2026 Fall Image Competition

 2026/2027 PPWV Image Competition Rules

Digital Submission Only

Official Rules | Danny Leary, Competition Chairman | Finalized July 2026

Quick Checklist (read this first)

• Fall Competition: submit online at printcompetition.com by 9:00 PM ET on Tuesday, September 8, 2026 (no late entries — no exceptions).

• Entry fees must be paid at the time of submission.

• Files: JPEG, longest dimension 4,000 px, embedded sRGB or Adobe RGB (1998), high-quality JPEG (Photoshop quality 10 or equivalent).

• Every entry must have a title (“Untitled” / “No Title” will be disqualified).

• No names, logos, or studio branding may appear anywhere on the entry.

• Outside Open Art Digital: all photographic elements must be entrant-captured (no stock/third-party imagery).

• Outside Open Art Digital: AI is allowed for minor cleanup and limited Generative Expand only; no AI scene-building.

• Scores of 70+ may be displayed publicly unless you opt out by notifying the Competition Chair.

• Every entry requires an AI-disclosure checkbox at submission, stating whether (and how) AI tools were used.

• Merit Award: Blue Ribbons earned in either the Spring or Fall Competition count toward PPWV Merit Awards.

• Trophies and distinctions are determined annually from both competitions and awarded at the Spring Convention.

 

 

1. Eligibility and Entry Fees

• PPWV Image Competition is open to members and non-members.

• Handling fee per entry: $15.00 (members) / $20.00 (non-members).

• Non-members are not eligible for PPWV trophies, distinctions, or the Photographer of the Year award.

Photographer of the Year eligibility: Eligibility is limited to PPWV Members in Good Standing. Photographer of the Year and Top 10 recognition are determined by each entrant’s top six (6) scores across the Spring and Fall Competitions, combined.

2. Submission Deadline and Where to Enter

Entries must be submitted online at printcompetition.com by 9:00 PM ET on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, for the Fall Competition. Payment must be made when entering. No entries will be accepted after either deadline — no exceptions.

3. Entry Rules

1. No names or logos of the photographer or studio may appear anywhere on the entry.

2. Entrants may enter as many images as they wish in any category.

3. Album entries may contain the work of more than one photographer. All other entries are limited to individuals.

4. A subject may appear in more than one image provided the images are clearly different (background, clothing, and concept). A subject that appears in an album may also be entered as an individual entry provided the same rule is followed. Violations may result in disqualification of all violating images.

5. An image may not be entered in the Annual PPWV Image Competition more than once if it has previously received a score of 80 or higher in an Annual PPWV competition, regardless of treatment or format. Images scoring below 80 may be entered at the Fall Competition and again at the following Spring Competition in an attempt to achieve a higher score. Re-entering an image in the Spring Competition automatically and immediately forfeits the image’s original Fall Competition score, ribbon, and any associated Merit Award credit — regardless of the score the image receives in the Spring Competition. Only the Spring entry, score, and any resulting ribbon, merit, or trophy eligibility will count going forward.

6. Images created in schools, institutes, styled shoots, seminars, or teaching programs are not eligible for submission.

7. PPWV is not responsible for image theft of submitted entries, whether in person or via online means.

8. PPWV is not responsible for entrants who do not have appropriate model/property releases. It is the entrant’s responsibility to obtain permission from all subjects and properties depicted.

9. Any questions covered or not covered by these rules will be submitted to the Competition Chair and/or Jurors Chair for consideration. Their decision is final.

Title required: All entries in every category must have a title. Entries marked “Untitled” or “No Title” will be disqualified.

4. File Requirements

Uploaded files must meet all of the following:

• Longest dimension: 4,000 pixels (approximately 20 inches at 200 ppi).

• Embedded color profile: sRGB or Adobe RGB (1998).

• Format: JPEG.

• Quality: JPEG quality setting of 10 (Photoshop quality 10 or equivalent high-quality setting).

5. Editing, Authorship, Third-Party Content, and AI

These rules determine what you may (and may not) use in post-production.

