ROLE AS A CAMERA CLUB JUDGE

I view my role as a camera club judge to be educator, motivator, and a critic for the entrants of a competition. The primary goals, among others, of most camera clubs are to motivate and educate their members for greater enjoyment and success in their photography.

As an invited guest of the club I would best help them reach this goal, and any other goals they may state, by providing comments that leave the competitors with an honest, yet supportive appraisal of all the entries. Extensive evaluation is not possible in the competition setting but as a judge, I would strive to point out positive aspects as well as areas that need improvement in each photograph. I do not feel that a judge should leave an entrant feeling that, after entering their best effort, they go home with no awards and nothing from which they can learn.

Additionally, I feel it is important for the judge to understand the expectations of the host club. We have all, at some point in time, left our club’s competition night feeling that the judge: a) didn’t understand our competition theme or rules, b) didn’t realize that digital manipulation was/was not allowed, c) gave too many comments (and the competition took forever), d) didn’t give enough comments, e) etc., etc., etc. ... . Before agreeing to judge I would expect to have a discussion with the competition chair or other club authority about how they conduct competition and what is expected of the judge

CRITERIA I USE AS A CAMERA CLUB JUDGE

As a camera club judge, I want to see the effort of the photographer. I want to know that the photographer has control of their camera and of what appears in the picture frame and uses that control to their advantage. That does not mean that everything has to be in focus or adhere to a certain set of rules. It does mean that everything in the picture frame has to be both intentional and carefully crafted.

As a photography competition judge I would expect that a photographer demonstrate technical competence by entering a well exposed, in-focus, thoughtfully composed, and carefully presented (including the choice of matting) photograph. Photographs that show greater control over these aspects and use them to communicate a more creative vision or intent would be elevated in the competition. Winners would be the photographs that creatively communicate the photographer’s intended feeling, emotion, or story in a technically sound way.