BPS Competition Rules (September 2025)
The membership is divided into three competition entry classes, “Novice”, “Intermediate” and “Advanced”. Within each class there are six competition sections, which consist of:
Prints – Mono Prints, Colour Prints, and Nature Prints.
Projected Images – Mono PDI, Colour PDI and Nature PDI.
The Novice class is intended for those relatively new to photography who prefer, initially, to compete only against those with a similar level of experience to themselves.
The Intermediate class is intended to serve those that have gained experience and are of such a standard that they are likely to continually lead the Novice class. Therefore, they are deemed eligible, for the sake of fairness and to aid their photographic development, to compete with the majority of the membership in the Intermediate class.
The Advanced class is for members who have progressed through the Novice and/or Intermediate class, or for those members who have obtained some kind of photographic distinction or designation.
Members will be free to choose which class they enter, but that decision will hold for the entire season. No member may enter more than one class at the same time. However, the Competition Secretary has the final say as to how many seasons a member may be allowed to participate within the class in which they have elected to enter competitions. Again, this is for the sake of fairness to other members.
For monthly competitions, the prints sections and projected sections are generally held on separate evenings.
There will be up to 4 print and 4 projected monthly competitions in each season. It is at the discretion of the Competition Secretary as to whether “set subject” competition(s) are run. If set, these set subjects are intended to take people into areas they may not normally venture photographically. They are also largely a ‘leveller’, which can be refreshing in terms of competition.
The annual novice and intermediate and advanced competitions will generally be on separate evenings, although these may be combined to ‘best fit’ the seasons programme of BPS as the Competition Secretary deems appropriate. Each evening will include both print and PDI Sections.
At the end of the season, both the novice and intermediate class results will be reviewed by the Competition Secretary, together with other Committee members. If it is deemed appropriate and fair, a member will be promoted to the next class. The Competition Secretary’s decision is final but a member will not be obliged to accept the recommendation.
Conversely, to keep competition alive and to limit the sizes of the Intermediate and Advanced classes over time, the Competition Secretary, with the aid of the Committee, may employ a system whereby the lowest placed members in those classes are demoted to the next lower class (e.g. from Advanced to Intermediate), at the end of a season, based upon the lowest scores being achieved within that class by the members concerned. This prevents, over time, any one class containing the majority of members if only promotions are ever allowed.
The Competition Secretary will be pleased to answer any questions relating to these Rules and upon competitions generally.
General Rules Which Apply to ALL Competitions and All Classes.
1. Entries will only be accepted from fully paid-up members.
2. All entries must be images (made by the action of light of any wavelength on a sensitive surface) for which the entrant holds the copyright.
3. All aspect of a submitted image must contain pixels created by the author and cannot contain AI or other generated pixels or items other than as detailed below in the section entitled “The use of AI in competitions”.
4. Monochrome is defined as an image varying from very dark grey (black) to very light grey (white) with various shades of grey in between. A work toned with a single colour will remain monochrome. Any partial toning or the addition of another colour becomes a colour image. No mono images are to be entered in the colour section
5. Nature subjects, as defined by the nature rules, must be entered in the nature section of competitions. They will not be accepted in the colour and mono sections.
6. Images which have been entered in a monthly competition during any previous season may not be entered again. The “almost identical” restriction applies here also. Whether “almost identical” applies will be totally the decision of the Competition Secretary.
7. Entries may not have been entered in external competitions/exhibitions more than three years prior to the time of the BPS competition in which they are to be entered.
8. All entries must be handed in by midnight on the final hand-in date, as published in the club programme.
9. Any entry may be used by Bromsgrove Photographic Society for publicity purposes and will be made available on request for inter-club competitions, but consent can be withdrawn by notification to the Competition Secretary.
10. Whilst the Society will take every reasonable care whilst in the possession of an image, the liability for any damage to any such image shall be the entrants.
Monthly Competition Rules (including “Set Subject” Competitions Where Applicable)
1. Members may enter up to three images in each print section. (However, see Rule 6, below). Due to the volumes normally experienced in PDI competitions, members may only enter 3 images in total, spread across the sections applicable to that month.
2. During the monthly competitions, an image may be entered a second time if it does not receive a score of 16 or more on its first entry. This will be the only circumstance in which an image may be re-entered during the monthly competitions. No image may be entered more than twice and that includes using the same file for both colour and mono sections. The same applies to images that are “almost identical” to one that has already been entered. Those who wish to present their work to another Judge during a season may do so at the annual novice, intermediate or advanced competitions.
3. Images of a similar likeness may only be entered across the season if the titles indicate that there is more than one image e.g. Daffodil 1, Daffodil 2 etc. Alternatively, give the images more specific and different titles. What we need to avoid is giving the impression that a photo is being re-entered when it is actually a different image, so no duplication of the same title by the same author please.
4. A record of placing made by Judges will be kept by the Competition Secretary for appropriate awards to be presented at the end of the season.
5. All scores in each class each month will count towards the annual awards. Points are cumulative and will be awarded by the Judges in the range 1 through to 20, with 20 being the highest score achievable.
6. There will be a cap of 100 entries in all monthly competitions. This will be administered by reducing entries per member per section where necessary.
7. In all aspects of competition, the Competition Secretary may use his/her discretion to waive or amend competition rules where appropriate. If deemed necessary members may be required to submit an original file if requested by the Competition Secretary.
Print Images (all competitions)
1. Mono and colour prints may be either home or trade processed/printed. In the intermediate and advanced class they must be no larger than 20 inches by 16 inches including mount. Within the novice class, however, prints may be entered unmounted but again subject to a maximum size of no larger than 20 inches by 16 inches.
