About our Photographic Competitions

We hold around four competitions each year and all paid up members are welcome to take part.  Everyone goes into a single competition; we do not have elitist categories for beginner, intermediate, advanced etc.

Competition Details

Most competitions are on a theme, for example 'Blue', 'Dusk til Dawn' etc.  Where a competition is 'Open', any image can be submitted.

Most competitions are print, but we are moving over to digital as practical, with images projected.  Our competition secretary or any of the committee can help if you have any queries about or would like to take part in our competitions.

The top 5 entries are scored, usually by an outside judge, who can provide positive feedback on each entry.  Competition nights are very interesting for all members as the feedback usually includes hints and tips that everyone can benefit from.

Annual 'Photographer of the Year' Trophy

The scores for each club member from all the competitions during the year are totalled and the club member with the highest cumulative score is awarded the 'Photographer of the Year' Trophy at the AGM.

Competition Rules

Version dated February 2011

  1. The number of permitted entries shall be determined for each competition and must not be exceeded.  Unless otherwise stated this is up to four images (eg all prints or digital, or a mix as applicable), per competition.

  2. Print size must be 7x5 inches, (approx. 177mm x 127mm) minimum, up to a maximum of 20x16 inches (approximately 508mm x 406mm) including mount, unless otherwise stated.  Prints can be trade or home processed.

  3. Prints must be mounted and clearly labelled on the back with the Author's name and the title of the entry.

  4. Digital images to be submitted as per Lancashire & Cheshire Photographic Union (L&CPU) requirements: jpg format, dimensions of 1,400 x 1,050 pixels at 72 DPI (dots per inch) resolution.  Any unused areas of the document to be filled in with solid black or grey (as if masking a slide, right-click to download & save-as a correctly sized black mask here).  Files must be titled: authors name, image title. e.g. J Smith, Sunset.jpg. Download a sample image here.

  5. Entries must have been taken for the competition where possible, or have been taken within the last three years.

  6. Technical data to be provided if possible. Note that if images are digital, shooting information is generally recorded as tags within the files EXIF data.

  7. Winning images should be made available for the club to submit to other competitions where possible. eg. L&CPU Annual or Multi-club competitions.  Winning entries are to be excluded from further club competitions