Boston Camera Club Competition Rules

(Last Updated September 2026)

1. GENERAL
The Boston Camera Club (BCC) holds regular print and digital photograph competitions for participation by its members. In addition, the club may choose to participate in interclub competitions with separate rules established by the sponsoring organization. Each year the names of the Chair of each Group hosting Competitions (Latimer Print and Digital Image) shall be announced at the first club meeting of the year and publicly posted at the BCC Website. “Group Chair” in these Rules shall be interpreted as “Group Chair(s) or their designee(s).”

The schedule of all the year’s competition dates shall be determined prior to the beginning of the club’s first competition. This schedule shall appear in an annual BCC calendar of events that will be included in the REFLECTOR, posted on the website and publicly announced at each club meeting. In some cases, email reminders will also be sent.

In general, the BCC intends to operate its competitions under rules that comply with the current version of the Photographic Society of America’s (PSA’s) “Consolidated Exhibition Standards” and the rules for NECCC Interclub competitions. At the discretion of the Executive Committee of the Boston Camera Club, exceptions to these Standards may be allowed due to site or other resource limitations, or when the scope of a BCC competition has been designed to significantly differ from a PSA sanctioned competition.

These Rules take effect with the 2026-2027 Competition Year and shall remain in effect until revised with approval of the Executive Committee of the Boston Camera Club (see Section 7).

1.1. Ad Hoc Competitions
The club may choose to hold additional ad hoc competitions, outside of the series of regular print and digital competitions. Such ad hoc competitions may have their own rules, which will be announced when the competitions are announced. Awards given in ad hoc competitions will count toward neither the annual Photographer of the Year nor the Image of the Year awards.

2. COMPETITION CLASSES
The “Open” and “Special” Latimer Print and Digital Image competition categories shall be divided into class A and class B. Classes are subject to review and revision by the BCC Executive Committee.

The classes are distinguished as follows:

2.1. Class A
This class shall comprise advanced competitors. Anyone who comes in First or Second place in the annual Photographer of the Year in class B must compete in class A beginning in the competition year following the year in which the award was won.

2.2. Class B
This class shall comprise beginning and intermediate competitors. New members who do not request placement in class A will automatically be placed in class B.

2.3. Voluntary Class Change
Any class B member may elect to move to class A at the beginning or in the middle of the competition year.

If a class B member elects to move to class A in mid-year, then all points previously accumulated by that member shall be forfeited.

Members may not move from class A to class B with the following exception: A new member who requests placement in class A will have a one-year grace period during which they can move from class A to class B upon request, as appropriate.

3. ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
Unless otherwise specified, BCC competition participants must be BCC members in good standing. Determination of good standing, including dues payment or renewal, and other factors, shall be established by the Group Chair of each competition. Any member may enter any or all of the competitions, subject to provisions specified later in these Rules.

An entry may be rejected when the Group Chair, in their reasonable discretion, believes the entry does not conform to competition rules and conditions. Although an entrant may discuss the basis for rejection with the Group Chair, the final determination is the sole responsibility of the Group Chair; the final decision is not subject to appeal.

3.1. Responsibility for Entries
The Group Chair shall see that all possible and reasonable care is given to entries in all competitions. However, the club assumes no responsibility for loss or damage of any entry in any club competition. It shall furthermore be the responsibility of each member to pick up their entries after each competition.

3.2. Selection of Categories for Entries
Entries in a particular category must meet all standards in these Rules for that category. When an entry fulfills all requirements for more than one category, it is solely up to the entrant’s judgment to decide the entry category.

In the event of disagreement regarding the qualification of an entry for a particular category, the Group Chair’s decision shall be final. If an entry is disqualified from one category, it may be entered in a different category for which it qualifies with the approval of the Group Chair. If the Group Chair determines there is a significant risk of “no competition” (see Section 3.3) in a category, the Group Chair may request entrants to switch their entries to the deficient category, if they have entries that qualify for the deficient category as well as another category. Entrants are not obligated to make a switch requested by the Group Chair.

3.3. Number of Entries
In order to hold a competition in any category and class, at least three members must compete.

Latimer Print competitions:
Each member may enter a maximum of three images total, with no more than two images in any one category.

