print out

16:9 Aspect Ratio Black Background Canvas

Digital Image 3840 x 2160 Background Canvas

CLASSES

Members may compete in two divisions:

1. Black and White Digital Images

2. Color Digital Images

In these 2 divisions, there are three classes: (B) (A) (AA)

Competition Class requirements.

All members compete in their assigned Class (B) (A) (AA) until reaching the Class requirement (in any of the two divisions) for advancement.

Class B until reaching sixty-five (65) points in a competition season.

Class A until reaching one hundred twenty-five (125) points in a competition season.

Class AA after reaching one hundred twenty-five (125) points in a competition season.

All Class advancements occur at the start of the next competition year in September.

Exception: Members have the option to submit a request to the TCCC Board for a change in Class placement.

MONTHLY SUBJECTS

Entries may be made in either the Select or Open category. Each category is judged separately. The Select Subject must be prominently displayed and the PRIMARY focus of the image, so that an ordinary person would recognize it as such. Be sure to read the Descriptions so that your entries comply with the requirements of the Select Subjects. The Open category is exactly as the word implies – photographic images on any subject.  Photos containing nudity or graphic violence are not eligible for competition. The Board reserves the right to restrict specific subject matter. Our meetings are open to the public and we occasionally have the younger generations as our guests.

ENTRIES

Any member in good standing may enter a total of four (4) Color digital images and/or four (4) Black and White digital images per monthly competition. Members must submit a separate entry e-mail for the Black & White digital entries and a separate entry e-mail for the Color digital entries. Members may not enter the same image as a Black and White digital image and a Color digital image in the same or future TCCC monthly competitions.

Entries may be in Open and/or Select Subjects categories in any ratio. Digital Images may be Color or Black and White.

Photo enhancement, sandwiching, montage, and other derivations are acceptable. Any photo can be disqualified from the competition by the competition chairpersons for not meeting any rule or requirement and images can be moved from select to open if it is deemed that they do not fit the select subject and should be in the open category. Questionable images should be permitted to stay in select and left for the judges to determine.

Black and White images must be Black and White, or Black and White plus a fully toned color as a tint. Fully-toned means that a tint is applied across the entire image such as sepia or cyan (or any color).

If a photograph is Black and White and one or more elements in it are in color, the photograph would then be considered a Color image for competition purposes. Examples could be a portrait of a face that is Black and White and only the lips are Red or a beach scene with everything Black and White with an umbrella a single color.

Digital Images which are photographic copies of paintings, drawings, or another photographer’s work are ineligible; these items may be included in a composite of the maker’s creation.

Members must complete a separate Entry Card for each of the two divisions that they will compete in for the month (Black and White Digital Images, Color Digital Images) The completed entry cards should be left at the scoring table before the competition.

Competition Entry Cards can be seen and/or printed on the website and are also available at the clubhouse.

The Club discourages submitting entries similar to previously entered entries in any TCCC monthly competition division.

Example: (same subject at a slightly different angle).

DIGITAL IMAGES – How to Prepare Them

• Digital photographic images can be from any source: negatives, transparencies, digital cameras, cell phones, or scanners.
• The aspect ratio is 16:9 to fit the 75″ 4K UHD TV used for displaying images.
• The maximum image size for all digital entries is 3840 pixels wide by 2160 pixels high, saved in JPEG format, not to exceed 2 Mb file size.
• The color profile should be sRGB. 
• The digital image MUST not exceed 3840 pixels wide by 2160 pixels high. Within that 3840 x 2160 format, you can use any or all the space for your image. You can enter a Vertical, Horizontal, Square, Circle, Diamond, or any other shape image into the competition, as long as it fits within the 3840 x 2160 format.
• The background (canvas) can be any color or composition of your choice but it MUST NOT exceed 3840 x 2160 pixels. Digital image entries that are submitted that exceed 3840 x 2160 format and/or the 2 Mb file size will NOT be allowed in the competition.
• The images need to be e-mailed to digital@twincitycameraclub.com no later than Monday at midnight, one week before the competition. However, digital entries can be submitted weeks or even months before the competitions so that any sizing issues or other problems can be resolved before the due date.
• The maker’s name, copyrights, or titles should not be visible on the photograph during judging.
• Entry card(s) must be filled out and placed on the scoring table before the competition. For members unable to attend the competition meeting, please request (in the body of your e-mail) that an Entry Card be filled out for you.

DIGITAL IMAGES – Identification and Naming

• Save the image with the photo title followed by the photographer’s name: Image Name (space) dash (space) photographer’s name.jpg
  • Example: Red Car – John Doe.jpg
• Do not include extra dashes (–), dots (.), or underscoring (_), incorrect and/or missing capitalization, or incorrect spacing.
• Do not include a number or symbol before your file name.
  • _{Not Acceptable: 2Red Car – John Doe.jpg}
  • Acceptable: Red Car 2 – John Doe.jpg
• Prepare your entry e-mail, (See Example), include your name, open or select, class, and titles of all images in the body of the e-mail. The digital competition chairperson can then copy and paste your entry information into the programs used in the competition. Type it correctly and capitalize the words that should be capitalized.
• It is very important that your Entry Card, Entry E-mail, and Image Titles, contain the same information because we refer to them if we have questions.

The body (message part) of the entry e-mail should look like this:

Example: When all Entries are in Select (or Open):

All in Class (B) (A) (AA) Select (or Open). Color (or Black and White)

1. Big Storm – John Doe

2. Warm Weather – John Doe

3. Morning Sunshine – John Doe

4. Red Sky – John Doe

Example: When Entries are in both Select and Open:

Class (B) (A) (AA) Color (or Black and White) Select

1. Big Storm – John Doe (Select)

2.  Warm Weather – John Doe (Select)

3. Morning Sunshine – John Doe (Select)

4. Red Sky – John Doe (Open)

RE-ENTERING

Members may re-enter any digital image in competition providing it has NOT received an Acceptance or Honor in any previous TCCC competition.

ABSENTEE ENTRIES

For members competing in Digital Images and unable to attend the competition meeting, please request in the body of your entry email that you need the Entry Card filled out for you.

JUDGING

Please do not comment upon entries during the competition. A panel of three (3) judges will each vote by assigning a point value of 2-5 for each entry. For all Classes, AA, A, B, a total score of 10-12 points earns an Acceptance, and 13-15 points earns an Honor. The decision of the Judges is final.

AWARDS

During the monthly competition, points are earned and accumulated until the end of the competition year when awards are given to the top three-point winners in each category. A minimum of 45 points must be earned to be eligible for a top three award. The Competition Stats will list the current point standings after each month’s competition, the stats can be found on the TCCC Web Page under the members-only tab and our Facebook page.

Points are earned as follows:

Two points are given in each division for entering any monthly competition.

ANNUAL COMPETITION

Any Digital Image that receives an Acceptance or Honor in any monthly competition is eligible to be entered into the Annual Competition. Digital Images are maintained by the Digital Chairperson. Awards are given to the top three winners in each division.

AUTHORITY

The Board of Directors has the power to make any changes to these competition rules when they deem necessary.

Revision Date: September 14, 2022  CRIF 09-13-22