5.1 Photography-based categories (all categories except Open Art Digital)

• All photographic elements must originate from images captured by the entrant.

• No stock photos or third-party photographic elements may be used (including skies, textures, overlays, backgrounds, props added in post, or “photo brushes” that stamp photographic content).

• Presets, actions, LUTs, plugins, and non-photographic brushes are permitted only if they do not introduce third-party photographic imagery into the file.

• AI is allowed for minor cleanup and limited Generative Expand to extend edges/backgrounds (e.g., removing blemishes, dust/sensor spots, and small distractions).

• AI may not be used to add, replace, or invent meaningful content (no sky/background replacement, no object insertion, no creating scenes, and no changing faces/identity).

• Tools that do not add new elements are allowed (denoise, sharpening, upscaling, masking/selection, lens corrections, spot removal).

• Rule of thumb: If the AI makes the image into something that wasn’t there, it’s not allowed. Cleanup is fine. Scene-building is not.

5.2 Open Art Digital

• Third-party assets (including stock, textures, graphic elements, and overlays) are permitted only if the entrant has proper license/permission and can provide it upon request.

• Generative AI elements are permitted with disclosure. The entrant must be able to provide a brief process description and source files (layered file and/or screenshots) upon request.

Verification: RAW originals and/or layered source files may be requested to confirm compliance.

5.3 AI Disclosure (All Categories)

At the time of submission, every entrant must complete an AI-disclosure checkbox indicating whether AI tools were used in the creation or editing of the entry. If AI was used, the entrant must briefly describe how (e.g., cleanup/spot removal, Generative Expand, Open Art Digital generative elements). This disclosure applies to every category, including Open Art Digital. Incomplete or inaccurate disclosure may result in disqualification.

6. Point Scoring System

• 100–95 Exceptional
• 94–90 Superior
• 89–85 Excellent
• 84–80 Deserving of Merit
• 79–76 Above Average
• 75–74 Average
• 73–70 Acceptable
• 69–0 Unacceptable

Public display: All entries scoring 70 or higher may be displayed publicly after the competition unless the entrant requests otherwise to the Competition Chair.

Score turnaround: Individual entry scores will be published within 24 hours of judging.

7. Competition Categories and Category-Specific Limitations

Quick compliance note: Outside Open Art Digital, all photographic pixels must be entrant-created and AI is limited to cleanup and limited Generative Expand only. Some categories have stricter limits below.

7.1 Photographic Categories (used to determine PPWV Photographer of the Year)

Open Album: Album/story presentation. Design embellishments OK as presentation. Do not import third-party photographic pixels.

Sports/Photojournalism: Real, unscripted sports and photojournalistic coverage. Basic corrections only; minimal cleanup. No compositing, no content add/remove, no sky/background swaps, and no third-party or AI scene-building.

Portrait: Portraiture and people/subject-focused images. Retouching OK. No stock/third-party photographic pixels. AI: cleanup/limited expand only (no content creation).

Fine Art/Illustrative: Conceptual/highly crafted images. Composites and heavy manipulation OK if all photographic elements are entrant-captured. No stock/third-party imagery. No AI scene-building.

Commercial/Industrial: Advertising, product, corporate, and industrial work. Advanced retouching/composites OK under global authorship rules. No AI scene-building.

Nature/Landscape: Landscape, nature, and wildlife. Adjustments/cleanup OK. Do not add/replace skies, weather, wildlife, or scene elements. No AI scene-building.

Portrait sub-categories: Animal, Boudoir, Children, Senior, General Portraiture.

Fine Art/Illustrative category guidance: Fine Art/Illustrative is for conceptual or highly crafted images built around a creative vision rather than documentary accuracy. Examples include surreal composites, symbolic or narrative imagery, fantasy or dreamlike scenes, and heavily stylized conceptual portraiture — provided all photographic elements are entrant-captured (no stock/third-party imagery, no AI scene-building).

