Competitions
This page outlines the competition procedures and guidelines, as well as information on submitting images to the Competition Secretary. This information is referred to on the final pages of the club’s printed annual Syllabus, which is issued to all members upon payment of yearly club fees. As competition rules are subject to change, the following list should be considered current when entering club competitions.
General Information
The aim of the Club is to encourage all members to think creatively about their work and wherever possible submit new and thought-provoking images for each and every competition. As photographers we are encouraged to look at all subjects from different angles. However, members must use their own discretion to ensure they do not submit similar images in different competitions, which have been taken from the same point of view and at the same time. It is the view of the Committee that the objective of competitions is to enhance the photographic skills and knowledge of the members, and this has always been the spirit upon which the Club has operated. The competition secretary has the discretionary power to refuse the entry of any image that he/she believes falls outwith these guidelines, and his/her decision is final. The reason for any such decision will be communicated to the member in time to allow him or her to submit another image that meets all the appropriate competition criteria.
Images entered must be entirely the photographer’s own work. Image manipulation is permitted. Photos submitted for the Open, Theme and Knockout competitions must have been taken within 2 years of the competition date.
For the latest guidance on the use of AI in competitions, please look at the SPF website www.scottish-photographic-federation.org, where you will find details of what is permitted. See SPF Guidance on the use of AI in competitions.
Competition Divisions: Club competitions are divided into three general divisions, depending on the member’s experience. New members are initially permitted to enter the division they consider most suited to them; however, they may be requested to submit at a different level for later entries.
Division 1: This division is intended to include members with some years of photographic knowledge and experience.
Division 2: Division 2 is for those who recognise that, whilst they do have some photographic experience, they do not yet consider themselves at the Division 1 level of knowledge and ability.
Division 3: Division 3 is for those who feel that they are not yet at the Division 2 level.
Division 1 entries will be judged based on mounted prints (see details below), unless otherwise stated, each of which should be accompanied by an associated digital image file in JPEG format for projection on competition nights.
Division 2 and Division 3 entries should ONLY be submitted as digital image files for projection, and mounted prints are not required.
Division listings will be published at the start of the year.
Knockout Competition – Malcolm McBeath Trophy
Members are invited to submit images as JPEG digital image files on any subject of their choice. The competition secretary will announce the number required from each member. We aim to have 64 images in total, which will then be judged in pairs by members present on the night, with the more popular image advancing to the next round. There are no divisions, and all members are encouraged to participate, as images progress to the next rounds purely on a show of hands.
Themed and Open Competitions (Externally judged)
Members are invited to submit two images in the division formats specified above. Themes and competition dates are contained in the calendar section of the website and in the printed syllabus booklet. Members should take careful note of the submission dates for entries, which are always some weeks in advance of the competition dates. Themed and Open competitions will be judged separately for each division.
Images entered into these competitions must not have been entered in any previous externally judged Club competition(s), nor may any modification of an image be used. They may be used again in the annual Print of the Year and Digital Image of the Year as outlined below.
Print of the Year and DPI of the Year Competitions (Externally judged)
Both the Print of the Year and the DPI of the Year (Digital Projected Image) are open competitions (no theme) and are open to all members. There will be no distinction between divisions; all photographs will be judged together, with one print and one digital image chosen as winners.
Each member may enter up to 2 images in each of these competitions. Images entered must be entirely the work of the member.
Any image that has been entered into a club competition in the current season may be entered again, either in its original form or modified in line with the judge’s advice or comments. A new image may be entered providing it has been taken within 1 year of the competition date. An image may be entered into either Print of the Year, or Digital Image of the Year, but not both.
Both prints and digital images should be submitted as per the KPC standard competition rules.
Mounted Prints
In the case of Division 1 entries and Print of the Year, printed images should be fixed behind a window mount and held firmly in place with mounting tape and visible through the mount aperture. Mounts should be no larger than 500mm x 400mm, and prints must be no smaller than A5.
Each print should have an appropriate title on the back of the mount at the TOP LEFT CORNER. To ensure the mount can be reused, titles should be written in pencil. There should be no other markings on the mount. The competitor’s name or club membership number should NOT be written on the mount.
Mounted Prints should be submitted to the Competition Secretary by the requested date along with:
A Competition Entry Form with the competitor’s name, membership number, and title of the image. This can be downloaded from the club website.
An associated Digital Image File (see below), sent by email to the Competition Secretary. The digital image should match exactly the visible area of the print as displayed by the window mount. Every email will be acknowledged. If this is not received within 48 hours, it is the entrant’s responsibility to double-check that their entry has been safely received.
Note: The club will make every effort to look after mounted prints submitted to competitions and has purchased special equipment for the safe storage and transport of members’ entries in Division 1. Regrettably, however, the club cannot ultimately be held responsible for any damage or loss that may occur.
Digital Images for projection
All digital image files, for all divisions, should be submitted to the Competition Secretary as JPEG email attachments of image size no larger than 10Mb per image, together with details of the competitor’s name, membership number, and the title of the image. Images should be no more than 3200 pixels horizontally or 2400 pixels vertically. To comply with this club standard, your entry should be resized if necessary, so that it fits within a rectangle of 3200 pixels across by 2400 pixels deep. Every email will be acknowledged by return. If this is not received within 48 hours, it is the entrant’s responsibility to double-check that their images have been safely received.
A completed Competition Entry Form should accompany mounted Prints:
Click Here to open the Competition Entry Form
For general guidance on submitting your competition entries, a PDF document is available for your review, along with the procedures outlined above.
Click Here to Open the Competition Submission Information Leaflet
If you are unsure about resizing your images, please ask an experienced member who can guide you through the process.
At the end of each season the following trophies are awarded.
Fin McKenzie Trophy. This is awarded to the member who has gained the most points in Division 1 in the open and themed competitions during the season. Dr Fin McKenzie was formerly a GP in Kirriemuir, and he was the person who thought there should be a club in Kirriemuir and started the club in 2015 at the Golf Club. He was also the first president of the club.
Clova Cup. This is awarded to the member who has gained the most points in division 2 in the open and themed competitions during the season.
Prosen Cup. This is awarded to the member who has gained the most points in division 3 in the open and themed competitions during the season.
The winners of the Clova Cup and Prosen Cup are promoted up to the next division for the following season.
Print of the Year Trophy, this is awarded to the winner of the Print of the Year Competition.
Digital Image of the Year Trophy, this is awarded to the winner of the Digital Image of the Year Competition.
Knockout Trophy. This is awarded to the winner of the Knockout Competition which is the first competition held in the new calendar year. From 2026 this has been renamed as the Malcolm McBeath Trophy. Malcolm was an exceptional photographer with over 60 years’ experience. He was a Founder Member of the Club and a past winner of the Trophy on three occasions.
President's Award, this is a trophy that the incumbent president awards to the person, or people he/she feels have made the greatest contribution to the club in that season or over an extended period of time.
Competition Scoring
The club has adopted a new scoring system which is based on “pointless scoring” for the Judges, this is in line with many other Clubs. The Judge is asked to rate the images as follows: -
1st Place
2nd Place
3rd Place
Highly Commended
Commended
They are not asked to mark any other images. The reason we made this change was that on occasions some Judges had awarded scores of between 10 and 12 points, which the Committee felt could be demoralising, especially to newer members. This allows the Judge to concentrate on the merits of all the images presented to them, rather than attempting to award points across the board.
The Competitions Secretary awards the following internal points that then go towards the various Division Trophies.
1st Place - 20 points
2nd Place - 19 points
3rd Place - 18 points
Highly Commended - 17 points
Commended - 16 points.
All other entries are awarded - 15 points.