Competition Rules
Download OPS Competition Rules (pdf)
Competitions FAQ
Only bona fide members of Oldham Photographic Society may enter.
All competitions are entered through our competition entry portal. The competition secretary will set you up on the portal and you will have your own username and password. Log in, find the current competition and follow the instructions on screen. The competition will be opened by the competition secretary and will be closed automatically before the competition is judged. Entries cannot be uploaded once the competition is closed. Your individual score will be viewable shortly after the competition.
Any image may be used in any ONE competition in any medium. This means that an image previously used in a Quarterly competition can be used in a subsequent Annual competition and if an image is used in an Annual it can then be used in a future Quarterly competition as either a Print or PDI, but not both in any competition. This can be difficult to get ones head around so here is an example as a Question and Answer session:
Question: Image ‘Beauty’ is entered into a Quarterly comp as a PDI, it gets a reasonable mark but could be improved and I would like to use it again in its amended form. Can I use this, slightly different version in another Quarterly comp?
Answer: NO! Not as a PDI. If you made a print of it you could use the print in any subsequent Quarterly. Not both a print and PDI in the same comp. How much you can change on an image before it become a different image is a very grey area, best to treat any variation of the same or similar (including the next frame or so of the same subject if it has not moved significantly 🙂 as the same image.
Question: Can I use the amended image in the subsequent Annual comp or do I have to use the same image?
Answer: The way I tend to look at it is the Quarterlies are a trial run for the Annual (and appraisals a trial for the Quarterlies). So it is entirely up to you which version you use although I would suggest the improved one is best. And you can choose to use either the PDI or Print in the Annual, not both in the same Annual.
Question: The image ‘Beast’ has its debut in the Annual. As the Annual is the end of the competition year is that it, can I not use it again?
Answer: You can use any image in any competition so, yes, you can use the image, or any variation of it, in the next year’s or subsequent year’s Quarterly.
Question: I have a great image that did well in a Quarterly PDI comp, I improved it for the Annual PDI and won a trophy. I really want to use it again. Can I?
Answer: Surprisingly yes. Turn it into a great print and enter it in the following year’s Quarterly and Annual competition as a print and you may even be able to repeat your luck with it and get another Cup. It is probably now time to retire it, though we might still use it for the society in an external competition. If you still want to squeeze some more life out of the image yourself, I suggest you look at external competitions like the BPE and FIAP Salons.
Projected digital images (PDI) must fit within a rectangular measurement of 1600 pixels wide by 1200 pixels high. Not all images will be exactly that shape (aspect ratio). For example, square images will measure 1200×1200 pixels. Panoramics will be 1600 px wide but much less than 1200 px high. Portrait shaped images will be 1200 px high but much less than 1600 px wide.
The unused space must NOT be filled with black or any other colour.
See the menu item: Preparing images for projected image competitions for full instructions.
Setting up the competition takes time and if you bring entries on the night it takes up valuable time and we may not be ready to start on time. This would be very discourteous to the judge. Also the judge often sees the images prior to the competition and they would need some time to fit this viewing into their schedule.
In the same way as PDI. We use the uploaded images for admin purposes and sometimes to project on the night alongside the prints. You must bring your print prior to the night of the competition, correctly mounted and labelled and it must correspond to the image that you uploaded, so that they can be assembled ready for the judge on the night.
A print may be any size or shape to fit on a 50cm x 40cm standard size mount board. To make it easier to mount a print please try the Matte Designer on the Website.
This is to determine how it is projected on the night.
In a Quarterly competition, for example, each image is judged separately and is randomised with the rest of the entries.
In a panel competitions, appraisals and challenge aftermaths etc., several images will be shown in sequence in a single entry.
The portal is set to reject images that do not comply with the rules. This may be because the file format is not JPEG, the image is too big (10MB) or the embedded Colour Profile is not sRGB IEC61966-2.1. You will need to correct the problem and upload again. There is a notice (in red) that warns you of problems with your image. Look for things like “Image resized from …” as this means you have entered the wrong size image but it has been resized for you, the quality of this may not be optimal.
Most viewing devices cannot show all the colours that we can see. The way we use to reduce the number of colours and still have a quality image is by converting to different ‘colour profiles’. The attached ‘profiles’ tell the viewing device how to convert the numbers in the file to the correct colours. When the wrong profile is used the colours will be displayed incorrectly. We use sRGB IEC61966-2.1 to display/view all our images in competition.
The best entries from the competitions may be used on the website and in interclub battles or external L&CPU/PAGB competitions. See How we use your images… for more information.
In the same way as a competition. The number of images in an appraisal or challenge may be different to a competition. The entries are not judged.
The competition secretary(ies) or appointed selectors will choose the entry. They will choose what they believe will be the strongest entry.
The General Competition Bank on the portal is where you can upload images that you would like to have considered for use by the club in external competitions. These should be already successful images, or images that have been improved since used in competition, or we may have asked you to upload a particular image. Please keep it up to date with your latest versions! Periodically the competition secretary will remove images from the bank to keep it relevant. Please do not re-upload these images as they have already been added to our internal bank.
- Images must be uploaded to the portal by the closing date.
- Your scores can be seen on the portal after judging.
- There is no limit on the age of an image.
- You MUST declare your use of any generative AI methods in making your image so we know what can be used in external competitions. We do allow use of AI to ‘tidy up’ minor issues but not for generating significant pictorial elements.
- Any images that you believe qualify under the LCPU/PAGB Nature Rules MUST be declared when uploading so we know what images we can safely use in external competitions.
From 2026, there are three sections, Mono, Colour and Nature, In both Prints and Projected
- The number of prints and PDIs you may enter will be set each year.
- These can be entered in one section or spread across any or all the sections.
- Any image may be used in any ONE competition in any ONE medium.
- Any image may be declared as belonging to ONE category at the time of entry on the portal.