COMPETITION RULES - GENERAL INFORMATION
PLEASE READ THE RULES FOR EACH COMPETITION BEFORE ENTERING.
All entries incorrectly entered will be removed from the competition.
Example: 4 entries submitted instead of the required 3 will result in 1 entry being removed.
PLEASE REMEMBER YOUR DIGITAL IMAGES.
All competitions require a digital image either as the entry itself or to assist the competition secretaries/web master(s).
Without the digital image, the entry can be rejected!
Information about digital image dimensions can be found here.
For digital competitions, your entries can be emailed to [email protected]
LIMIT TITLES
Three or Four words should be sufficient!
ENSURE THE DIGITAL IMAGE SIZES ARE CORRECT
ENSURE THE PRINT MOUNT SIZES ARE CORRECT
PLEASE READ THE RULES FOR EACH COMPETITION BEFORE ENTERING.
All entries incorrectly entered will be removed from the competition.
Example: 4 entries submitted instead of the required 3 will result in 1 entry being removed.
PLEASE REMEMBER YOUR DIGITAL IMAGES.
All competitions require a digital image either as the entry itself or to assist the competition secretaries/web master(s).
Without the digital image, the entry can be rejected!
Information about digital image dimensions can be found here.
For digital competitions, your entries can be emailed to [email protected]
LIMIT TITLES
Three or Four words should be sufficient!
ENSURE THE DIGITAL IMAGE SIZES ARE CORRECT
ENSURE THE PRINT MOUNT SIZES ARE CORRECT
APPLICABLE TO ALL COMPETITIONS
1. To enter any Competition you are required to have paid part or all of your subscription to Washington Camera Club PRIOR to your entry submission.
2 to 7. For print image competitions see the PRINT Rules page for dimensions etc.
8. For the digitally projected image competitions see the DIGITAL Rules page for dimensions etc.
9. There will be NO MARKS given by the judges in ANY Club competition.
10. Slides are no longer accepted for any Competition.
11. ALL print entries MUST be accompanied by a digital versions of the print images sent to the prints competition secretary.
1. To enter any Competition you are required to have paid part or all of your subscription to Washington Camera Club PRIOR to your entry submission.
2 to 7. For print image competitions see the PRINT Rules page for dimensions etc.
8. For the digitally projected image competitions see the DIGITAL Rules page for dimensions etc.
9. There will be NO MARKS given by the judges in ANY Club competition.
10. Slides are no longer accepted for any Competition.
11. ALL print entries MUST be accompanied by a digital versions of the print images sent to the prints competition secretary.
COMPETITION RULES
From 1st January 2015 each photographer could only be allowed to enter ANY SINGLE IMAGE (either Print or Digital) into THREE competitions.
The workload of the Competition Secretaries has increased exponentially since the introduction of the ‘THREE’ print rule. So, we are abandoning the checking of previous entries and we are relying on the honesty & integrity of each entrant in conforming with this rule.
ANY IMAGE (either print or digitally projected image) ENTERED INTO A SPECIFIC COMPETITION WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR THAT COMPETITION EVER AGAIN. (This also applies to any photograph, so similar, that it could be misconstrued as being the same as a previous entry)
From 1st January 2015 each photographer could only be allowed to enter ANY SINGLE IMAGE (either Print or Digital) into THREE competitions.
The workload of the Competition Secretaries has increased exponentially since the introduction of the ‘THREE’ print rule. So, we are abandoning the checking of previous entries and we are relying on the honesty & integrity of each entrant in conforming with this rule.
ANY IMAGE (either print or digitally projected image) ENTERED INTO A SPECIFIC COMPETITION WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE FOR THAT COMPETITION EVER AGAIN. (This also applies to any photograph, so similar, that it could be misconstrued as being the same as a previous entry)
AI Rules
The NCPF has recently been contacted by a member club concerning the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) within an image submitted to one of their internal club competitions. The use of AI was inadvertent, and the result of using a “generative remove tool" within a popular software application. This tool generated new artificial content which was not the original work of the author.
The NCPF thought it would be helpful to clubs to restate our position on the use of generative AI content.
It’s important to state that the NCPF are not involved, nor should be, with competition rules for clubs’ internal competitions. These are a matter for individual clubs to decide for themselves.
Where the NCPF do become involved is in setting the rules for the NCPF Club Championships and Annual competitions. The NCPF rules have been carefully drawn up to ensure compliance and consistency with PAGB rules and those of international organisations such as FIAP. This is why NCPF rules specifically prohibit the use of generative AI in any image entered into our competitions. This rule also applies to PAGB and FIAP competitions. It is important that clubs, their competition secretaries, and members are aware of the generative AI prohibition when submitting entries to NCPF competitions. If an image containing generative AI content is entered into an NCPF competition and is chosen to represent the NCPF, there is a risk of serious reputational damage and sanction to the NCPF, club, and individual if the use of generative AI is detected - whether its use was deliberate or not.
