Our Photo Competition Formats & Rules

Internal Competition Structure

Competitions are the heart of the club, providing valuable critiques and motivation. Entries are typically judged by an independent external judge.

All you need to know

Throughout the year (Jan – Dec) we run a variety of digital and print competitions to encourage members to see their photographs through the eyes of others. Photographs are scored out of 20 by a judge, and feedback is given to highlight what is good, and give guidance on ways to improve a photo. This is a great way to learn what makes a good photograph, which is central to becoming a better photographer.

Digitally Projected Images (DPI)

  • Photographer of the Year (POTY)
  • Image of the Year
  • The President’s Cup

Print Competitions

We have five print competitions each year. In these competitions, in addition to photos being scored on composition, technical detail, and story, they are also scored on presentation.

  • The Jack Levett Challenge – a 3 panel print competition
  • Landscape Photographer of the Year
  • Portrait Photographer of the Year
  • Wildlife Photographer of the Year
  • The Monochrome Print Challenge – 4 categories:
    • Portrait
    • Landscape
    • Architecture
    • After Dark

Competition Descriptions And Rules

Photographer of the Year (POTY)

The POTY competition is typically a 9-round competition of Digitally Projected Images (DPI). There are usually 5 Open rounds (any style or subject is allowed) plus Portrait, Landscape, Wildlife, and Abstract and Minimalism rounds.

In each POTY round, one image is selected by the judge as the Image of the Night, and also two runners up are selected. These 3 photos are showcased on our website (new rules from 2026).

  1. The annual competition runs from 1st January to mid-November each year.
  2. Club members can submit up to 2 images to each round of the competition.
  3. Each image is scored by a professional judge out of 20 points.
  4. Submitted images must not have been submitted in any previous POTY rounds. Images used in the Christmas/Summer Fun Competitions, or Be the Judge nights, can be submitted in a POTY round.
  5. At the end of the year, the lowest scoring round is subtracted from the total for the year
  6. The photographer who accumulates the most points by the end of the year wins the Photographer of the Year trophy which is presented at the Club Awards evening held in December.

Image of the Year

On the Club Awards night, the Club President selects the Image of the Year from the 9 Image of the Night winners from all the POTY rounds of competition.

The President’s Cup

  1. Eligible members are those finishing in places 2 to 6 of the Photographer of the Year competition league table.
  2. The competition takes place at the Club Awards evening at the end of each year.
  3. Entries consist of one print not previously entered in a club competition.
  4. Entries will be judged and the winner awarded The President’s Cup.

The Jack Levett Challenge

This is a 3-print challenge based on a subject proposed by the previous year’s winner, and is usually held in the Spring.
For 2026, the subject is a triptych with images representing a single SONG TITLE.

  1. The images must be new and unseen by the club, ideally taken specifically for this challenge.
  2. The images are presented together and judged as a panel of 3 prints – they can be any size from 6 to 20 inches, in monochrome or colour, giving the photographer more artistic freedom.
  3. Images are not given points but the judge will select a 1st, 2nd and 3rd place from all the entries.
  4. The winner receives a trophy which they keep for a year, and a money prize which goes to a charity of their choice.
Jack LevettJack Levett was our President until his untimely death in 2002. Well known and respected in the Chelmsford area, as well as being an amateur photographer, Jack was an accomplished organist, choirmaster, brass band member, scout leader and philatelist. Everything he did, he did enthusiastically and well. He tried to encourage our members to take more photos by issuing his annual challenge. He believed strongly that our competitions should not consist of pictures already taken but that we should go out and take pictures specially for the competition. By continuing this tradition, the memory of a much loved and respected member of the community is perpetuated.

Landscape Photographer of the Year

This is a print competition where club members submit no more than two entries. Rules may be changing in 2026.

  1. The competition takes place at the club Awards evening held in December each year.
  2. These images must not have been submitted in any previous club POTY competition.
  3. The definition of Landscape is as follows: the photographing of all elements of the land, mountains, hills, farmland, the coast, bodies of water, whether man-made (or influenced) or not, under varying lighting and weather conditions, in both traditional and abstract forms. Cityscapes and seascapes are included.
  4. The above definition is to be applied to the Landscape round of the POTY.

Portrait Photographer of the Year

This is a print competition where club members submit no more than two entries.

  1. The competition takes place at the club Awards evening held in December each year.
  2. These images must not have been submitted in any previous club POTY competition.
  3. The definition of Portrait is as follows: an image of a person, which can include headshots, reportage, street, sports photos etc.
  4. The above definition is also to be applied to the Portrait round of the POTY.

Wildlife Photographer of the Year

This is a print competition where club members submit no more than two entries.

  1. The competition takes place at the club Awards evening held in December each year.
  2. These images must not have been submitted in any previous club POTY competition.
  3. The definition of Wildlife is as follows: an image of an animal in the wild or in a zoo, but excluding domestic pets. Bear in mind that some judges will mark higher for animals in the wild. 
  4. The above definition is also applied to the Wildlife round of the POTY.

The Monochrome Print Challenge

  1. Each entry must consist of a set of 2 prints, with one image from any of the following categories (subject to change): after dark, architecture, landscape, portrait.
  2. Each print will be marked out of 20 and the combined scores used to select the winner.
  3. These images must not have been submitted in any previous club POTY competition.
  4. Monochrome Definition: an image is considered to be Monochrome only if it gives the impression of have no colour (i.e., contains only shades of grey which can include pure black and pure white) OR it gives the impression of being a greyscale image that has been toned in one colour across the entire image. (for example, by Sepia, red, gold, etc.)

Additional Competition Rules

Please note that rules are subject to change, please check with committee members before submitting photos if you are unsure. We are currently using an app called PhotoEntry to manage digital competitions. 

  1. Prints and digital images compete in separate competitions, unless otherwise stated.
  2. Each member may submit a maximum of two entries per competition, unless otherwise stated.
  3. Images can be entered into internal competitions no more than once, ever.
  4. Entries will be marked out of 20, unless the rules of the competition state otherwise. The Judge’s decision shall be final.
  5. Manipulated images are acceptable provided the Author has copyright of all the parts of the images used.
  6. Digitally Projected Images (DPI):
    • Digital images must be saved with a filename in the following format: Title, Author.jpg
    • Image dimensions are as the Author requires and file sizes at least 3 MB are ideal.
    • Digital images must generally be received one week before the competition – deadlines are listed in PhotoEntry
  7. Prints:
    • Prints are to be labelled with the Author’s name and image title.
    • Minimum print size 6 x 8 inches.
    • Maximum mount size 20 x 16 inches.
    • All prints must be mounted securely and in such a way as to not cause damage to other prints.
    • Prints should be registered in the competition venue by 7:45pm on the evening of the competition.

The Limited Use of AI (artificial intelligence) 

If in doubt, do not use AI in your photo editing at all. Images must be entirely the work of the photographer, including that of any post processing. Photography should be a human experience as much as possible; some judges do “pixel peak”, and they easily spot AI manipulation. 

Not Permitted:

  1. Royalty Free images, Clip Art images, and any purchased images are not permitted.
  2. The use of images or part thereof that was generated by the use of AI, which samples pixels or objects from another photographer’s work, is not allowed.
  3. The use of “Generative Fill”, which samples images produced by others is not allowed.
  4. While composite images are allowed, provided all components are your own work and do not come from a software library, using AI to combine them with your image is not permitted.

Permitted Use of AI:

  1. The use of “Content Aware Fill” or “Delete and Fill Selection” is permitted because these processes sample pixels from within the original image. 

You can view past POTY entries here, and see all Image of the Night winners here.