8 new rules for PPA’s International Photographic Competition 2017

Know the new rules and deadlines

Thanks to the efforts and participation of the PPA Board of Directors, members, volunteers, and staff, the International Photographic Competition has seen significant growth in the past few years, with upticks in entries, critiques, and overall image quality.

IPC 2017 will include a number of rule changes:

1. To increase efficiency, juror panels will be reduced from six to five members. In 2016, a six-juror panel judged each image, and the lowest score was dropped, leaving five scores to determine the outcome. With a five-juror panel, the lowest score will no longer be dropped. IPC rules state that when a juror recognizes someone’s work, they disqualify themselves from scoring. With a five-person panel, when this happens, the jury chair will enter a score. If two or more jurors disqualify themselves, the entry will be skipped until a panel with five jurors can be convened to score the entry.

2. Scores will be used to determine merit, as they are in district competitions.

3. Changes have also been made to Loan Collection judging: 

  • Images scoring 80-84 at the district level or IPC will not be reviewed for the Loan Collection. Photographers whose entries score 80-84 at a district have the choice of sending those Seal of Approval entries to IPC for a guaranteed merit or breaking the seal in hopes of a higher score at IPC. 
  • Entries scoring 85-94 at a district or IPC will be judged for the Loan Collection at IPC. 
  • Entries scoring 95-100 are accepted into the Loan Collection. Entries that score in this range at the district level must be submitted to IPC to go into the Loan Collection and receive associated merits.

4. Critiques will be made available within four weeks of the competition.

5. The review mechanism of “outs” will no longer be used. Previously, entries scoring 78-79 were reviewed a second time for merit consideration. The introduction of the majority challenge effectively activates this review on each entry.

6. Artist category entries must include guide images.

7. All elements in Photographic Open category entries must be made by the entrant. Entries involving elements from other artists may be entered into the Artist category.

8. In 2018, district competitions will use at least two judging panels, allowing districts to grow and accommodate members who want to earn a Seal of Approval prior to IPC.

Learn more about the rules at ppa.com/competitions.

Important IPC dates

Registration: May 22 - June 21

Late registration (requires additional fee): June 22 - July 6

IPC judging: July 30 - Aug. 3, Lawrenceville, Georgia

IPC judging live streaming: July 30-Aug. 3, stream.theipc.org