2025 GEORGIA PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION
RULES
Please review thoroughly! Failure to comply with these rules may result in disqualification of entry.
The decision of the GPPA Photographic Competition Committee is final.
The purpose of this competition is to allow photographers to enter digital files and digital albums to be judged against a standard of excellence using the 12 Elements of a Merit Image. We have a Special Theme category that will change each year. Through this competition, GPPA members are eligible to be awarded GPPA exhibition merits for your GPPA Master of Photography Degree. Non-members may compete, but are not eligible for Awards (with the exception of the Out-of-State Award).
These rules pertain to images entered as digital files captured either by film and transferred electronically or created with a digital camera:
1. All entries must be registered at www.printcompetition.com. For first time entrants, click on the new artist registration tab and fill out the information required. Select GPPA and Register. Please read the entry form carefully and answer all required questions.
2. Entrants may only submit digital files for judging
3. Entrants are required to upload a digital file for each image entered.
4. No changes to your entry are permitted once the entry deadline has passed. No refunds will be issued after the entry is paid.
REGISTRATION
Registration Opens: June 1, 2025.
Registration Ends: 11:59 pm on July 23, 2025
Judging will be held on Friday, July 25, 2025
$15/image – GPPA members
$20/image – Non-Members
Members of PrintCompetition.com will be able to upload their entries without extra fees. Non-PrintCompetition.com members will need to pay a “Maker Fee” of $12.00 to enter their images.
No changes to your entry are permitted once the entry deadline has passed. No refunds will be issued after the entry fee is paid.
ELIGIBILITY
Images that are eligible include:
• Images that have received a Merit or Imaging Excellence in PPAs Merit Image Review (MIR)
• Images that were entered into PPAs IPC in 2023 or later, but did not receive a Top 32 designation
• Fresh images that have not yet been entered into a competition
• Images from other image competitions, except those excluded below
Images that are NOT eligible include:
• Images previously selected for the World Photographic Cup competition (PPA)
• Images that have received a Top 32 designation in any PPA IPC category
• Images that received a Merit or Imaging Excellence in PPAs IPC prior to 2023
• Images that have been made under the supervision of an instructor or as a class assignment
• Images that scored an 80 or higher in any previous GPPA image competition
AI STATEMENT
No entry in any category may be created in part or whole using text-to-image prompts that use Artificial Intelligence (AI) image-generating technology software intended to create whole images and backgrounds entirely from programmed images. A human must have creative control over the work’s expression. Images and their elements must be created with traditional elements of authorship. However, non-text-to-image prompted elements (such as Photoshop’s automations like generative expand) may be used in image creation. Images determined to violate the AI statement above will be disqualified. AI Images disqualified are not eligible to receive a score and cannot be entered into another GPPA competition. If the disqualification is determined after a score has been given, the image will have the score voided and will not be eligible for awards or inclusion in any GPPA digital or printed material.
PHOTOGRAPHIC OPEN RULES
This contest is open to all photographers. You do not need to be a member of GPPA to participate.
1. Entrant must have captured and created the original exposure.
2. All processing, manipulation, and printing or rendering, were done by the entrant or under their direct supervision.
3. The entrant has obtained and has access to all necessary releases (model or property) and agrees to hold GPPA harmless against all claims and liabilities arising out of GPPA's display, publication and promotion, or other use of each image submitted to GPPA.
4. The entrant’s name, initials, business logo, watermark, or other identifying features shall not appear anywhere in the entry.
5. There is no limit to how many entries may be submitted per entrant. However, only the top 8 images from an entrant will count towards any Special Awards, if the score is 80+, will receive a merit applied towards the Georgia Master of Photography Degree.
6. No entry will be eligible that has been made under the supervision of an instructor or as a class assignment.
7. Entry media includes digital files and digital albums.
8. Once an image has been awarded an exhibition merit (80+) in any category of GPPA’s Georgia Photographic Competition, it may not be entered again in any other category, at any time, by any entrant. No image that receives a merit may be entered more than once under any condition, including any image from a merited album.
9. The Photographic Open Competition exists to show the photographic knowledge and skill set of the maker. However, a maker can use supporting photographic elements that they did not create, provided those elements are referenced as guide images on the face of the entry. This includes sky replacement. The original photographic capture by the entrant should be merit worthy independent of the work that was not their own. Elements created by the maker must not be part of the guide images. This rule also applies to images within an album entry.
10. Any entry that has been created from an existing photograph, portrait, graphic, or any other artwork produced by another person is a violation of the competition rules and will not be judged, accepted, or displayed. If an entry, in the good-faith opinion of the GPPA Image Competition Committee, violates copyright, trademark, or any other applicable law, that entry shall not be displayed or published. Furthermore, this image will also be disqualified from consideration for awards selection.
11. Entries of the same subject in multiple images will be allowed if the images are entirely different concepts. If entries of the same subject do not have entirely different concepts, only one of the same-subject images will be accepted into the competition. The other same-subject image(s) will be disqualified. If the same-subject images are not identified prior to the registration deadline, the image that appears first in the maker’s entry list on printcompetition.com will be accepted and any other same-subject images that are not entirely different concepts will be disqualified. If the disqualification is determined after a score has been given, that image will have the score voided and will not be eligible for awards or inclusion in any GPPA digital or printed material.
12. Images not of acceptable GPPA exhibition content will be judged but may not be displayed. The decision of acceptable content will be based on the standards set by the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., and will be at the discretion of the GPPA Image Competition Committee.