To help clubs and competition secretaries, we will continue to highlight the prohibition of generative AI in the rules which we issue as part of every entry invitation pack for our competitions.
Some additional guidance on the use of generative AI is shown below and we will also include this on the NCPF website.
The NCPF thought it would be helpful to clubs to restate our position on the use of generative AI content.
It’s important to state that the NCPF are not involved, nor should be, with competition rules for clubs’ internal competitions. These are a matter for individual clubs to decide for themselves.
Where the NCPF do become involved is in setting the rules for the NCPF Club Championships and Annual competitions. The NCPF rules have been carefully drawn up to ensure compliance and consistency with PAGB rules and those of international organisations such as FIAP. This is why NCPF rules specifically prohibit the use of generative AI in any image entered into our competitions. This rule also applies to PAGB and FIAP competitions. It is important that clubs, their competition secretaries, and members are aware of the generative AI prohibition when submitting entries to NCPF competitions. If an image containing generative AI content is entered into an NCPF competition and is chosen to represent the NCPF, there is a risk of serious reputational damage and sanction to the NCPF, club, and individual if the use of generative AI is detected - whether its use was deliberate or not.
To help clubs and competition secretaries, we will continue to highlight the prohibition of generative AI in the rules which we issue as part of every entry invitation pack for our competitions.
Some additional guidance on the use of generative AI is shown below and we will also include this on the NCPF website.
- Permitted AI enhanced editing includes editing tools that perform transformations, enhancements, or corrections based exclusively on the existing pixel data captured in the author’s original photograph without introducing externally sourced content.
- Prohibited AI editing includes any AI assisted processes for synthetic image generation that incorporate external image data, visual elements, textures, objects, or scenes not originally present in the author’s photograph are prohibited.
Guidance on Artificial Intelligence and the Remove tool.
I give below a summary of the PAGB’s position on the use of Artificial Intelligence tools, and the Remove tool in particular, when editing images. This refers to Lightroom and Photoshop, but the same argument will apply to other editing software such as Affinity.
The
PAGB (Photographic Alliance of Great Britain) allows the use of the Remove tool in Lightroom or Photoshop, provided it functions as a content-aware removal tool using only pixels from the original image. Generative AI features that create new, non-photographic, or imported elements however, are generally forbidden. The key rule is that the final image must be entirely derived from the photographer's own work.
Key Considerations for PAGB and club Competitions:
· Remove Tool vs. Generative AI: When using the Remove tool, ensure "Generative AI" is turned off (if using Photoshop/Lightroom) to avoid adding content not present in the original scene. There is a separate tick box to do this.
·
· Content-Aware is Okay: Tools that use surrounding pixels to fill in a removed object (similar to cloning/healing) are generally acceptable. (Spot healing tool probably safer if not sure.)
· Edit > Generative Fill or > Generate Image must not be used.
· No New Elements: You cannot use AI to add, replace, or heavily alter pictorial elements (e.g., adding a sky, birds, or new objects).
· Responsibility: It is the photographer's responsibility to ensure all adjustments are derived from their own source photo.
In summary, standard, non-generative, content-aware removal for cleaning up an image is allowed, but AI-generated, "imagined" content is not.
Please be aware of these rules when editing your images.
I give below a summary of the PAGB’s position on the use of Artificial Intelligence tools, and the Remove tool in particular, when editing images. This refers to Lightroom and Photoshop, but the same argument will apply to other editing software such as Affinity.
The
PAGB (Photographic Alliance of Great Britain) allows the use of the Remove tool in Lightroom or Photoshop, provided it functions as a content-aware removal tool using only pixels from the original image. Generative AI features that create new, non-photographic, or imported elements however, are generally forbidden. The key rule is that the final image must be entirely derived from the photographer's own work.
Key Considerations for PAGB and club Competitions:
· Remove Tool vs. Generative AI: When using the Remove tool, ensure "Generative AI" is turned off (if using Photoshop/Lightroom) to avoid adding content not present in the original scene. There is a separate tick box to do this.
·
· Content-Aware is Okay: Tools that use surrounding pixels to fill in a removed object (similar to cloning/healing) are generally acceptable. (Spot healing tool probably safer if not sure.)
· Edit > Generative Fill or > Generate Image must not be used.
· No New Elements: You cannot use AI to add, replace, or heavily alter pictorial elements (e.g., adding a sky, birds, or new objects).
· Responsibility: It is the photographer's responsibility to ensure all adjustments are derived from their own source photo.
In summary, standard, non-generative, content-aware removal for cleaning up an image is allowed, but AI-generated, "imagined" content is not.
Please be aware of these rules when editing your images.
