DPI-SIG’s Approach to Judging Competitions

Curious about how judges score?

A question many members wonder about competitions is “how will my photos be judged?”.

Here are some insights:

1. All judging is subjective. This is an important factor to keep in mind – each judge will come to a competition with their own areas of expertise and approach.

2. Judges will consider “Wow factor”, composition, color, and technical aspects.

3. For DPI-SIG, ribbons are calculated as follows: Blue Ribbons: Top 10% + ties. Yellow Ribbons: remaining images after blue, up to 25% + ties. FCCC is different. Beginners ribbons are calculated in the same way, among those submissions that meet the Beginner criteria.

4. Scoring is 1-20 points. Ideally, scores should follow a bell curve. The overall average score is 14.92 for dpi-sig.

5. Getting critiques is perhaps the best way to discover what is the difference between your image assessment and that expected by the judges. Comments on your images can help, too.

6. Photo Competitions is, in many ways, a game. Playing the game gives you an opportunity to evaluate your photography in a subjective arena outside your own interpretation. Attempting to win the game provides you with a reason to learn and develop strategies for creating photographs beyond what you know. This includes both shooting and processing.

7. All judges have biases. Consider that since we are in Southern Florida, their biases are most likely shaped by the photo subjects found here.

8. Try the DPI-SIG “See It First” tool to have AI assess your image based on the DPI-SIG judging criteria.

9. Submit your photos to the competitions: there is no better way to learn than by trying.