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The monthly contest runs annually from January first through December 31. It is open to all members whose dues are paid by the seventh of the month for the monthly competition they enter. For instance, if you enter for the month of June your dues must be paid by July 7th.
ALL ENTRIES MUST BE RECEIVED BY THE SEVENTH OF THE MONTH FOLLOWING IMAGE PUBLICATION. LATE ENTRIES WILL BE DISQUALIFIED.
All images must have been published during the month entered either in print or online.
Image cropping and use of color or black and white is up to the photographer.
Save your images with a code just like POY. Use the same code every time.
All monthly winners will be posted on the web page scnpa.org
The contest chairman reserves the right to verify if images have been published.
Rules are subject to change.
Images will be sent to an out-of-state newspaper to be judged.
The judges will pick a first, second and third place in each category. If only one member has entered a category, it will not be judged, but those images will be added to the following month’s entries.
Points are awarded in each category as follows:1st–50 pts 2nd–40pts 3rd–30pts. Any member entering the contest will receive two points for entering regardless of the number of images they have entered.
Each participating member’s score is recorded monthly. The member who accumulates the most points during the year wins the contest. If there is a tie at the end of the year, the winner is the one with the most points and first place images. If there is still a tie, the winner is the one with the most first and second place wins.
Last year’s winner received a camera donated by Canon. We hope to do the same this year. If a camera is not donated, we will provide a cash award of $50. The scoring results are final when the prize is awarded. Therefore, any member who believes there is a scoring error should report it to the vice-president before the prize money is awarded.
There are seven categories:
1. SPOT NEWS– A news event where no planning was possible. i.e.; fires, wrecks, storms, shootings, etc. (you may enter one or more photos).
2. GENERAL NEWS– A news event where planning was possible. i.e.; funeral, court, press conference, protests (you may enter one or more photos).
3. FEATURE– Events and subjects usually found and uncontrolled by the photographer. (ONE PHOTO ONLY)
4. SPORTS– Can be either action or reaction of anything sports related
6. PORTRAIT– Can be posed or un-posed. Portraits are also judged on a quarterly basis, (March, June, September, December) but must be entered monthly.
8. ILLUSTRATION– Food, fashion, and editorial concepts controlled by the photographer. Illustrations are judged on a quarterly basis, (March, June, September, December) but must be entered monthly. (One or more photos).
12. MULTIPLE FEATURE– Any combination of two or more related photos , including jumps. No news or sports photos in this category. Unlike the NPPA regional contest, a picture may be entered as part of a story and again as a single feature.
Category numbers correspond with the category numbers used in POY.
A maximum of TEN images may be entered each month, including illustrations and portraits.
Choosing a code (just like POY)
Choose your unique photographer’s code. This is important because you will use this code in naming all your files. Use a lower case five-letter sequence. Every photographer must have a unique code. Do not use a code that might reveal your name or employer.
A photographer’s code might look like this: bdwrz (don’t use this exact code).
Preparing Your Images
We recommend using Adobe Photoshop to prepare your images, although it is not required. We will accept Macintosh or PC-formatted disks but prefer Macintosh disks and files created on a Mac. The image orientation must read in normal viewing position, with top of the image actually being at the top. We will not flop or rotate photographs.
Sizing your photos
Scan or adjust image size to 200dpi (make sure the dpi is set to pixels per inch) with the width no larger than 10 inches and the length no larger than 10 inches.
File Compression
Save and compress the file using JPEG compression set to 10, or high. Use the optimized JPEG option if available. The resulting RGB file size will vary. Images not compressed properly will be disqualified. We strongly advise that you do not recompress (re-jpeg) an already compressed file. This will degrade image quality. Optimum image quality will be achieved by originally scanning to our specifications.
Captioning your photos
Using Photoshop’s “File Info” option (under the File menu), caption the photo. Following the caption, add your photographer’s code and the date the image was shot. Make sure you do not include your name or the name of your publication.
For example: “Karen Smith stretches to reach the finish in the 100-meter final of the World Track and Field Championships.” 3bdwrz . 2/14/05
Use the file>info option, not a captioning plug-in.
When captioning picture stories, the caption of the first photo in the picture story should be a very brief summary of the story.
Naming your files
Name your picture files beginning with the one or two-digit category number, followed by your unique photographer’s code, followed by sequential two-digit numbers corresponding to the number of photos you are entering in that category. Add sequential letters to the string for each photo in a picture story entry. End it all with .jpg (Sounds complicated, but it’s not).
Where possible the category codes for the monthly photography contest correspond with the category codes for the POY contest.
Examples:
A single photo entry might have a file name like this: 3bdwrz01.jpg (3 is the category number, bdwrz is the photographer’s code, 01 is your first entry within this category, and .jpg is the mandatory suffix). Other entries within the same category would be 3bdwrz02.jpg and 3bdwrz03.jpg.
Photos in a picture story entry might look like this: 12bdwrz01a.jpg, 12bdwrz01b.jpg, 12bdwrz01c.jpg (12 is the category number; bdwrz is the photographer’s code; 01 is your first entry in the category; a, b and c, indicate the first three photos in a picture story, and .jpg is the mandatory suffix).
Picture Stories
Place the files comprising a single picture story together in a folder. Title the folder with the file name (leaving off the letter associated with individual images) of the photos it contains. 12bdwrz01a.jpg, 12bdwrz01b.jpg, 12bdwrz01c.jpg. The folder they are placed in would be titled 12bdwrz01.