2018 Brazos County Photography Contest Rules and Guidelines OBJECTIVES To develop life skills in composition, light, story line, posing, and awareness. To gain knowledge about cameras, camera settings, photography dimension and resolution. To encourage 4-H members to use photography as a meaningful communication tool in their lives. To provide photography project showcase opportunity for senior 4-H members. To continue to share the message of 4-H. To utilize photographs which promote and strengthen the 4-H program. CONTEST CATEGORIES: Animals Domestic Animals Wildlife Catch-All Details & Macro Dominant Color Elements of Design Enhanced Food Landscape & Nature (non-animal) Motion/Action People Plant/Flora Sports Theme Backyard Travel & Place RESOURCES Adventures with Your Camera B (Grades 6 to 9) (Available from National 4-H Council Supply) 4-H Guide to Digital Photography by Daniel Johnson. (Available from Amazon.com) Digital Photography for Teens by Marc Campbell and Dave Long (Available from Amazon.com) Free picture resizer: http://freepicresizer.com Texas 4-H Youth Development Photography Project Resource Page located on the 4-H website. Any reference to a product or company is not to endorse or support them and their causes. Links to companies are provided for their educational resources only. RULES AND GUIDELINES The Brazos County Photography contest is open to all enrolled 4-H members age 8 and in the 3 rd grade Participation Grades through 18 years as of September 1, 2017. Exhibitors will be divided into age categories of Junior, Intermediate, and Senior levels. Juniors Grades 3, 4, 5 (ages 8-10) Intermediates Grades 6, 7, 8 (ages 11-13) Seniors Grades 9, 10, 11, 12 (ages 14-18) Photo Eligibility Photo Size/Format Number of Entries Entry Fee Negatives Judging Entry Period Refusal Rights All photographs must have been taken by 4-H members between the dates of January 1, 2017 and the time of entry. Photos may be submitted only one time and in only one category to the Brazos County photography contest. Must be.jpeg,.jpg, or.gif. Photo must be a minimum of 300 dpi quality resolution. Size: Must be 3:2 (4 X6 ) or 5:4 (8 x10 ) ratio (either landscape or portrait). Size: Photo may not be larger than 5120KB (5MB). An exhibitor may have only one entry per category limited to a total of 6 entries per exhibitor. A single photo cannot be entered in multiple categories. A fee of $1.00 per picture must accompany the Photo Submission Form brought to the County Extension office. Exact cash, check or money order payable to Brazos Adult Leaders. Entrants must be able to provide original photo file, transparencies, negative, disk or print if requested. Judges will determine the placing. Their decision on all entries is final. Entries must be online (Shutterfly) and Photo Submission Form with payment must arrive in the Brazos County Extension Office by February 5, 2018 by 4:00 pm. Late Entries will be accepted until February 12, 2018 by 4:00 pm at 10 times the entry fee, or $10 per photograph. The Brazos County Photography Committee reserves the right to refuse inappropriate or unsuitable entries. Photographs must not be offensive, degrading, racist, or contain pornography of any form.