Digital Image competitions:
Each member may enter a maximum of two images total, which can be entered in different categories or both in the same category.

If a member is found to have entered more than the allowed number of images after the competition has been completed, the Group Chair will randomly choose and disqualify the minimum number of images needed to bring the member into compliance. Any awards that may have been given out to images thus disqualified will not be retracted, but any points that would ordinarily go toward the year-end scoring will be forfeited.

3.3.1. No Duplicate Entries
An image may not be entered into a competition if it, or an image that is a differently edited version of the image or bears a marked similarity to it, is already entered into a competition whose competition date has not yet been reached.  This prohibition also covers entries to different categories, or even the same category, on the same competition date.  See Section 3.5.2 for further details about the meaning of "differently edited" and "marked similarity" in this context.  Submissions in violation of this rule shall be removed by the Group Chair.

3.4. Timing: Delivery of Entries and Voting

3.4.1. Latimer Print Group: Delivery of Entries and Voting
Each member is required to submit their entries in digital format via the club's online submission system by 11:30 pm on the Saturday that is three (3) days before the respective competition date. The submitted image must be a digital version of the physical print to be exhibited at the respective competition. 

Major modifications to the photograph are NOT permitted between the submission deadline and the competition event. Major modifications include manipulations such as compositing, recoloring from/to color/monochrome, cropping, or other such modifications to render the photograph to look like an entirely different photograph from the submitted digital image. The Latimer Print Group Chair has the final discretion on whether the physical print differs from the submitted digital image to warrant its disqualification from the competition. The judge’s critique of submitted images is based on the physical print displayed at the competition. Judges shall not have access to the digital images prior to the competition.

Any photograph not entered into the competition via the web site by the designated date and time will not be eligible for voting or judging at the competition. Any entry submitted via the web site that is not physically displayed at the competition is not eligible for voting or judging and will be marked as disqualified.

At the competition, the Latimer Print Group Chair will use the Table in Section 8 to determine the number of entries that will receive votes for each category and will post these numbers above the entries for each category. Voting starts when the number of entries to be voted for each category have been posted. After this posting, no change in the numbers shall be allowed unless an error is discovered. At least 5 minutes will be allowed for voting.

If a member will not be present at a competition, the member is responsible for making arrangements to ensure their entries submitted via the web site are displayed and retrieved.

3.4.2. Digital Image Photographs: Delivery of Entries and Voting
Each member must submit entries via the club’s online submission system by 11:30 pm on the Saturday that is ten (10) days before the respective competition date. Entries are reviewed, and awards are assigned, by the judge prior to the competition.

Members may also vote in Digital Image competitions; these “popular vote” results will be announced the evening of the competition, but they will not count toward any year-end annual awards.

3.5. Resubmission of Entries

3.5.1. Non-Winning Entries
An image may be entered in a competition no more than two times, whether as a Latimer Print or Digital Image. If an image is re-entered, it  must be submitted in a different category than the first time. 

3.5.2. Winning Entries
Any entry winning any award (1st-3rd and Honorable Mention) in any club regular competition category may subsequently never be reentered in another competition, be it Latimer Print or Digital Image. For purposes of clarification, a file that produced a winning image may not be entered again as a differently edited image (for example, a winning color image may not be entered again as a monochrome image and vice versa). Any entry bearing marked similarity to a previous award winner by the same member may be considered identical to it for the purposes of these rules, with the final judgment of similarity being reserved for the Group Chair.

3.5.3 Ad Hoc Competitions
An entry (whether or not winning any award) in a regular (Latimer Print and Digital Image) competition may be entered in any club ad hoc competition, and any image entered into an ad hoc competition (whether or not winning any award) may be entered into a regular competition.

3.6. Authorship and Rights
By entering BCC competitions, entrants give BCC (and by extension, NECCC when BCC is referenced in this Section 3.6) permission to reproduce entries in connection with the activities and publicity of the BCC including display on the BCC Internet site. The entrant also gives BCC permission to use entries in interclub competitions. The copyright, however, remains with the photographer and the photographer will receive credit when their photograph is used. The entered image must have been conceived and exposed by the member, regardless of the capture medium. Image output and presentation may be performed by the member or someone else.

