MEETINGS/CONTEST

In order to better acquaint you with our club routine and how membership is handled, we offer you the following information. The Pushbutton Photo Club meets every month with the exception of December. Our Annual Christmas Banquet will be held in December and that is for members and their families only.

We start every meeting at 6:00pm with refreshments served for 30-minute which gives you 30-minutes of social time that allows you time to visit, share ideas, and greet members and guests. At 6:30pm the meeting begins with announcements and presentation of the evening’s special guest speaker and program.

Guests are always welcome and our hope is that you will decide to join and become a member of our club. As a member, you are eligible for a club newsletter. You can enter competition and have your photography critiqued by experienced photographers, you can also participate in field trips and have a vote when called for. If you decide to join, please see our Treasurer, If the Treasurer is not at the meeting, you can email us at jjack357@gmail.com and will provide details on how to become a member of the Pushbutton Photo Club.

Were a Photo Club

I. Objectives: The purpose of the Pushbutton Photo club is to promote photography: Through competition, discussion, events and a meeting place to share mutual interest. Occasional guest speakers.

II. Membership shall be: Open to any person, that makes payment of dues and completion of membership application form. All new members shall receive a welcome email which shall contain information regarding club by-laws.

III. Annual dues are $50.00 per calendar year per person or a family membership for $150.00 per calendar year. Dues for persons joining are from the first day of the month they join to the first day of the same month one year later.

V. Officers and Duties:

A. President: Presides at all membership meetings, Serves as liaison to the community.

B. Vice President: Shall in the absence of the President, assume all duties of the President.

C. Secretary: Shall record the minutes of all Board and General Membership meetings and shall provide a written record of those minutes to be made available to the membership at the next available club meeting. Shall keep record of all club property and the location of that property. Keeps record of names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses of members. Sends a welcome email to all new members. Replies to emails sent to the club via the club’s website regarding possible membership.

D. Treasurer: Shall have charge of all moneys of The Pushbutton Photo Club. Shall collect dues and provide proper receipt. Shall provide a written financial report to the Board of Directors at each quarterly meeting, and to the general membership at the first meeting in December. A review of the Financial Records will be conducted once a year by an Audit Committee appointed by the President. This committee will be made up of two or more club members, who are not members of the Board. The Treasurer will provide the Audit Committee all records/documents related to the month(s) selected by the Committee for review. The final written Audit Committee report will be provided to the Board and the General Membership upon completion of the audit by the Audit Committee.

H. General Meetings: A. The general meetings shall be held once per month.

CONTEST RULES & CATEGORIES

COMPETITION REQUIREMENTS AND ELIGIBILITY

All members are eligible to enter competitions. The photographer must have shot all images submitted for competition.

A member may enter a maximum of two projected image, monthly for competition. A photographer may not submit the same image more than once a year. All images for a given month, must be different.

The subject for each monthly competition is either open or a special topic. subjects and are listed on the Competition Topics web page.

An image that has placed first, second or third in a monthly club competition is not eligible for re-entry in any future monthly club competition regardless of changes in media, cropping, orientation, processing or title. If the photographer has taken other similar exposures of the same scene, these images are considered duplicates of the winning image and are not eligible for competition.

COMPETITION CLASSES

Beginner photographer (B)
Advanced photographer (A)
Master photographers (M)

NEW MEMBERS

New members may begin in either Beginner or Advanced Class when they first enter competitions. Once the class is chosen, the photographer is expected to remain in that class for the rest of the club year.

ANNUAL REVIEW OF CLASSIFICATION

After the last competition of the year is judged, Chairpersons review results of the year’s competitions and submit recommendations for member to be advanced to the next level. Recommendations for advancement are based on the photographer’s consistent production of high quality work as evidenced by average score and winning record in monthly competitions. Final approval is by the Executive Committee.

ADVANCEMENT

The club Executive Committee may recommend that certain photographers move from Beginner Class to Advanced Class at the end of the competition year. A member who is recommended for advancement may choose to remain in Beginner Class for one additional year, and must advance the following year. A Beginner may choose to participate in the Advanced class at the start of the new competition year even if a recommendation is not offered by the Executive Committee.

Advancement to Masters is by invitation only. The Executive Committee annually reviews and approves worthy photographers for advancement from Advanced Class to Master Class. These recommendations are announced at our Annual Christmas Banquet in December of each year. A member recommended for advancement to Master Class may choose to remain in Advanced Class until recommended again for advancement.

JUDGING

The competition chairpersons will select photographers from outside the club to judge entries. The judges are asked to evaluate images based on impact, composition and technical merit. Competition scores may range from 65 – 100 based on the general criteria below. A score of 75 is considered to be a good image.

95 - 100: Exceptional
90 - 94: Superior
85 - 89: Excellent
80 - 84: Commendable
75 - 79: Above Average
70 - 74: Average
65 - 69: Below Standard

Judges are asked to consider the following when scoring an image.

Impact – the sense one gets upon viewing an image for the first time. Compelling images evoke laughter, sadness, anger, pride, wonder or another intense emotion.

Composition – important to the design of an image, bringing all the visual elements together in concert to express the purpose of the image.

Technique – the approach used to create the image. Printing, lighting, posing, capture, presentation media, and more are part of the technique applied to the image.

Certificates are awarded to the winners in each class and category. There is only one award for each place; however, it is possible that an honorable mention, a third or even a second place may not be awarded.

IMAGE OF THE YEAR COMPETITION

Images placing 1st, 2nd or 3rd in any category and class in a monthly competition, are eligible for Image of the Year awards. First, Second and Third Place awards for Image of the Year in each class and category are presented at the Annual Christmas Banquet

NUDE PHOTO POLICY

Photographs of nudes are not accepted in any competition or contest held by the Pushbutton Photo Club.

WATERMARKS

Images should not have any identifying information that is visible on the image or mat, such as watermarks, signatures, logos, etc.

ACCEPTANCE OF RULES

Submission of projected images in a club competition implies acceptance of all of these Competition Rules.

ESTABLISHMENT AND CHANGE OF RULES

These rules were established and approved by the Club Committee and are subject to change by the Club Committee as warranted.

CONTEST CATEGORIES