My CPAGB entry and experience

Entering the adjudication process for the Awards for Photographic Merit can be a daunting but rewarding task. At the start you have the choice of entering PDIs or mounted prints. My preference was to enter prints as I could be confident of the image quality and colour without relying on a third party projector. In general prints also do a little better in the adjudication process than PDIs as I believe the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain prefer images to be printed. The process for mounting and labelling the prints is quite specific and requires careful planning and a degree of skill.

For CPAGB ten photographs require to be entered and each is judged on its individual merit by six adjudicators. The voting process is complex but essentially an average score of 20 points (the lowest score per photo is 12, the highest is 30) is required in order to give a pass mark of 200 or over to gain the award. Choosing ten photographs is a nerve wracking process and it can take up to a year to select and appropriately edit the ten to submit. They can be in black and white or colour, or any combination.

What will help in the selection process is entering photos into Camera Club Competitions, entering photos into National and international salons such as the Rushden Open and taking part in judging feedback sessions held by the Photographic Federations, in my case at Carluke by the Scottish Photographic Federation.  I also greatly appreciated the help and advice given by my fellow members of the Aberdeen Camera Club and my family who helped narrow down my selection and ultimately providing advice and feedback on editing, composition and comparative merits.

Time and patience is required until there is a final nail biting moment when the adjudication happens, in my case in Nottingham. This can be attended as a live event, or in my case by waiting at home in Aberdeen for some feedback. Being honest it was touch and go as I knew a couple my photographs were weaker images and I was relying on seven or so images that had done well in national competitions. They saved the day and carried me through and I am now the proud owner of a CPAGB badge.

My advice to anyone considering entering and award process is plan carefully, follow all the advice and recommendations of the Photographic Alliance, ask your camera club colleagues for help and above all produce and display your images to the very best of your ability.

Rob Buchan CPAGB

[More details of these awards can be found here: https://www.scottish-photographic-federation.org/pagb-awards]