GALLERY  SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS

PHOTO GALLERY SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS

Revised October 5, 2018

I. DIGITAL IMAGE SUBMITTAL REQUIREMENTS

A. Digital Image Submission:

Only members in good standing (current paid up members) are allowed to submit up to three digital images each time the gallery is due to be changed. There is no guarantee that any of the submitted digital images will be selected for the gallery. If the digital images do not meet the criteria established by the committee they will be rejected

B. Authoship of Digital Images:

Digital images must be the work of the member submitting them (they must have pressed the shutter button themselves). A member may accept guidance, assistance or recommendations from others with regard to processing the original image. 

C. Digital Image Coordinator Roll:

Each photographer will attach up to three jpeg images, each no larger than 3 MB in one email and send to the Digital Image Coordinator. Each image must have the name of the photographer, the title of the image included in the image file (the camera’s designation file name shall not be used on submitted images).

NOTE: If there is a problem emailing the images to the Digital Image Coordinator, you may deliver a disk or thumb drive with your images to the Coordinator. Be sure to notify the Coordinator of your name and the name of each your photos.

D. Minimum requirements:

1.    Members may submit up to three digital images for each Gallery change

2.    Submitted images must not have been previously displayed in the Gallery.

3.    Digital images must meet minimum standards for focus, composition, exposure,

       subject, color, contrast and lighting. 

4.   The image submitted should be in the same proportion as the print will be, assuming your image is approved, ie: 12X18, 13X19, 16X20, or square.

No dimension shall be greater than 20 inches.

E. Subjects:

Digital images of all subjects are permitted.

1.   Family Members:

If submitting images of family members, pets or other similar subjects, they must not appear to be snapshots. Snapshots will be rejected.  Digital images must be creative or artistic. The club member should consider these questions prior to submitting an image of these types of subjects: 

a.     Does it make a statement? 

b.     Does it elicit an emotion?

c.     What could be changed to give it a stronger statement?

2.   Portraits

Portraits must be a character study, not just a photograph of someone. Unique lighting, shadows, background, context or contrast are encouraged and can be very creative.  Because prints showing frontal brightly lit nudity may cause displeasure to some people in Wycliffe, they are unacceptable and will be rejected.  However, nudity with proper subtle lighting and shadow effects, as well as artistic posing will be considered if they are deemed acceptable. 

F. Quality:

Image quality is very subjective. The gallery committee will consider all of the following when deciding whether a digital image is selected. 

1.Focus: With the exception of images that intentionally show motion or have part of the image intentionally blurred, sharp focus is absolutely necessary. Where part of the image is intentionally blurred or has soft focus, the main point of interest of the image must be in sharp focus. If the subject of the image is a person or animal, the eyes must be sharp.

2.Composition:

a.      The image must basically follow the Rule of Thirds, the Golden Ratio or some other recognized aesthetic proportion. In some cases, if the main subject of the image is best presented by centering it, this will also be allowed.

b.     The image must be straight, unless the photographer intentionally angled it for artistic purposes.

c.    If there are distracting objects, they should have been cropped or cloned so that the distracting objects either blend in into the background or have been removed.

3.Exposure:

a.      The image must be properly exposed. Underexposed or overexposed images will be rejected. 

b.     The exposure should be appropriate for the image. There usually are numerous combinations of ISO, aperture (f-stop) and shutter speed and focal length (lens or zoom setting) that can work for a given scene. The use of these technical aspects should add rather than detract from the subject.

G. Subject: 

When viewing the image, the first thing seen should be the subject. Elements in the image that compete with the subject should be eliminated.

H. Color: 

Color is very important. Depending on the intent of the photographer, color could be natural, over saturated or even under saturated. Could the image be improved if the color saturation were different? Perhaps the image would be stronger if it were in black and white. Or perhaps a black and white image would be better in color.

I.Contrast & Lighting:

Contrast and lighting go hand-in-hand in emphasizing or deemphasizing people and objects in an image. When photographing in natural light, shooting from different angles can impact the lighting on the subject. Additionally, flash and other external lighting can also make a significant impact on an image. Lighting is a feature that can be used to enhance the overall mood of the subject and the image. White balance adjustments can also change the mood of an image. HDR may work well for scenes that have extreme dark areas as well as extreme light areas.

J. Creativeness: 

There are many out-of-the-box creative and dramatic adjustments available to the photographer. Selective focus, soft focus, long exposures, dramatic and graphic angles, panning shots, blurring impressionistic effects, all can encourage new shots and new ideas. Infra-red might present an especially impressive image if the subject is appropriate. There are also various other special creative effects that can be used to enhance an image. Any of these and any other creative techniques are acceptable.  

II. GALLERY PRINT REQUIREMENTS

A. Who can submit gallery prints?

Only members in good standing (current paid up members) whose digital images were accepted are allowed to submit matted prints for the gallery. There is no guarantee that any of the submitted prints will be hung in the gallery. If the prints do not meet the criteria established by the committee they will be rejected.

1.Prints must be the work of the member submitting them. A member may accept guidance, assistance or recommendations from others with regard to printing the selected image. 

B. Physical requirements for submitted prints?

1. SIZE: The minimum allowed print size is 10” X 10”. The maximum allowed print size is 20” X 20”. If putting multiple prints in one mat, each print can be smaller than 10” X 10”, but the mat must be cut individually for each print.

C. Quality:

Prints must be the same image as the digital image selected. Special attention will be given to focus/sharpness, exposure, color and contrast.

Past experience has shown that, when printing larger sizes from digital images, the print may not be as sharp as the digital image because the digital image was not large enough. For our gallery, a 12” X 18” print should be made from a digital image no smaller than 1-1.5 MB and a 16” X 20” print should be made from digital image no smaller than 1.5-2.0 MB. Twice those minimum amounts would be better.

It is not unusual for exposure, color and contrast to change when prints are made from digital images.

D. MATS  

Mats must be White or Black with a maximum thickness of 6 ply. If using a backing on your mat, the total thickness cannot be thicker than the thickness of a 6 ply matte.

1.  MAT SIZE:Outside mat dimensions must be a maximum of 24” by 24”. Any mat that exceeds 24” X 24” will not fit in our frames and therefore will not be accepted. 1/6” to 1/8” shorter on each side is preferred.

2.  PRINTS must be securely taped to the back of the mat on all 4 sides or they will not be accepted.

    3. The title of the photo and name of the photographer must be clearly printed on the top of the back of each submitted print or mat. Sticky notes are not acceptable.

Prints submitted for gallery consideration must comply with the above requirements or they will be rejected.

The gallery will be changed three times a year, November, February & May. 

NOTE:  The Gallery Committee will have the FINAL SAY on which prints are accepted and which prints are rejected.