How to Enter Club Competitions and Challenges
1. Four Open Competitions are held each year. Entries are generally invited in three categories – monochrome prints, colour prints and PDIs (Projected Digital Images) – with members able to submit up to two images in each category, up to a maximum of five.
2. If we are unable to meet for a competition or if we choose to hold a competition online to enable us to have a judge from further afield, it will be held as a PDI competition. Entries in this case will be limited to a maximum of four per member (two colour and two mono).
3. All entries for either print or PDI classes in all competitions are made using the online Pixoroo website. See the Using Pixoroo instructions below.
4. The Internal Competition Secretary will review the total number of images to be entered for each competition and, if necessary, may remove entries or combine categories at her/his discretion, eg in the event of there being too many entries. Members are requested to identify “reserve images” when completing Pixoroo submissions to inform this process. See the Using Pixoroo section below for further information.
5. Entries to the 1st and 2nd Competitions — and the British Wildlife Competition — must have been taken within three years of the start of the current club season. Entries to other competitions may be of any age.
6. No entry should have been submitted more than twice. If an entry has been placed Gold, Silver or Bronze in a previous competition it is not eligible for entry again. Highly Commended and Commended entries may be submitted for a later competition.
7. Monochrome images will include all black and white photographs, and also those that have been modified by the addition of a single tone to the entire image (RPS definition).
8. Each image must be completely the original work of the submitting photographer, including all aspects of post-processing such as the use of brushes, textures and creative manipulation. No aspects of an image may be downloaded from the internet.
9. Trade printing is allowed in all classes, but in every other respect the print must be the original work of the competitor.
10. All printed images entered in KDCC competitions must be a minimum of 20x15cm and must be mounted on a board measuring either 50x40cm or 40x40cm. Please note that the WCPF (and other photographic organisations) require all mount boards to be 50x40cm, whatever the aspect ratio of the image, including square images.
11. A mounted print or PDI entry may contain multiple images. These may be focus-stacked, stitched, layered, blended by post-processing or displayed as multiple images as long as the final image is either printed on one sheet of photo paper and mounted within one mount hole or is produced as one PDI sized to the required 1600px x 1200px maximum. This allows for diptychs or triptychs, puzzle-type images or other creative uses of the photographic space.
12. Members should take care when mounting prints not to use any materials which could damage other members’ images in transit: in particular, photographic mounting tape is recommended, rather than household masking tape, sellotape, duct tape or glue.
13. Prints, whether colour or monochrome, must have the image title written on the back of the mount. Nothing should be written on the front of the mount. The photographer's name or membership number should not be visible on the print, the mount or a PDI.
14. During print competitions, a PDI copy of each print will be projected to give the audience a better view while the judge is displaying and discussing the print. Judges are expected to judge the print, not the PDI of it.
15. Print entries must be brought to the specified meeting two or more weeks in advance of the competition (as detailed in the booklet or on the website) and all PDIs (including those of prints) must be uploaded to Pixoroo by the stipulated entry date for the competition.
16. Each competition will be judged, as far as possible, by an independent qualified judge. At the Committee's discretion, or by previous agreement, other judging conditions may be used.
17. In all classes, Gold, Silver, Bronze, Highly Commended and Commended awards will be made at the discretion of the judge for up to about one-third of the entries, with any number of each award.
British Wildlife Competition
1. This competition is PDI-only, with two categories: Flora and Fauna.
2. Members may enter up to three images in each category to a maximum total entry of five. The two categories will be judged separately. Images may be colour or mono.
3. Titles are compulsory, should be short, and consist of the subjects' English names and contexts only.
4. Entries should depict flora and fauna found in the wild in the British Isles. Photographs of animals which are domesticated and photographs of cultivated or hybrid plants are ineligible. Animals in controlled sites (eg cages, zoos, fenced) are not acceptable, except for raptors in flight displays. Fungi and lichen are to be entered in the Flora category.
5. Images entered in the British Wildlife Competition have some limits on the post-processing allowed. These are explained on both the RPS and WCPF websites, but essentially no techniques that add, relocate, replace or remove pictorial elements except by cropping are permitted. Techniques that enhance the presentation without changing the nature story or without altering the content are permitted, including HDR, focus stacking, dodging/burning and limited cloning for the purposes of removing dust spots, digital noise and minor elements. Monochrome conversion is permitted.
6. Photographs must have been taken within three years of the start of the current club season, and no photograph awarded Gold, Silver or Bronze in any previous judged competition (Wildlife or other) may be entered again.
7. Arrangements for entering images via Pixoroo are the same as for all other competitions — as are arrangements for reserve images, judges and awards.
Informal Photo Challenges
Throughout the year the club will hold photo challenges, usually on a set subject, which may lead to a sharing of techniques, open discussion and critique or to informal judging by members. There is no age limit on entries (the three year rule does not apply). These Challenges will normally be entered using Pixoroo.
Audio Visual Challenges
In any AV Challenge we organise, members may enter up to two AVs, although this number may be waived if there are few entries. Each should be no more than four or five minutes in length, and supplied on an SD card or Flash Drive ready for projection. All entries must be the original work of the member, although music from external sources can be added. Credit should not be given to the music or to the musicians. Members showing AVs are encouraged to purchase Sound Copyright licences from IAC (Film and Video Institute) – currently these cost around £10 a year for the three licences.
WCPF and Inter-Club Competitions
The club is a member of the Western Counties Photographic Federation (WCPF) and may choose to participate in WCPF competitions and competitions with other clubs. Competitions with other clubs may include:
• The Challenge Shield Competition (also known as the Four-Way Battle) between Ivybridge, Kingsbridge, Newton Abbot and Plymouth Clubs
• The Kingsbridge and Paignton Club Battle
• The Devon Photographic Clubs Print Battle and PDI Battle
• The South Devon Photographic Alliance (SDPA or The Alliance) between Ivybridge, Kingsbridge and Plymstock clubs.
Selections for KDCC entries to outside competitions are made from the bank of members’ club competition and photo challenge entries. Permission for use in such external competitions is automatically given by a member on entry to KDCC competitions.
Revised August 2026