Alterations & Text usage Original Work of 4-H member Awards and Recognition Alterations: Although slight computer enhanced photos are allowed, such as crop, trimming, adjusting lighting, and red eye reduction; substantially altered photography, such as changing colors or applying design styles, using computer graphics will disqualify an entry. Any other alteration, manipulation, edits, to a photo would require the photo to be entered into the Enhanced category. Text on Photographs: Photographs MUST NOT contain camera or user placed text. This includes such things as date stamps, comments, or titles. Text or wording that is part of the photograph (i.e. photo of a street sign, etc.) is acceptable. Entry must be the original photographic work of the 4-H member and not a photo taken by family members, other 4-H members, or secured from any other printed/electronic source. Any photo proven to be found as not original work will result in disqualification of ALL the 4-H member s entries into the Photography Contest. Blue, Red, and White quality awards will be given to entries. Participants photographs will be awarded during County Round Up. Quality ribbons and score sheets may be mailed after the event. Judging Criteria: Photographers entering the Brazos County Photography contest should be mindful of the criteria used in judging entries. Participants should use the following criteria as guidelines: Impact Impact is the sense one gets upon viewing an image for the first time. Compelling images evoke laughter, sadness, anger, pride, wonder or another intense emotion. There can be impact in any of these twelve elements. Creativity Creativity is the original, fresh, and external expression of the imagination of the maker by using the medium to convey an idea, message or thought. Technical Technical is the quality of the image itself as it is presented for viewing, which includes the following aspects: allowable amounts of retouching and adjustments (removal of red eye, cropping, minor straightening) sharpness and correct color balance. lighting, which includes the use and control of light. The use of lighting whether natural or man-made and its proper use to enhance the image. posing and capturing of the image. Composition Composition is important to the design of an image, bringing all of the visual elements together in concert to express the purpose of the image. Proper composition holds the viewer in the image and prompts the viewer to look where the creator intends. Effective composition can be pleasing or disturbing, depending on the intent of the image maker. Subject Matter Subject Matter should always be appropriate to the story being told (i.e. category the photo is entered into) in an image. Subject matter also includes the center of interest for the photograph or where the maker wants the viewer to stop and they view the image. Story Telling Story Telling refers to the image s ability to evoke imagination. One beautiful thing about art is that each viewer might collect his own message or read her own story in an image.
CATEGORIES ANIMALS - DOMESTIC Photos focusing on the various animals that have been tamed and made fit for a human environment. To be considered domesticated, the animal must have their behavior, life cycle, or physiology systemically altered as a result of being under human control for many generations. Dogs/Cats Hamsters Sheep/Goats Horse Pig Goose/Ducks (domestic use) Cow Chicken ANIMALS - WILDLIFE Category focuses on animals not tamed or domesticated and commonly found in the wilderness or the bodies of water throughout the country and world. Photos can be of wildlife in nature, zoos, and/or petting zoos. Photos taken through glass. Deer Snakes Birds Elephants Whales CATCH-ALL Category for photos that DO NOT CLEARLY FIT into one of the other categories. DETAILS & MACRO Getting in close is the name of the game for this category. We welcome pictures of small details that suggest a larger story. This is also the place for macro photographs (although a macro image of a flower might equally go into the Flowers category). DOMINANT COLOR Do not submit a photo in this category which can clearly be submitted in another photography category. Catch-all is not intended for the use to eliminate duplicate photos from multiple 4-H members. Insects Coins Clocks Stamps Ice Crystals Polaroid image & emulsion transfers Still-life Long exposure zoomed images Painting with light Photos with a dominant color. The dominant element in the image must be a specific color, such as red, yellow, blue, white, black, white, green, etc. Black & White photos, duotones, are excluded from this category. Bowl of lemons, in a yellow bowl, on top of a yellow table covering, with a bright yellow tone sun lighting on it. ELEMENTS OF DESIGN Images use of graphic elements of design. Photos that showcase line, shape, pattern, form, texture, perspective, etc. Photo can consist of any subject matter. Category is not for graphic illustrations made in commercial programs (i.e. Adobe Illustrator ) nor for extreme digital creations. Graphic design illustrations made in a program such as Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. Digital creations DO NOT qualify in this category. Perspective Line Pattern Shape
