In-Club Competitions

The Camera Club offers a number of competitions that are open to paid members only. You can learn more about these competitions here as well as get the entry forms and rules for them. The forms that you can access from this page require Adobe Acrobat Reader and you can download a free copy of this software from the Adobe website.

The club holds two In-Club competitions each club year. Competitions are usually held in November (Fall In-Club) and April (Spring In-Club) and there is no entry fee. Club Members are invited to enter up to two images in four categories (Pictorial, Nature, Creative and Assigned Subject) and supported media will be colour print, mono print, colour digital and mono digital.

The entries are judged by an external panel of judges, and points are awarded and recorded. For the purposes of this competition, photographers are placed into one of several levels based on their work. Awards are presented at the end of the Club Year for various categories. 
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Inter-Club Competitions

While many club members just like to come out to the meetings to enjoy the fellowship of other people with similar interests, part of the philosophy of the club is that photographic competitions and exhibitions provide club members with exposure for their work and creates an environment that encourages improvement.

Many of our members enjoy entering their photographs into competitions.  In support of this the Halton Hills Camera Club
​submits entries as a group to a number of competitions. 

Look for more information about these competitions on this web site as the deadlines approach. Or for more information send us an email.

Photoart 2023

Online Entry & Registration begins Jan 1st, 2023
Picture
The 'Photo Art' competition is open to both amateur and professional photographers and promotes 'excellence in art of photography' within our community. The Halton Hills Camera Club has proudly sponsored this prestigious event for over 25 years and continues to raise awareness and promote photography as an art form with this competition. The event is held in the winter of each year (generally towards the end of February) and is open to adults and children alike. The competition itself is open only to the residents of the Town of Halton Hills and members of the Halton Hills Camera Club; but images may be taken anywhere in the world.

    Have a competition Question?

Competition Judging

The Halton Hills Camera Club holds frequent, friendly, in-club competitions intended to encourage members to share their work and improve their skills. In order to satisfy the spirit of these clinics we have put together a few guidelines for judges. We ask judges to keep these in mind when both scoring and providing comments on the images being judged.

The Process
Our club uses the three judge, thirty point system, with each judge assigning scores out of a possible ten points. We consider a six to be a "standard" image that can reasonably
be expected of someone with some basic photographic knowledge and skills. An image that, in the opinion of the judges, is exposed properly, is acceptably sharp where sharpness is deemed appropriate, is reasonably well composed and free from any "significant" distractions, could expect to receive a total of 18 points (6+6+6).

An image that does not satisfy the above criteria for one or more reasons should be scored five. We believe that marks below five do not help foster the objectives of the competition and feel that a five, accompanied by appropriate constructive comments, can provide the same result without being overly discouraging. Consequently, we ask that judges refrain from using marks below five.

An image that exceeds the criteria for a "standard" image for one or more reasons should be scored a mark higher than six. Factors affecting how much higher than six an image is scored could include technical excellence, the strength of the composition, creativity, visual and/or emotional impact and artistry.

Suitability of Images
Another consideration we request of judges is that they evaluate images as presented, based solely on their photographic merits. Judges are asked to avoid giving consideration to how easy or difficult it may have been for an image to be captured. Also we instruct judges to accept all images as appropriate for the category in which they are entered. If the image is in the category then the HHCC executive has already deemed it appropriate for this competition.

Assigned Subjects
At each in-club competition one of our categories is an assigned subject.  The goals of our clinics are to encourage members to shoot pictures and participate. It is much more important to us that members participate than it is to be overly concerned with how closely the images fit the category.

Competition Tips

You are building a portfolio of photographs. Your friends and family are commenting about how good they are. Are you ready to enter your photos in competition? Here are a few tips:
  • Spend time viewing previous winners of contests that
    you are entering and ask yourself why they won. Do your photos have these same qualities?
  • Read and understand the rules or guidelines of the contest. Make certain that your entry meets the parameters of the contest.
  • When you feel that you have a contender, keep entering it in contests even if it does not win right away. Enter it again and again. You never know when the mood will be right and your image will rise to the top!
A majority of judges will tell you that the first thing they look for is “Impact.” They want to be WOWed! Your photo must jump off the page and stand out. Keep in mind that many qualities play an important part in the first place “WOW” factor. Here are the qualities that judges are looking for:

  1. Impact, The "WOW" factor
  2. Composition
  3. Clarity / Quality / Technical Ability
  4. Interest / A story / A statement / Connection to image
  5. Uniqueness / Creativity
  6. Presentation