7.2 Wedding Categories

Wedding categories are awarded individually and scores are included in the member’s POTY totals.

Wedding Album: Wedding album/story presentation. Design embellishments OK as presentation; follow global authorship rules.

Wedding Candid: Unposed moments and storytelling. Basic corrections only; minimal cleanup. No compositing, no content add/remove, and no AI scene-building.

Wedding Portrait: Posed wedding portraits. Retouching OK; follow global authorship rules.

7.3 Open Art Digital

Creativity-forward category judged as a complete work (creativity, technique, presentation, impact). With disclosure, third-party assets and Generative AI elements are permitted, provided the entrant has proper rights/licenses and can describe what was used if requested. Open Art Digital does not count toward Photographer of the Year or Wedding categories.

8. Awards and Distinctions

Trophies and distinctions are determined annually using eligible entries from both the Spring and Fall Image Competitions, and are awarded at the Spring Convention. Individual entry scores and ribbons are still communicated following each competition.

• Walter E. Johnston Memorial Trophy - Best Black and White Portrait (from all portrait categories)
• George J. Kossuth Natural Color Award - Best Color Portrait (from all portrait categories)
• Best Senior Portrait
• Best Animal Portrait
• Best Children’s Portrait
• Best Boudoir
• Best Non-Wedding Album
• Joseph Blackwood - Best Commercial Image
• Best Nature or Landscape Photo
• Archibald Wallace Memorial Trophy - Best Fine Art/Illustrative
• Phillips/Rittenhouse News Photo Award - Best Sports or Photojournalism Photo
• Best Wedding Album
• Best Wedding Candid
• Best Wedding Portrait
• Frank Mauritz Trophy - Best Wedding Entry (drawn from all Wedding categories: Wedding Album, Wedding Candid, Wedding Portrait)
• James H. Hall Award - Highest Score by a First Time Entrant — determined annually, combining Spring and Fall entries (awarded at the Spring Convention)
• Nelson Paden Progressive Photographer Award - Highest Scoring Entry*
• Dick Phillips Memorial Trophy - Highest Scoring Entry by a Master Photographer
• CPP Award-Sponsored by PPA - Highest Scoring Entry by a CPP
• ASP Elite Award - Highest Scoring Entry by an ASP Member
• The Barbara Sullivan Award - Best Open Art Digital Entry
• Presidents Cup - Best of Show
• PPWV Photographer of the Year

Note: Trophies and distinctions are selected via closed judging and are not determined solely by numeric score.

Nelson Paden Progressive Photographer Award - Highest-scoring entry from an actual, delivered client assignment (not a personal or competition-built project). The entrant must have captured the image and directed all creative and technical work on it, consistent with the authorship rules in Section 5. After receiving this award, the maker will not be eligible to win again for 2 years.

9. Photographer of the Year

Photographer of the Year and Top 10 recognition are determined by each entrant’s top six (6) scores across all Photographic Categories in the Spring and Fall Image Competitions, combined (excluding Open Art Digital). Eligibility is limited to PPWV Members in Good Standing.

• In the event of a tie impacting placement or award outcomes, tie-break decisions will be made by the judging panel.

Photographer of the Year Bonus: In addition to the Photographer of the Year distinction, PPWV awards a $200 bonus to the Photographer of the Year recipient.

10. Public Display

All entries scoring 70 or higher may be displayed publicly after the competition unless the entrant requests otherwise to the Competition Chair.

11. PPWV Merit Award

The purpose of the PPWV Merit Award is to encourage high-quality professional photography throughout the state of West Virginia.

• Each in-state active member who receives a Blue Ribbon in PPWV’s Spring or Fall Image Competition earns one (1) merit.
• Trophy winners receive one (1) additional merit.
• The maximum number of merits a single entry can earn is two (2).
• Only active in-state members are eligible to receive the PPWV Merit Award.
• The award is granted each time a member accumulates 25 merits.
• Merit credit earned from an entry is forfeited if that entry is later re-entered in a subsequent competition (see §3, Rule 5).