ARTIST CATEGORY RULES
1. Entries may be created in various artistic mediums. Photographs may be used in this category in creating an entry, but it is not a requirement. Entries may include freehand drawing or painting in traditional or digital applications. Entries can include stock photography, photographs, or artwork from other artist(s) with written consent to use from those sources. Documentation may be requested by GPPA before, during, or after the competition. If an entry, in the good-faith opinion of the GPPA Competition Committee, violates copyright, trademark, or any other applicable law and cannot be proven otherwise, that entry shall not be displayed or published.
2. All processing, manipulation, artwork, or rendering must be done by the entrant.
3. Guide images must be included on the face of the entry. For restorations, it is recommended that, in addition to the guide image for the image being restored, two guide images that show the progress of the restoration be included.
4. The entrant’s name, initials, business logo, watermark, or other identifying features shall not appear anywhere in the entry.
WEDDING CATEGORY RULES
1. The Wedding Category consists of: 1. Images that portray a subject or subjects from all aspects of a wedding including traditional portraits, candid images, or detail work. 2. Multiple images may be combined into a digital album collection exclusively showcasing a specific wedding.
2. Wedding themed images taken outside of the time constraints of the wedding event should be entered in the Photographic Open portrait or illustrative category depending on content.
ALBUM ENTRY
1. Album pages be combined into a .zip file prior to uploading the album entry to www.printcompetition.com.
2. You must include a gray spread with your album title on the page as your PAGE ONE.
3. Maximum Viewable Canvas Size: 2560x1600 in a horizontal page format.
4. A page may represent a single album page or a spread.
5. A page may contain as few or as many images as desired.
6. Entry may contain up to 36 canvases or spreads.
7. Each page or spread must contain an embedded color profile of either sRGB or Adobe RGB1998 and be saved at a JPEG quality setting of 10.
8. Identify pages sequentially in the order to be viewed using the following three-digit format. Example: (001.jpg, 002.jpg, 003.jpg, 004.jpg, etc.)
9. All pages of an album must be in one folder. Please zip the contents into one file and upload to www.printcompetition.com.
10. The entrant’s name, initials, business logo, watermark, or other identifying features shall not appear anywhere in the entry.
PHOTOGRAPHIC COMPETITION CATEGORIES
You must designate one of the following categories for each entry.
PORTRAIT: Images can portray a subject or subjects and should reflect the personality of the subject(s). {Sub-categories include: General (families, groups, and adults over 18); Child (age birth-age 11); Seniors and Teens (age 12-18); Pets and Animals (animals photographed using structured lighting in a studio or outdoor environment where the animal is controlled by the owner or photographer)}
WEDDING: Images created at or in connection with a wedding {Sub-categories include: General; Bride; Groom}
ILLUSTRATIVE: Capturing the beauty of fine art, digital paintings, commercial objects, nature, wildlife, photojournalism, sports, industry and architectural areas is considered illustrative. Portraits and weddings are not appropriate for this category. {Sub-categories include: Commercial; Fine Art/Digital Painting; Landscape/Nature/Scenic; Wildlife; Sports; Photojournalism)
ARTIST COMPETITION: A conceptual image altered or manipulated from its original condition. Creations can be a subtle application using post processing techniques, painting or a dramatic combination of details to suggest a larger story. The artist is responsible for the idea behind the image and the work done to create the finished art piece. Images can be either Creative or Artist Restoration. Entries in the Artist category shall include any subject and must have guide images attached if used. Guide images, must be included on the submitted digital canvas or mounted/included on the face of the print.
SPECIAL CATEGORY FOR 2025: “Southern Hospitality” – Show us your best work featuring your interpretation of Southern Hospitality. This is an anything goes category so be creative!
ALBUM: Albums can be of events, such as weddings, bar mitzvahs, or non-event portrait and storytelling albums
DIGITAL ENTRY SIZING FOR UPLOAD
1. Files must be sized so the longest dimension is 4000 pixels. For example, in Photoshop, go to Image/Image Size and change the inches to pixels and type in 4000 on the longest dimension. Make sure your resolution is minimum of 200.
2. Each file must contain an embedded color profile of either sRGB or Adobe RGB1998 and must be saved at a JPEG quality setting of 10. In most cases, total file size should not exceed 3.5 MB. Larger files may be accepted when necessary so long are they are saved with the setting of JPEG/10.
3. Files are to be named, Image Title. For title example: My Best Side.jpg (do not use any symbols between words in title). Do not include the maker name in the title of the file.
DIGITAL ALBUM ENTRY SIZING FOR UPLOAD
1. All page/spread files must have the longest file dimension at 4000 pixels, have an embedded color profile of either sRGB or Adobe RGB1998 and saved at a JPEG quality setting of 10. (See Digital Entries for clarification.)
2. Each page/spread file may contain as many images as you desire.
3. An entry shall contain a minimum of 5 page/spread files up to 36 page/spread files.
4. Files are to be numbered in viewing order using two digits, i.e. 01 jpg, 02 jpg, 03 jpg, etc.
5. All individual files must be compressed into a single ZIP file. ZIP file must be named: Album Title (do not use any symbols between words e.g. Summer Wedding.zip)
6. Studio identification or entrant’s name cannot appear on any file within the album entry.
SCORING
All images will be judged and given a numerical score. Images can receive scores up to 100, dependent on how they meet the 12 Elements of a Merit Image. Images that receive a score of 80 or above will be awarded a GPPA merit. All 80 and above scored images from each category will be reviewed and a First, Second, and Third Place designation.
100 – 95: Exceptional
94 – 90: Superior
89 – 85: Excellent
84 – 80: Deserving of a Merit
79 – 75: Above Average
74 – 70: Average
69 – 65: Below Exhibition Standards