Competition & League Rules
For a list of our competitions (and their specific rules) throughout the year, please click here.
To see our new League Tables, please click here. Only paid up members can access this page, as a password is required.
General Competition Rules
Marwell Photographic Group will run a number of photographic competitions each year. Entries to these competitions must have originated as photographs and where permitted by these rules can be altered or manipulated. Drawings, paintings and other forms of art work which might resemble photographs are not permitted.
Only current (paid up) members and Honorary members of the club are permitted to enter club competitions.
A member should be present at an internal competition meeting to enter their work. If a member is not able to attend the meeting then they may submit their work (in person) in advance to a member of the committee.
All submitted work is to be clearly marked with the member's membership number and every photograph submitted must have been taken by the person whose number appears on the entry.
If a photograph wins a competition or trophy (first place) then it may not be entered into another MPG internal competition at any time but it may be entered into inter-club competitions.
Prints must be mounted on card of any colour. The outside dimensions of the card must not exceed 20x16 inches and smaller sizes are perfectly acceptable. All prints should be marked on the reverse to show which is the top edge of the photograph. Slides must be marked in the lower left hand corner of the mount with a large spot; this spot must be on the side from which the slide should be viewed. Titles are optional in all internal competitions but may be required for external competitions. Any packaging material or envelopes submitted with entries should be clearly marked with membership number if they are required to be returned.
Please "spot" your slides as shown below:
Conditions of Competition & League Entry
Prints and slides are accepted for competitions on the condition that the print or slide will be made available for consideration for external competition if requested by the committee.
The committee reserves the right to exclude any submitted photographs which in the committee's opinion are outside of the rules of a competition or which are otherwise offensive or in bad taste.
General Rules for other Internal League Competitions
Unless governed by one of the rules for specific competitions, entries for internal leagues competitions may be print or slide, and of any subject.
Digital Manipulation
These rules on manipulation also apply to photographs which are taken on film and which are subsequently converted to digital format.
Computer digital manipulation should be used with extreme care as poor manipulation is an easy way to ruin a good photo. Judges are likely to penalise photographs if digital manipulation has not been well executed and also where photographs have been over-sharpened.
When individual competition rules DO NOT allow digital manipulation, the following are still permitted:
- Cropping (which might inherently include the straightening of horizons)
- Adjustments to brightness, contrast, and colour balance across the whole photograph (but not to individual parts)
- Conversion (or printing) to black and white. This must be for the whole photograph.
When digital manipulation is not specifically excluded, then any type of manipulation is permitted. Scanning, manipulation and conversion to a different format (e.g. converting a print to a transparency slide and vice versa) is also permitted.
League Tables
League tables are to be set up and run in parallel with the current competitions. Participation in the league tables is optional.
Each member, who wishes to participate, will be placed in one of three classes: Introductory, Intermediate or Advanced.
At the beginning of the year when membership is renewed or opened each member will be asked at which level they would like to compete. If they have never won a competition then they may compete at whatever level they choose, however if they have won a competition within the last two years they can only enter the Intermediate or Advanced classes.
Members who join during the year may enter a League Table if they wish.
At each competition that is judged by an external judge, every photograph will be awarded points out of 10. These marks will be recorded during the year and totalled up at the end of the year. Running totals will be published periodically.
At the end of the league year (December) the committee will assess the scores of entrants and determine who will be asked to move up/down for the following season.
The following competitions will count towards the league tables:
- Annual Competition (April). (Up to 2 photographs per entrant.)
- The Animal-Free Competition (May). (Up to 2 photographs per entrant.)
- Internal Competition at the AGM (September). (Up to 2 photographs per entrant.)
- Hilda Robinson Memorial Plate and Tony Robinson Challenge Cup. (November or December) (Up to 2 photographs per entrant.)
- Final League Competition (December). (Up to 2 photographs per entrant.)
Note: Members may enter only one photograph for each of these competitions if they wish, but by doing so will lose an opportunity to score two separate marks towards their league totals.