I recently had
the pleasure of judging local photographs at an agricultural show and a clubs
interclub challenge all in one week.
The standard was
extremely high and there was a huge amount of effort in the under 18’s section
which is fantastic as these are the photographers of tommorrow.
There were A and
B grade images, monochromatic, prints and digital.
I struggle with
the ideology in an open section that has analogue prints and digitally taken
images up for judging together.
I must be strange,
I like to judge digitally taken images against one another as I feel analogue
is in a league of its own.
If we are to be
judged should we be judged with our peers?
But as usual it
was a fabulous experience and the range of subject matter and techniques and
styles were amazing.
So what are my
tips?
- Read the rules; ensure your photo is
within the guidelines.
- Have a clean crisp neat mount for
your prints; sometimes it’s literally points that separate 1st
and 2nd.
- Ensure your photo is clear, its hard
to judge an image that has been printed too large and the whole image is
out of focus or too pixelated.
- Don’t have titles near the photo it
can be distracting.
- Mount colour can be black or white or
pick out a colour that is within your photo and match the mount to this.
Make sure your mount colour doesn’t distract from the photo. ( and dont forget to place an arrow for the top of the print on the back - so we know which way up the print is to be viewed.)
- Photos are usually judged on:
-
Impact
-
Composition
-
Technique
-
Presentation
-
Subject
matter
Other
items that come in to play are:
-
fitting
within the sections heading,
-
the shows
guidelines
-
creativity
-
lighting
-
style
-
centre
of interest
-
colour
balance
-
story
telling
Digital images can be looked upon favourably with a neat boarder around them.
Good luck with your next show!
I know I cant wait to judge again.
I know I cant wait to judge again.