Members approved of the following guidelines for Photojournalism.
Photojournalism entries shall consist of images created to tell a story or action through the use of pictures. Unlike newspaper and magazine Photojournalism, which have the aid of a supplemental news story or text, camera club entries must stand alone and tell the story without the aid of a title or added text. The viewer should be able to see the news value of the photo without having a description or an explanation of the photo.
Photojournalism entries shall have informative content and/or emotional impact, including human interest, documentary and spot news. Images should tell a story.
The journalistic value of the photograph shall be considered over pictorial quality. Photographs must represent the truth. No manipulation can be used to alter the subject matter. Situations which are set up for the purpose of photography are unacceptable in Photojournalism competition. A static picture of an object shall not be considered for Photojournalism.
No elements may be moved, cloned, added, deleted, rearranged, combined or changed in any way that affects the integrity of the image content. No manipulation or modification is permitted except resizing, cropping, selective lightening or darkening, and restoration of original color of the scene. No special effect filters can be added or applied either before or after image creation. Sharpening is allowed. Print, slide, or digital sequences may be entered by placing more than one picture in a single image.
Judges may give an image a score of “0” (zero) if they believe an image does not qualify for the Photojournalism category. If one judge gives a “0” score, the other two judges’ scores will be averaged for the third score. If two judges give a “0” score, the image shall be disqualified. Titles of Photojournalism images will be announced after the images have been judged.
Competition chairmen shall have the authority to transfer entries between the Photojournalism and Pictorial categories as needed for Gulf States competitions. This will give the chairmen flexibility when there are too few entrants in one of our categories.