Competition Info & Rules

General Capturing & Editing Rules

These guidelines apply to all photos you enter in competitions and must be followed alongside specific category rules.

• Original Work: You must capture all elements yourself using a light-sensitive device (camera, phone, or film). Composites are allowed, provided every element used is your original work.
• Editing: You must edit your own photos. No one else may edit the photo for you.
• Anonymity: Do not include your name, watermark, or copyright on the visible portion of the photo.
• Timeframe: Photos must have been taken within the past 3 years (36 months). Monthly Challenge and Multi-Club Competitions have other rules.
• Retiring Winners: If your photo wins 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place in a previous CAP competition, it cannot be entered into future contests. This applies even if you alter the photo (e.g., cropping, retouching, or converting it to black and white).

Category Descriptions & Rules

Note: For all categories except Open Color and Open Monochrome, entries may be in color or monochrome.

• Nature: Depicts the natural world without any human-made artifacts. Editing must maintain a natural look – no adding elements, and borders are not allowed. Banded or tagged wild animals are permitted, but domesticated animals (tame or wild) are not.
• Open Color: Any subject is allowed. The photo must contain more than one color tone.
• Open Monochrome: Any subject is allowed. The photo must be grayscale or toned in a single color throughout. Partial or spot coloring is not allowed.
• Creative: A fresh, unique way of seeing and capturing a moment. The photo should convey an idea or message in a visually striking and thought-provoking manner.
• Landscape (includes Cityscapes & Waterscapes): Focuses on capturing the natural or built beauty of the world around us, frequently featuring sweeping vistas.

See Rule Clarifications below for visual examples.

Submission Guidelines

Competitions

• Limits: Maximum of 2 photo per category with a maximum of 5 total for the competition.
• Size: Width of 1920 pixels and height of 1080 pixels (HDTV 1K resolution). (what about using 2K) All aspect ratios are supported. Larger photos are automatically resized to fit these dimensions.
• Process: Submit via our digital upload page.
• Deadline: Uploads are due by xyz date.

Learning Through Competition: A Note on Feedback

Competitions are a great way to sharpen your photography skills and discover new perspectives. Constructive feedback from judges is a valuable learning tool. However, remember that judging art is inherently subjective. Judges offer their perspective based on their experience, but they can’t see your original vision or thought process.

• Embrace Helpful Feedback: If a judge’s comments resonate with you (for your photo or another’s), consider how you might apply that insight to your future work.
• It’s Okay to Disagree: If you find feedback unhelpful or it doesn’t align with your artistic goals, it’s perfectly fine to acknowledge it and move on.
• Your Art, Your Choice: Ultimately, the decision to incorporate or disregard any judging comments rests entirely with you. The most important thing is that you are happy with your own photos.

Annual Competition and Exhibit

Our panel of outside judges evaluates the entries. A photo cannot receive more than one award from the judges (excluding the People’s Choice Award).

• Best in Show: Awarded to the most outstanding photo of the entire competition.
• Category Awards: First, Second, and Third Place are awarded within each of the five categories.
• Judges’ Choice: Each judge selects their standout choice that did not receive any other ribbon.
• People’s Choice Award: Participants vote for the photo demonstrating the strongest artistic merit. This photo is unique in that it may also receive an award from the judges.

Rule Clarification Examples

Using AI tools where you use text to describe new objects in your photos is not allowed. In the photo below, Photoshop was asked to create the three balloons using this prompt: “Exactly three very high detail hot air balloons with red, white and blue designs“.