Who can enter?
Current members of Bishops Waltham Photographic Society.
Why should you enter?
Participating in the competition offers valuable feedback and opportunities to learn from other members’ images and the judge’s comments. Our primary goal is to encourage engagement and contribution; any recognition is an added benefit. Since the Society introduced competitions in 2014, the quality of members’ entries has improved significantly.
What competitions are we running in 2026?
This year, we will hold ten competitions over five evenings
- Print Competition: Two leagues, with four rounds held throughout the year.
- Projected Digital Image (PDI) Competition: One league, with four rounds held throughout the year.
- Best ‘Set of Three’ Images: A print competition with one league and one round.
- Best Documentary Image: A PDI competition with one league and one round.
Print Competition: Two leagues, with four rounds held throughout the year.
- The Intermediate League is for those members who have learnt the essential craft of photography and are comfortable with the skills needed to make images. Members in the Intermediate league will be looking to learn more advanced techniques and develop their own style.
- The Advanced League is for members who have mastered field craft and are learning how to communicate. Members will have their own style and expression.
The leagues offer judges a framework for critique. The league you enter will determine the type of feedback you receive.
Projected Digital Image (PDI) Competition: One league, with four rounds held throughout the year.
This competition will be run as a single league during our Competition Evenings. It offers members an additional opportunity to showcase their work and learn from experience. Please note that processing techniques for projected images differ slightly from those used for prints. Members are encouraged to practice and develop the necessary skills.
Best ‘Set of Three’ Images: A print competition with one league and one round
This competition encourages creativity by inviting members to submit three images on a common theme or subject. Entries consist of three prints, which may be mounted together as a triptych or separately. The set will be critiqued as a whole, including presentation if relevant. The way the images are presented may enhance the creative aspect, but this is not essential
Members will be asked to produce a digital triptych for upload to the website for admin/web display purposes by midnight, Saturday, 24th October 2026.
Best Documentary Image: A PDI competition with one league and one round.
Documentary photography encompasses images that document the world, ranging from everyday life to major historical events. Although no strict definition exists, such photographs are expected to depict the environment and its people accurately.
In contrast to other genres, documentary photography emphasises authenticity rather than technical perfection, aiming to capture the complexity of reality. Documentary photographers serve as eyewitnesses, drawing attention to significant narratives for public awareness. For further explanation, follow this link Documentary Photography – An Introduction
Members are invited to submit 1 digital image, uploaded to the website by midnight, Saturday 24th October 2026.
Beginning this year, both the above competitions will be critiqued on 29th October 2026 in the Hall. Providing the critique will be Suzie Kirkby, CPAGB/AV
Judging Procedure
On competition evenings, images are evaluated and critiqued by an experienced photographer who is an established judge. The judge is chosen by the Competition Secretary from an approved list provided by the Southern Counties Photographic Federation (SCPF).
An external judge reviews the submitted prints and offers constructive feedback. The judge selects a shortlist of images as candidates for placement, then determines the ‘Highly Commended’, Third, Second, and First place winners. Images that are shortlisted or placed receive points
At the end of the year, for competitions with multiple rounds, total points are calculated. Each league winner is awarded a trophy engraved with their name, which they retain for one year. Winners and runners-up also receive medals, which they keep permanently.
Summary of Guidelines for Competition Entry:
- A member may enter only one print/digital image for each round of the competition.
- Any images submitted must be exclusively the author’s own work and only contain components taken or created by the author. It is the author’s responsibility to ensure that this is the case.
- Images may have been taken at any time, but each image may be entered only once. NOTE: Images from the same shoot/day are allowed, providing the composition is significantly different. Images deemed to be so similar, e.g. taken from the same sequence, cropped differently, or a colour/mono version, are not acceptable.
How to enter a print for a competition
Please bring your mounted prints on the evening of the competition. When you arrive, your entries will be placed on display stands in the right league. For more details, check the rules.
When you arrive, hand in your mounted print. Make sure you upload a digital copy to the website by the day before the competition.
If you can’t attend, you can give your images to another member to bring for you. Please email the Competition Secretary with the name of the person bringing your image and the image title. This helps us make sure we have everything on the night.
Need to print your images? Many labs can help. Here are a few suggestions: DSL Colour Labs, Loxley Colour, and One Vision Imaging.
Looking for mount board? Many places sell it. You might try Cotswold Mounts or Kadinsky Art Supplies.
How to submit your digital image for the competition
Please upload all images by midnight on the Saturday before the competition.
When you upload your image, choose the right ‘Purpose’ option. Since this is a single-league competition, make sure you pick the correct category.
Please resize all PDIs before uploading. The image width should be no more than 1,600 pixels, and the height should be no more than 1,200 pixels. For square images, use 1,200 by 1,200 pixels.
For further information, see the complete set of rules