2. Digital files are also required for projection during the competition. These should reflect the entered print in all respects including their cropping. These files should be entered over the internet through Pixoroo, as in the PDI competitions.
3. Pixoroo may allocate a random “Presentation Sequence” number to each entry. This should be written on the back of the print in the top right-hand corner if generated.
4. All Prints & PDI copies must be handed in by the final hand-in night. This is usually a week before the competition but dates for final hand-ins will be detailed within the Club programme.
Prints must be clearly marked with:-
a) the author´s name,
b) the class you are a member of e.g. Novice,
c) the section the file is to be entered into e.g. mono,
d) the title.
e) above information to be clearly marked on the top right hand corner when viewed from the back of the print. This is to assist orientation when displayed.
Any entry not complying with these requirements will be returned.
Digital Projection Images (For Print competitions, PDI copies are still required for projection for the audience)
1. All image files must be in JPG format with minimum compression and shall be a maximum of 1600 pixels wide and 1200 pixels high [NOT REVERSEABLE]. The images must be in a single layer in RGB mode and the sRGB colour space, including monochrome images. Each file must be titled. Use capital letters and spaces in the title where they would normally appear and do not type ‘.jpg’ after the title (as .jpg is inserted automatically by most software). There is a maximum file size of 2MB.
2. Entries must be made over the internet using Pixoroo. If you advise the Competition Secretary (compsec@bromsgroveps.com) that you wish to enter competitions, he/she will then set you up an account in Pixoroo and send you log-in details. The process is extremely easy if the conventions detailed in the previous paragraph have been adhered to. Always check your spam box if there is no reply in your inbox.
3. It is recommended, although not mandatory, that you place a keyline around the image that will be projected.
NATURAL HISTORY RULES
Since the 2020/21 Season BPS has adopted the PAGB Nature Rules (below) for all Nature competitions WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THOSE LISTED AS “WILDLIFE”
For the Wildlife Competitions, the International (FIAP) Wildlife Rules will apply. These are printed separately on the BPS website.
NATURE ELIGIBILITY IN PAGB COMPETITIONS
Nature means Images where living organisms are the primary subject matter. The story telling value of an Image will normally be weighed more than the pictorial quality.
Nature includes:
Images taken with subjects in controlled conditions such as zoos, game parks, botanic gardens, aquariums and enclosures where the subjects are dependent on man for food. Scientific bands, tags or collars are permissible.
Processing of the captured image, by cropping, exposure adjustment, colour correction, noise minimisation, dodging/burning, HDR, focus stacking and sharpening, is permitted, as is cloning of image defects and minor distractions including overlapping elements.
Nature excludes:
Images where the subjects are obviously domestic animals or plants.
Images where an obviously artistic treatment has been applied. These may be entered in colour/mono.
An image appearing to meet these criteria will be accepted as Nature. The Judges will normally assume that any Image presented to them is eligible.
Access to some biological subjects may be restricted. Where that is relevant, then Photographers warrant that they have followed relevant codes of practices and hold any necessary licences.
In ALL Natural History competitions, it is generally expected that the title chosen for the image depicts the name of the species of the animal, bird, plant etc. as accurately as possible. Titles should be factual and educational rather than light-hearted. Judges may penalise an entry where the title suggests the photographer has not taken the time to properly identify the precise species featured.
ANNUAL COMPETITION RULES
The annual novice, intermediate and Advanced Competitions are held towards the end of each season. They will incorporate both Prints and PDI’s and will be divided into the same classes and sections as the monthly competitions. The annual competition is intended to showcase the best work of the season.
1. Each entrant may submit up to two images in each of the six sections. However, see also Rule 5 below.
2. Entries may have been submitted in monthly competitions in the current season or may be new work. They may NOT have been entered in previous years’ club competitions.
3. No entry may be the same, or similar, to another entry from the same entrant in another section of the annual competition.
4. Other than as stated above, the rules of monthly competitions will apply (e.g. definition of Nature, format for projected digital images, the use of AI etc.).
5. There will most likely need to be a cap on entries in the annual competitions. This will be administered by reducing entries per member per section where necessary after discussion with the Judge. The final number of entries will be determined by the Competition Secretary.
6. The interpretation of these rules will be at the discretion of the Competition Secretary but, in the event of any dispute, the Committee will decide based on such evidence as they see fit to obtain.
THE USE OF AI IN ALL COMPETITIONS
The predominant image content must be directly derived from original photographic image(s) which are entirely the work of the entrant; images may not be constructed entirely within a computer.
The use of any source images which are generated by any image generation programs, including those that are “AI-based”, is forbidden.
We accept that the use of “AI-based” editing tools in image editors such as Photoshop is becoming increasingly prevalent in photographers’ workflows.
We do allow the use of “AI-based” tools in Photoshop, Lightroom, and similar editing programs, including noise reduction and sharpening, but with limitations as outlined below.
The use of tools like (but not limited to) Photoshop’s Remove and Generative Fill must be limited to a small area of the final image (no more than around 10% of total original image area) and the resultant product of such tool use must be akin to manipulating the image with a clone/stamp tool.
The use of any tool which introduces a significant visual element which is not in your own source photographs is forbidden. For example, Generative Fill may or may not be allowed depending on whether it introduces new visual element(s). It is acceptable to remove minor distractions and/or extend the canvas in any direction by a small amount, filling the blank area sympathetically with the existing background (but this should not be more than approximately 10% of the entire original image size).
No modifications are allowed based on AI generated text input or generated using images or elements not taken by the photographer. All these rules will be reviewed at the end of each season and any amendments made will be announced at the commencement of the next season. BPS Competition Secretary Effective September 2025