The Lowcountry Photographic Club helps The Exchange Club of Charleston with the Coastal Carolina Fair Photography Contest as well at the North Charleston Arts Council with the Festival of Photography which is part of the North Charleston Arts Festival. The guidelines for judging both contest's are adapted from standard criteria established by the Photographic Society of America. The following is basic criteria used by the judges. Note: While photography is an art form, all art forms a subject to the interpretation of the judges experiences and background. The scoring system is a 3 to 9 scale with a minimum image score of 9 and a maximum of 27: 9 - Tops 8 - Superior 7 - Well-above average 6 - Above average 5 - Average 4 - Below average 3 - Weak Each of the three judges scores independently of the others with no discussion of the images allowed. The scores are displayed electronically behind the judges and recorded by a member of the Lowcountry Photographic Club. Each print is held in front of the judges and the title is read with no photographer identifying information visible. Each judge then evaluates each entry as a whole, noting effective application of the principles of fine photography, such as composition, lighting, treatment of subject matter, and originality. Negative factors are also considered, such as extraneous subject matter within the image and poorly mounted prints. Here are some definitions of what the judges look for in each image. Impact - refers to the graphic impact and/or general interest of the subject. Format - the orientation of the picture (horizontal or vertical). Cropping - used to remove too many or distracting elements. Subject Position - the location of the primary subject in the frame. Exposure - is the subject over or under exposed. Sharpness - is the main point of the subject in focus. Depth of Field - the portion of the image that is sharply in focus. If when the initial judging is complete there are a number of images with identical scores a tie break is conducted. |
