Photo Appraisal

The thinking behind photo appraisal.

The terms competition, judging and assessment seem to imply pitting one member against another, which could lead to a narrow view as to what photography is about.

In reality judges, with their wealth of experience and skills, give a critique of the emotional content or story within an image and the numerous technical aspects therein. He or she would then give a score, usually as a guide to how far the image meets these parameters. We think this is more in line with an appraisal of an image and therefore also more in line with the club’s aim to enhance a member’s skills and vision. As an aside the word appraisal is historically linked with the word “praise”.

Under an appraisal system members need to look at scoring as a tool to raise standards and point to where more help and experience is needed. It is also a very good opportunity for members to try out new ideas and see what others think of them.

Under such a scheme newer members, and indeed all members, would gain by having their images appraised earlier in their membership.

Judges are what they are, some favour certain features such as nature, landscape, the built environment etc. and will award higher marks to their personal favourite (they shouldn’t). So the same image will get different marks from different judges, and also when compared with images within different appraisals. The essence is to take account of the judges’ comments and not the score.

The whole ethos is one of sharing images and experiences, nurturing and teaching.

Think “show and share”.

Projected image appraisal 

Also referred to as PDI Projected Digital Image. These are projected  by our Epson High Definition digital projector which has a resolution of 1920 by 1080 pixels. Images are submitted on a memory stick to the club a week before the Photo Appraisal. Up to 3 images can be submitted, one being of that week's theme.

Print Appraisal

Prints are presented mounted on a board upto 40x50cm, there are no themes for print appraisals. Prints are brought along on the night of the appraisal. You can present up to 3 colour prints and 3 monochrome prints.

Photo Appraisal Rules - click the link below to download the rules on submiting your projected images and prints.

Download

2022-09-01 appraisal rules revised v3.pdf