Dates
The Competition opens on for entries on 23rd April 2024 and closes at midnight on 2nd June 2024. Entries may only be submitted during these dates.
Who can enter?
Entry is open to anyone from the UK and overseas aged 18 and over.
Submitting Images
All images must be submitted online in digital format via the SLPOTY portal at competition10.slpoty.co.uk.
Image files should be uploaded at 72ppi, 2000px on the longest side in Adobe 1998 colour space and no larger than 3MB.
Watermarks, signatures and borders are not permitted.
Images captured on film or any alternative process should be scanned and submitted digitally as per above.
Images will not be accepted after the closing date.
Eligible Images
Images should have been taken in Scotland or the Scottish islands within 6 years of the opening date.
Non eligible images
- Images taken at a photographic workshop or 1-2-1 are not eligible.
- Images that were commended or awarded in any previous SLPOTY competition are not eligible.
Landscape, Seascape, Urban & Portfolio Categories
The integrity of the subject must be maintained in all of the above categories.
The integrity of the subject means this: your image should represent the scene accurately and be natural and realistic in appearance. You may not, distort elements, remove anything from or add anything to the image so as to alter its realistic appearance.
For example, blending images taken at 2 different focal lengths, adding fake sunlight, shadows or mist, pasting in skies from another image, adding extreme vignettes, cloning out people, fenceposts, pylons etc.
Should your image comprise any of the above, then please enter it in the creative category.
RAW Files – in the event your images are considered for an award, your RAW or original camera jpg files will be required.
Please Note: Our aim is that all images shortlisted for an award or commendation go on to achieve that award/commendation. However, should you be shortlisted and your RAW file is significantly different in appearance to the image you submitted, or be altered to the extent that the subject lacks integrity, rather than eliminate your image from the competition, your image will be moved and awarded/commended in creative category instead.
Please see the relevant categories for more specific details.
Creative Category
The Creative category is an open category that allows you to express your vision for your images. We encourage creativity, experimentation and conceptual implementation for your image. Any editing technique is allowed, be it analogue or digital or alternative in nature.
The creative category is also for images that exceed the permitted digital adjustments in the other categories.
AI images
AI generated images will be allowed ifor this year’s Competition. We have written an article explaining the reasons.
4 Seasons, Environment, Mono & Weather categories
The above categories are derived from the Landscape, Seascape & Urban categories, therefore the integrity of the subject must be maintained and the same rules apply.
Acceptable media
Both analog and digital images are allowed but your images should be submitted in digital jpg format only (via the competition portal). Film images, images of prints and alternative processes images can be scanned and submitted in jpg format.
Digital Adjustments and Processing
Digital adjustments are allowed in all categories but should be kept within reason for the landscape, seascape and urban categories, and should not alter or affect the integrity of the image. In the event you are shortlisted you will be asked to produce the RAW file(s), the original scan or the original film media.
(There are no limits to digital adjustments in the creative category)
The following digital adjustments are permitted:
- Dust spot removal
- Curves & levels
- Contrast adjustments
- Sharpening
- Converting to black and white
- Cropping
- White balance correction
- Colour balance changes (within reason)
- Digital ND grads
- Exposure changes, shadow & highlight recovery
- Global and local saturation – minimal
- Dodging and burning – within reason. (Note – adding vignettes is the same process)
- Stitch panoramas, multiple exposures and focus stacking – must be taken at same time and place
- HDR
Unacceptable digital adjustments (not applicable to the creative category)
- Adding, moving or removing elements from your image. e.g cloning out people, objects, cloning in clouds, trees etc.
- Composites, stitches and montages of different images – i.e. the foreground from one image and the sky from another
- Blending multiple images from different times of the day