3.7. Image Source
Photographs must originate using any photographic capture, such as using photographic emulsion, digital capture, scanning, or alternative photographic processes.

3.7.1. Authorship of Content
Content added to the original picture, whether of photographic or digital origin, must be created entirely by the entrant.

Graphics not created by the photographer (whether purchased or otherwise), parts of commercial photographic collections or the work of another photographer may not be included. For example, addition or blending of a sky, object or person into a photograph is acceptable if the added element was photographed by the entrant, and not a part of software-included plugin or a stock image.

Note that adding a mat or frame using image editor drawing capabilities will normally be considered digital art by the entrant and, thus, is allowed.

3.7.2. Use of Artificial Intelligence Content
Images fully generated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) or that contain a significant portion generated by AI (as determined by the Group Chair or judge) are not allowed unless submitted into categories that explicitly allow AI. See also section 3.9.

3.8. Image Output
Prints may include images made on any photographic paper, photographic film, or other essentially two-dimensional media, if the presented image is composed of, or printed on, one sheet of this media. Collages of multiple sheets of paper, film, or other media are prohibited unless otherwise specified in the category definition. Digital images will be submitted as digital files as specified by the Digital Group Chair.

3.9. Manipulation
Subject to the provisos in section 3.7, artwork, text, and graphic images created by the entrant may be incorporated if the photographic content predominates.

Unless a category specifies accurate documentation as a goal of the images in that category, any computer- or darkroom-based image manipulation that conforms to the constraints specified in these rules is acceptable. Specific categories may add further limitations regarding subject matter and permissible manipulation (electronic or otherwise).

The judges will be asked to judge the photographs for overall photographic quality and interest, not the amount of manipulation required to achieve the effect.

3.9.1. Manipulation Using AI Tools
Digital manipulation with AI tools is generally permitted as long as the content is edited, rather than generated, by the AI. The entrant’s own work must always predominate, and the use of generative AI should be significantly limited as described in the document “Boston Camera Club Guidelines for Utilization of Artificial Intelligence in Editing Competition Images,” a current version of which is maintained on the club website for reference. As described in section 3.7.1, the foundational principle is that all content must be derived from photographs made by the entrant.

3.10. Competition Categories 
The only restrictions on the subject matter or photographic technique used for competition entries are specified in individual category descriptions. The Group Chair shall make the final decision as to whether an image qualifies for a particular category. Each category, and/or class must be judged and shown individually. 

3.11. Latimer Print Requirements
Photographic prints may not exceed 16 inches x 20 inches. Additionally, overall size, including mount, may not exceed 16 inches x 20 inches. These size limits may be overridden for a specific category if so specified by the Group Chair.

For display in the Latimer Print competition, prints must be mounted on a stiff backing. Matting is encouraged, as both mounting and matting help protect the print and enhance its presentation. 

Photographs printed on media other than paper are allowed as long as they can be displayed at the competition using the print hanging system for the competition. The Group Chair has the final determination on whether a photograph printed on other media is eligible for competition. Framed pictures are not allowed due to practical limits for hanging entries. 

Unless otherwise specified, any photograph or mount displaying a watermark, the member’s name, or the image’s title on the front will be disqualified, except for a possible caption in the Photojournalism category. The back of the mount must include the image’s title, the category in which it was entered, and the printmaker’s full name.

3.12. Digital Image Requirements
Each member submits entries via the club’s online submission system, with the same delineation of members into class A and class B as with Latimer Print competitions. It is strongly suggested that all photographs be converted to the sRGB color space. The sRGB color space most closely approximates the capability of monitors and projectors to display color and usually results in the best presentation of an image. 

The maximum resolution for submitted images will be specified in the category definition on the BCC website. Generally, the website software will downsize larger images so that they fit within the specified limits. The presentation software will further downsize images, as needed, to match the capabilities of display devices.

Unless otherwise specified in the category definition, a photograph displaying a watermark, the member's name, and/or the image’s title is not acceptable. If there is time to replace the submitted photograph, the Group Chair may ask the member to repair the problem. Otherwise, the Group Chair will disqualify the photograph from the competition.

4. COMPETITION CATEGORIES
Latimer Print competitions include three categories:  Open, and two Special categories, with each category being divided into class A and class B entries.

