PHOTOMANIA 2019
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ’s)
Q – My cousin is on the TTPS Executive Committee – can I still enter the competition?
A – Yep! Only immediate family members cannot enter – that means any spouses, siblings, children or parents of any executive committee member.
Q – Do I have to be a member of the TTPS to enter?
A – Yes indeed. If you’re not currently a member, you can join when you submit your entry.
Membership is $150 (full) or $30 (student).
Q – I took a picture of my dog on a skateboard – can I enter that photo into the competition?
A – Once it falls under any of the following categories*, sure!
The Categories for Adult entries are:
- Abstract and Digital Art
- People & Portraits
- Landscape
- Wedding
- Nature
- Sport
- Street & Photojournalism
If you’re Under-18, your Categories are:
- Street
- Nature
- Landscape
- People & Portraits
- Abstract & Digital Art
- * Make sure you enter your submission under the correct category – any mislabeled subs will not be considered for shortlisting and you’ll also lose your entry fee!
Q – My friend took a really cool picture but he’s not a photographer and doesn’t mind if I use his picture to enter. Can I?
A – Uhm…no. You can only enter images which you have created.
Q – I have some old film pics I took that I really want to enter, do the images have to be taken within the last year?
A – Not at all! Once you took the images within the last 5 years and they were taken in Trinidad & Tobago, you can enter them. Just scan the film image and upload according to the rules. Entries must not exceed 2MB. Also, make sure you have whatever permissions you need before submitting – TTPS will not be liable for any participants’ failure to obtain relevant approvals.
Q – How much editing is allowed?
A – It depends really. If you’re entering the image into the digital art category, you can do anything you want to the picture in whichever editing software you use.
If you’re entering an image into any other category except street, basic editing, including but not limited to, cropping, colour correction, cloning, dodging and burning is allowed. In the street category, which is a more photojournalistic, documentary style category, no adding or removing of any element is permitted.
Q – I’m very proud of all my images and watermark all of my online work. Will a watermark be acceptable on my submissions?
A – We should all be proud of our work, but in this case, both stages of judging (shortlisting and final) are done anonymously, so any identifying marker of your work – watermarks, image file names with your name in it, even ‘subtly’ mentioning to a TTPS committee member or one of our judges that one of your pictures had skateboarding with a difference in it – would all mean your image is disqualified from judging.
Q – Ok, you’ve told me everything I need to know except how to enter the competition – so?
A – You’re allowed a maximum of 10 entries and only 3 per category (no series). Each image must be submitted with a filled out form and fee (TT$75/each for adults and $35/each for under 18’s). Visit www.tt-ps.org to complete an entry form with the required information, including your name, telephone number, address, email address, and a photo caption.
Under 18 entrants must be under 18 years of age as at the date of submission of their entries and may be required to provide proof of age/ID. Online submissions open on 1st July 2019 and close on 26th July 2019 at 5:00 pm promptly. No late entries will be accepted.
Q – I have trust issues and don’t believe the judging is really anonymous. Can you convince me otherwise?
A – Well we could certainly try! First things first, when images are submitted via the shopping cart on our website, you upload, categorise and name each entry, which is then automatically assigned a unique id tag, independent of file names or entrant info. The images go into a database. Your personal info used to check out is not associated with the images uploaded until after final judging.
The categorised images are compiled by a TTPS administrator, who then digitally presents them to the members of the executive committee in a shortlisting session at a location. When each image is judged on its merits, the final shortlisted selection of 100 images is submitted for final judging by an independent panel of experts following the same format – ie. anonymous photographs shown digitally at a judging session at a location. That way, not only is anonymity maintained, how an image is printed and framed will have no bearing on the final score.
Q – You mentioned judging images on their merits – what are the judges looking for?
A – The judges will select finalists based on the following criteria:
Impact 35%
Creativity 10%
Composition 15%
Colour Balance 5%
Lighting 15%
Subject Matter 10%
Story Telling 10%
The short-listed entries selected in Round 1 will be invited to submit their printed, finished photographs for the Exhibition. In Round 2, the judges will collectively select First Place, Second Place and Third place winners for both adults and under 18’s in each Category; the Overall Winner and Best Under 18 for the Exhibition based on the Judging Criteria. The People’s Choice award will be tallied according to the number of likes under the image on the TTPS facebook page and will be announced after the exhibition is closed.
Q – So let me get this clear – if I enter, I’m responsible for:
- Uploading my entries under the correct category according to the online instructions,
- Printing and matting/framing any pieces that are shortlisted (see rules for guidelines),
- Labeling them on the back,
- Delivering them to the ASTT before 6:00 PM on 2nd Sept 2019
- Collecting anything that hasn’t sold on 9th Sept
A – You got it!
Q – Yes, but I won’t be in the country on September 9th – can’t someone from TTPS collect my piece for me?
A – As much as we would like to help, we can’t, as we would be busy on our end trying to meet our post exhibition deadlines. You’ll need to send someone – a family member or friend, to collect from ASTT on your behalf. You have until 4 pm on 9 September to collect pieces that have not been sold.
Q – My images are pretty fantastic so I expect I’ll win something – what are the prizes?
A – That’s good to hear! Every year we see the quality of our subs improve so you’ll be in good company! Our prizes are :
- The first place winners in each adult category will receive a TTPS trophy and TT$2000.
- The first place winners in each Under-18 category will receive a TTPS trophy and TT$1,000.
- The National Photograph of the Year goes to the image with the highest Overall Score and the winner will receive TTD$1,000.
- The People’s Choice award is the photograph that receives the highest number of public votes/likes on Facebook and the winner will receive TT$1,000.