Contest Categories

• PURE
  • Basic editing to improve YOUR OWN IMAGE is allowed. The objective is to present an image which looks natural.
  • Nothing may be added to, nor removed from, the image except by cropping. No advanced techniques like HDR (high dynamic range) treatments, focus stacking or multiple exposures are allowed.
• CONTEMPORARY
  • The ORIGINAL photograph taken by the entrant may be edited to the satisfaction of the photographer. This means using tools such as sharpening, contrast, brightness, color balance, noise reduction, saturation, toning, clarity and dehaze, grain, alignment transformations, vignetting, etc., including removal of minor elements, to improve the image (but not materially change it). Tools like clone, remove, content aware fill, HDR, focus stacking and bracketing are allowed. Components should not be added, either by generative fill or compositing.
• CREATIVE
  • Starting with the photographer sown image, ANY amount of editing is allowed, provided ALL components are the photographer’s own work. A substantial part of the final image must be representative of the initial, starting image.
• FANTASY
  • Starting with an image of the photographer’s own work, any amount of editing is allowed, including compositing, removing components, adding components, adding distortion or drastic color alterations. Not all components of the image must be your own work. Creative Fill tools may be used.
• Note: It is anticipated that ADVANCED photographers should NOT regularly compete in the PURE category, since they generally possess and use advanced editing skills.

Subject Categories :

1. Each Skill Level will have their own album in Flickr for Open and Preassigned subject matter.
2. Open Subject Matter
3. Preassigned Subject Matter: A specific subject has been selected for the contests during those months. These Preassigned categories will be posted in various places (website, on the Library Cart at SPC, on Facebook, and in the monthly minutes. They will also be posted on a slide in the Flickr website.
4. Other Categories. All skill levels will participate together in these categories.
5. Creative/art -Anything goes…adding or deleting elements, using textures or composited, etc. May post TWO images per photographer in this category.
6. Technical Challenge – Technical Challenge – Change to a voting category in 2023. Plan is for some discussion and education. Only ONE image per photographer.
7. Critique- No voting in this category. Plan is for discussion/ education purposes. Discussion should be around the technical and compositional aspects of the picture. Photographer can not add or subtract elements, but they can process in editing software. Submissions are limited to ONE per member.

Photography Contest Rules

The Spartanburg Photo Guild maintains a group of contest albums on the Flickr website, where paid members can submit photos for monthly contests. These albums will vary from month to month based on our category calendar. Paid members will be given instructions and password information to post images in the appropriate albums. The photos will be viewed at the Guild meetings, where members attending may vote to select their favorite images.

1. Picture must have been taken within the last 12 months except in the Critique category
2. Pictures can only be submitted in one category and can not be resubmitted in a later contest (except in the Critique category)
3. Submissions are limited to TWO per person for the following Categories and photos will be voted on in the contest.
4. Open subject matter
5. Preassigned subject matter
6. Creative/Art
7. Submissions are limited to ONE per person for the Technical Challenge. We plan to vote on photos in this category followed by discussion.
8. During our meetings each member may vote as many times in each category as the would like.
9. Entries in the Critique category are not voted on. They are for discussion and education. Since this takes more time per image, only ONE image is permitted per photographer.
10. For the Critique category a your Photo can be one that was entered in a previous contest.