Digital Image competitions include three categories: Open, and two Special categories, with each category being divided into class A and class B entries.

Each Special category shall be defined by a written definition that is provided by the Group Chair when the competition is announced.

5. JUDGING, SCORING, AND AWARDS
The judge for each competition shall be selected in advance. The Executive Committee shall establish the procedure for selecting judges. Each category and class shall be judged separately. The judge must be given instructions prior to the commencement of judging regarding any pertinent restriction or requirement, including information on awards. Instruction shall include a reading of the definition for categories and classes being judged and an explanation of the method of judging to be used. If any subject or other restrictions have been imposed on the competition beyond those that normally apply, the Group Chair shall inform the judge of those restrictions.

NO COMPETITION: As specified in Section 3.3, awards will be given in a category and class only when a minimum of three members have entered photographs into that category and class.  When this requirement is not met, photographs may still be critiqued by the judge and are furthermore exempt from the rules that would otherwise apply to resubmitting entries when a competition is actually held (see Section 3.5).

5.1. Latimer Print Competition
Awards shall be determined by a combination of votes by the club members present and the judge. The Group Chair shall insure that all prints are sufficiently identified with a number (the “image tag”) to enable voting members and the judge to accurately cast a vote by number for any print in the competition.

5.1.1. Popular Vote
The Group Chair shall determine the number of votes allowed per member for each category and class according to the table in Section 8. Each member in good standing may cast, on one ballot/submission, up to the number of votes allowed for each category and class. Members may not vote for their own image(s).

Whether submitted by paper ballot or through a digital or online voting system, each member’s vote shall have the same weight (one point), and members shall not vote on the placement or ranking of entries within a category. Members shall cast votes only in the appropriate category and class and shall not exceed the number of votes allowed for each category and class.

For paper ballots, votes may be excluded from one or more categories if the ballot is illegible, contains votes in an incorrect category, or has any other characteristic that makes the votes difficult to interpret. All votes within a category must be interpretable and correctly cast; otherwise, all votes for that category on the ballot will be excluded. If a paper ballot is called into question, the Group Chair shall make the final decision to accept or exclude the votes.

For digital or online voting, image tag numbers entered in an incorrect category or class, as well as votes exceeding the permitted number, will be automatically discarded by the system.

5.1.2. Judge's Vote and Tally
The judge’s ballot shall be marked and counted separately. In each category and class, the judge shall vote for the same numbers of prints as the members, but each of the judge’s votes will count as three points instead of one (example: if four votes are to be cast, each of the four will receive three points from the judge’s ballot when the voting is tallied). The judge's votes shall be added to the total popular scores in each category and class, and the sums shall determine the award winners. 

5.2. Digital Image Competition
The Group Chair shall make all entries available to the judge prior to the competition. The judge shall review and assign awards to the entries prior to the competition. Titles and makers of the images shall not be visible to the judge during this process, unless the category definition specifies otherwise. During the competition, the judge individually critiques the images. The titles and makers of the images shall be displayed during the review.

5.3. Members Serving as Judges
Where these rules so permit, any club member who serves as a judge for any competition category and class may not compete in that category and class.

5.4. Awards

5.4.1. Regular Competition Awards

5.4.1.1. Levels
In all regular club competitions, a maximum of four levels of awards shall be presented in each class and category of each competition: First-Place, Second- Place, Third-Place, and Honorable Mention (HM).

5.4.1.2. Number of Awards
The number of awards in a category is limited, based on the number of photographs entered into the category. Use the Table in Section 8 to determine the number of awards.

In the event of ties, lower awards will be affected: 

• If two photographs tie for First-Place, there are two First-Place awards and there is no Second-Place award. If three or more photographs tie for First-Place, there will be no Second-Place or Third-Place award.

• If two or more photographs tie for Second-Place, there is no Third-Place award.      

• The total number of awards (First, Second, and Third-Place, plus HM) must not exceed the total number of awards specified in Section 8, except that if there is a tie for First, Second, or Third-Place, the limit may be exceeded to the extent needed to give awards to all the tied photographs that qualify for the last permissible place award.  However, exceeding the maximum number of awards in order to give HM awards to photographs that are tied is not allowed.  This situation can arise in a Latimer Print competition if there is a tie for the lowest score that would be eligible for an HM award.  In such a case, if giving HM awards to all the prints with this score would cause the maximum number of awards to be exceeded, then no award can be given to any of the prints with this score.

