Entering competition will help push you to become a better photographer. You will become aware of the 12 elements of a merit image, and start incorporating them into your photography. You’ll challenge yourself to achieve higher scores and in the process, become better at your craft!

It may sound a little scary at first, but entering competition will help you to raise your photography to the next level.

Starting at the State level is a great way to get your feet wet and learn the basics so that you feel more confident about entering at the regional and international competitions!

Entering is easy to do.  Check out the 2022 Registration & Rules, then start preparing your 8 best images. For 2022 you can submit your images as digital files only 

THE RECOMMENDED PROGRESSION OF PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION FOR PPA MEMBERS:

State Competitions
Competition critiques at this level are often held live, providing insight into improving your work. It’s the perfect place to start if you don’t have access to a local guild or association. Check theLoop for more advice on entering state competitions.

District Competitions
This is your last chance to gather critiques and advice before the International Photographic Competition (IPC). (You’ll want those critiques and advice. Even if getting your work critiqued scares you, the new perspectives are oh so worth it.) As a PPA member, you’re assigned a district based on where you live (Southwest, Northcentral, Western, Northeast, Southeast and Asia Pacific). Wow them here and you could earn a Seal of Approval. That’s a big deal. After all, if you Seal at Districts, then it's an automatic merit at IPC as long as you remember to submit that same image! PPA has it automatically set up when you go to register for IPC, so you just have to click submit and BOOM, you're set.

PPA’s International Photographic Competition (IPC*)
And now things are rollin’—you’ve got game, playa! You’re competing with PPA members from across the globe now and this ain’t a competition playground: this level of competition (the IPC) actually involves two judging’s.
The first one determines if your images are merit-worthy (yeah, that’s industry-speak to say you made the first cut). If they are, you earn a second judging, which could possibly earn you an additional merit and a spot in the Imaging Excellence Collection (our way of saying that your work is the “best of the best”). Images that earn Imaging Excellence status are published in the annual Imaging Excellence Collection book AND are exhibited at Imaging USA.

Ready to Register