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BPIC Photographer of the Year Competition


  1. Each season, the Club will hold a Photographer of the Year (POTY) competition.

  2. The POTY competition will have Advanced and Novice categories.

  3. Those members eligible to enter the Novice category will be those who still meet the NIPA definition of ‘novice’ after the end of Round 5 of the NIPA Interclub competition in the current season.

Note - If, during any BPIC club year, you achieved sufficient starred images in a NIPA competition or a distinction from any of the awarding bodies such as the RPS, IPF or PAGB and thus moved up to the Advanced category, you are still permitted to compete in the Novice category for POTY, until the end of that season.

During the NIPA Inter Club rounds each season points towards POTY may be accrued as follows:

1 point for taking part in a NIPA Inter Club round regardless of the number of submissions made.

1 point awarded to the top four Novice images as identified by the judge

1 point awarded to the top Novice image as identified by the judge.

1 point awarded to each of the top four Advanced images as identified by the judge

1 point awarded to the top Advanced image as identified by the judge.

1 point awarded to the overall top image of the four selected for NIPA by the judge.

1 point for any image that goes on to win a NIPA star.

  1. The POTY competitions will have an open theme.

  2. Each POTY round will consist of colour, monochrome and PDI categories.

  3. All entries must be uploaded to the BPIC Competition Entry System on the suCCESs platform. Any member who does not have an account on suCCESs must request a PIN code by emailing the Club Secretary on clubsecretarybpic@gmail.com

  4. Each member may enter a maximum of two images in each category.

  5. In both the Novice & Advanced POTY competitions, the judge will be asked to select 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th placed images, in all categories.

  6. Although the judge will have advanced sight of the entries on the suCCESs platform, the judge will be asked not to adjudicate on the images until the evening of the POTY Competitions at Morton Community Centre.

  7. Scoring of the POTY competition will be as follows:

    The judge is asked to determine the best four images in both Novice & Advanced sections. This top four in each section gain 1 point each.

    The judge is asked to pick the top Novice and top Advanced images. These gain a further 1 point.

  8. The rules and guidelines regarding mounting and sizing of printed images for POTY finals shall be the same as those for NIPA Inter Club rounds:

    Prints should be on mounts of 30cm x 40cm, or smaller.

    In all cases the print size must be equal to, or smaller than, the mount size.

    Using BPIC standard mounts the usual printing size is 8x12in or A4.

    Members can use a different aperture size if they wish e.g. letterbox, square etc.

    All prints must be labelled to the top right of the reverse of the print. This also indicates the orientation of the print for display purposes.

  9. Each print must show on the back of the mount:

    POTYN (Novice) or POTYA (Advanced)

    Title of image (‘untitled’ is not acceptable as a title)

    Photographer’s Name

    Category (Colour/Mono)

    Print titles must match the image title that you entered on suCCESs when you entered the competition. If you are unsure, please use the software to check your entry.

  10. The rules and guidelines regarding sizing and colour space of PDI images shall be the same as those for NIPA Inter-club rounds:

    PDIs must be sized to a maximum of 1600px (length) x 1200px (height).

    PDIs must be submitted as JPEGs.

    PDIs must be in sRGB colour space.

  11. Images that have been previously entered into POTY competitions in previous seasons may not be re-entered during the current competition. Images that have previously been selected to represent BPIC (or any other club) in NIPA Inter Club rounds may not be entered into POTY.

  12. Print entries to be submitted to the club by 19:15 hours on the date of the relevant competition round.

  13. All entries must be uploaded to the BPIC Competition Entry page on suCCESs by 20:00 hours on the Monday preceding the relevant competition round.

  14. Prizes of Amazon vouchers will be awarded to the first, second & third-placed photographers (novice & advanced) after the POTY final rounds.

  15. The Advanced POTY trophy will be awarded to the Advanced member who, at the conclusion of the Advanced final of POTY, has accumulated the highest total of points from a combination of the NIPA inter-club rounds during the season and the Advanced POTY.

  16. The Lesley Porter Shield will be awarded to the Novice member who, at the conclusion of the Novice final POTY, has accumulated the highest total of points from a combination of the NIPA inter-club rounds during the season and the Novice POTY.

  17. Trophies will be held from the date of the presentation (on prize-giving night) until their return is requested by the Committee.

  18. Any queries regarding interpretation of these rules and any issues arising as a result, will in the first instance be considered by the BPIC Competitions Committee. The competitions Committee may refer matters to the full Committee as deemed appropriate.