ENHANCED A single photo that has been technically manipulated to be an abstract, panoramic, stitched, or composite images. Others variations are allowed as well. FOOD Category is a still life specialization of photography, aimed at producing attractive photographs of food for use in such items of advertisements, packaging, menus and/or cookbooks. LANDSCAPE & NATURE (NON-ANIMAL) The focus of this category includes landscapes, outdoor scenes, nature images, sunsets, urban landscapes, seascapes, cityscapes, and farms. Images focus on the beauty of the outdoors. MOTION / ACTION The capture of movement within a single photo. PEOPLE Photos focus from all walks of life, parenting and family, children, babies, models/fashion, sports, and couples. PLANT/FLORA Photos of interesting, unique, and beautiful flowers and flora. Photography can occur outdoors or indoors. Photo subject should be that of a single flower, plant, bush, tree, etc. Large collections of plant/flora should be considered for entry into the Nature & Landscape category. SPORTS Photo that captures individual or team sports. Can be either professional or amateur (human) and the focus could be on the sportsperson, the sport environment, the effort expended, or the conflict/rewards. Must reflect a strong message. THEME Theme photo focuses on a subject announced and outlined in the contest rules and guidelines. For 2017-2018 the theme is BACKYARD. This creative category will feature photos what one would see when stepping out your back door. Photoshop composites and creations Images greatly manipulated with a variety of filters Photos with artistic borders Photos stitched into a panoramic No photos of alcohol beverages are allowed! Photos which primary subject is wildlife or person. Photos which would clearly fit into another category, such as sports. NOTE: All individuals in the photos must have provided consent and permission as a subject. If requested, a release will be needed from the photographer and subject. Rose(s) An upward shot of a tree A flower bouquet Gymnast Football player or team Swimming Rodeo contestant Photos should not be of ranch rangeland, but focus on immediate outside area of one s house. Thanksgiving dinner, cakes/pies, fruits and place settings, Easter eggs, sandwiches, ingredients, etc. Landscapes/Gardens Scenes Outdoors Horse Running across field/pasture Ferris Wheel Spinning Babies Kids Families Models/Fashion Kids swinging Swimming pool Person mowing yard Garden/Flower Beds
TRAVEL & PLACE This category includes images that express the joys and adventures of travel photography, showcasing place as an important part of the photo. This category can include historic buildings, ruins, islands, any subject you might encounter while traveling, as long as the photo expresses a sense of PLACE. Photos in the travel and place category cannot be entered into other categories (landscape & nature), but may be similar, however, photos in this category must depict traveling and experiencing other parts of the world. Disney World/Land Roman Ruins Great Wall of China PROPER ENTRY OF PHOTOS: Each entry must be submitted online and using the Photo Submission Form in this packet. Include the following information to ensure proper entry. Some information will be based on the age division and category entered. Steps for submitting your digital photos online: 1. Set up a Shutterfly account if you don t already have one. It s simple & FREE! Shutterfly has recently made updates so make sure that you have an updated account, if not you can call and request your account be updated. a. Go to http://www.shutterfly.com/?esch=1 b. Click on sign up & follow the steps. 2. To the right of where it says My Photos click the upload button 3. Click select files 4. Select photos that you want to upload 5. Create an album just for this year s photo contest 6. Once you see your photos in the album double click the photo and where it says people click the add button, insert your name and if you are in the Junior, Intermediate or Senior division. In the tags area put your category, caption, and title. Make sure you click the save button after you type in your information. 7. Once you are finished adding text to all of your photos, in the top left corner of each picture click the check mark and at the bottom left click share insert Ashley.Skinner@ag.tamu.edu In the message please insert 4-Hers name. DISQUALIFICATIONS OF ENTRIES: Entries that do not follow the rules, division and class guidelines or any general guidelines will automatically be disqualified. Disqualifications forfeit all entry fees. A general form letter specifying reason(s) for disqualification will be returned together with photo. Reasons for disqualification: Information incomplete. Entered into incorrect age division and/or category. Same photo entered into multiple age divisions and/or categories. No signature(s). Entry fee not paid or only partial fee paid. Inappropriate or unsuitable photograph. More than one entry in an age division and/or category. For black and white photos not a true black and white photo. The members of Texas A&M AgriLife provide equal opportunities in programs and activities, education, and employment to all persons regardless of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation or gender identity and will strive to achieve full and equal employment opportunity throughout Texas A&M AgriLife. The Texas A&M University System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas Cooperating
BRAZOS COUNTY 4-H PHOTOGRAPHY SUBMISSION FORM Complete form & turn in with payment Name: Club: Age Division (check one): O Junior O Intermediate O Senior # Category Title 1 2 3 4 5 6 $1 per photo (limit 6) - Entrant responsible for fees. Bring exact cash or check to the county extension office payable to: Brazos Adult Leaders Fee Total: The members of Texas A&M AgriLife provide equal opportunities in programs and activities, education, and employment to all persons regardless of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation or gender identity and will strive to achieve full and equal employment opportunity throughout Texas A&M AgriLife. The Texas A&M University System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas Cooperating