A guide to entering international competitions

By Ann Bastion FPSNZ EFIAP

CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL who received awards in our 2019 International Salon.

I would like to help you on your way to entering future international competitions by reinforcing some of the rules and requirements for international salons, in fact any salon.

These rules are what you agree to abide by when entering such salons. To avoid disappointment by having your image disqualified you need to take note and read the rules pertaining to the particular salon you are entering.

The following form a basic guideline for any salon, but there may also be particular restrictions given for the individual salon as well. You need to read the ‘Conditions of Entry’ that every salon will have on its website!

• Any image, that has previously received an acceptance or higher in a salon, can’t be submitted again in the same salon the following year or any other year.

• It can, however, be entered in any other salon that it has not had an acceptance from. There is software that is being used to check for this now.

• A black and white version of a colour image is deemed to be the same image and must have the same title.

• You can’t enter a colour image and a black and white version of the same image in the same salon. It has to be one or the other.

• Once you have entered an image it must maintain that title in any subsequent salons in order to keep track of the image in the records.

• You are not allowed to alter an image slightly and give it a new name.

• Words such as ‘Untitled’ and ‘No Title’ are not acceptable, and any image with the camera capture numbers is also not accepted.

No title or identification of the maker shall be visible anywhere on the face of an image print mat or mount.

The definitions of any section that require them will be listed, and you need to adhere to them. They are basically the same as what we use in our SONY National Exhibition salon.

• In sections like Nature, Travel and Photojournalism you are not permitted to add or remove anything from the image as captured and you are not permitted to add a texture overlay.

• In open sections where computer work is allowable all elements in the image must have been created or captured by the author; in other words, no cutting and pasting-in small objects from images you have found on the internet.

If you intend to apply for FIAP or PSA distinctions you must keep accurate records of all your acceptances. For further details on this contact FIAP Liaison Officer Ann Bastion at ajbastion@ gmail.com