Judges in Digital Image competitions are strongly encouraged to break ties among images so as to give only one First, Second, and Third-Place award in each class and category.

5.4.2. Annual Awards

The nature of the Annual Awards shall be determined by the club's Executive Committee.

There are two sets of Annual Awards.

5.4.2.1. Photographer of the Year Awards

This is an award given to members based on their cumulative tally of points for awards received during the competition season. Each member’s tally includes the points for the member’s awards in Open and Special categories totaled together. Members in classes A and B are considered separately and Photographer of the Year awards are presented for each class.

Points for awards are tallied as follows:

1st place:                     4 points

2nd place:                  3 points

3rd place:                   2 points

Honorable Mention: 1 point

If there are ties, each award winner is given the full point score of that award. For example, if there are two First-Place winners, each person gets 4 points. 

Awards:

Latimer Print Competition: First, Second and Third-Place winners, classes A and B (6 awards).

Digital Image Competition: First, Second and Third-Place winners, classes A and B (6 awards).

In the event of tie scores, duplicate awards will be given.

5.4.2.2 Image of the Year

This is an award given to one image in each of the Latimer Print and Digital Image competition series.

5.4.2.2.1 Latimer Print of the Year

Step 1: All prints that received a First or Second-place award during the competition year will automatically be entered into the competition. Prints for classes A and B will be displayed and voted on separately, but prints will not be divided by category. Members must bring their original print—or arrange for it to be displayed—at the annual meeting. No alterations to the original print are allowed, including changes based on judge feedback, or for any other reason.

Step 2: After member voting at the annual meeting, the top three prints from each class (A and B)—those ranking first, second, or third—will be selected as finalists and submitted to the judge. Ties will be handled according to standard competition procedures; this could cause the number of finalists to be greater than six.

Step 3: The judge will then review the finalist prints as a group, without the prints being labeled as to whether they belong to class A or B. From this group, the judge will select a single Print of the Year.

5.4.2.2.2 Digital Image of the Year

Step 1: All images that received a First or Second-Place award from a judge during the competition year will automatically be entered into the competition. Only judge-awarded images are included; results from the members’ popular votes are not considered. 

Step 2: Online voting will take place prior to the annual meeting. Images for classes A and B will be voted on separately, but images will not be divided by category. The three images which rank first, second and third by online voting in each class will become the finalists and be submitted to the judge. Ties will be handled according to standard competition procedures; this could cause the number of finalists to be greater than six.

Step 3:  The judge will review the finalist images as a group, without being informed whether they belong to class A or B and select one as the Digital Image of the Year.

6. OTHER COMPETITIONS

6.1. Additional BCC Competitions
The club may, on a regular or ad-hoc basis, hold additional print and/or digital competitions. If a competition is held on a regular basis, decision to hold the competition must be made, and the competition dates announced, prior to the start of the club year, in accordance with Section 1 of these Rules.

6.2. Interclub Competitions
Interclub Competitions may be added at any time by the Executive Committee.

7. AMENDMENT OF THE RULES

These rules may be amended at any time by the Executive Committee of the Boston Camera Club. However, all amendments shall take effect prior to the start of the next upcoming club competition year, shall last for at least one full competition year, and shall be properly announced to the club prior to the first competition. 

8. TABLES FOR DETERMINING NUMBER OF VOTES AND AWARDS

The following tables specify the number of votes allowed (for Latimer Print competitions) and the number of awards (for both Latimer Print and Digital Image competitions) that may be presented for a category and class, as a function of the number of photographs entered into that category and class. Note: As specified in Section 3.3, in order to give awards in a category and class, photographs must have been entered to that category and class by at least three different members.  Even if three or more photographs have been entered, it will still not be possible to give awards if the photographs were entered by fewer than three members.

Latimer Print competitions: Number of Votes Allowed Per Category

Latimer Print and Digital Image competitions: Maximum Number of Awards Per Category