We have two End-of-Year Competitions: Special Categories and Best In. Important: Each image may be entered once across all end of year contests. E.g. it may be entered into Special Categories Prints, Special Categories Projected, Best In Prints, OR Best in Projected. Details of each competition area and its rules are outlined on this page.
Timeline:
- Competition Year: May 1 - April 30
- Submissions Open: Late April or early May
- Submissions Due: Third Tuesday in May. Prints may be dropped off at the May Print Night.
- Awards: Winners are announced during a special Zoom event on Education Night in June.
Special Category Competition
Special Category Awards are offered in both Print and Projected Images. You may enter one (1) image in each of the following categories, for a total of up to fifteen images:
- Black and White / Monochrome*
- Cityscapes / Architecture
- Patterns / Abstracts
- Portraits (people and animals)
- Landscapes / Seascapes
- Street / Photojournalism
- Travel
- Wildlife
*Black and White / Monochrome is offered in Projected only, since Print already has a Black and White category in its End of Year Competition (Best In).
Eligibility and Entry Rules:
- New (never-before-submitted) images are allowed. E.g. images do not need to have been entered in the 2025-2026 competition year.
- Images from the previous competition year may be entered if not entered in the End of Year Competition (Best In).
- The same image may not be entered into the Print and Projected categories.
- New images entered in Special Categories may still be entered in future monthly competitions.
End of Year Competition (Best In)
Best In is for any images that were already entered in regular monthly competitions during the competition year. For end of year, members may submit:
| Projected Categories |
(2 per category) |
Print Divisions (four total, any combination) |
| Creative |
|
Small Color |
| Nature |
|
Large Color |
| Open |
|
Small Monochrome |
| Theme |
|
Large Monochrome |
Eligibility and Entry Rules:
- Only images previously entered in this competition year’s monthly competitions are eligible.
- The same image may not be entered into both the Print and Projected categories.
- Images entered in Best In, may not also be entered into the Special Categories competition.
- Entries must be submitted in the same format and category as the original monthly entry (Projected vs Print, and the same category).
- Print entries must be the same size and medium as the original entry
- The four print entries maybe distributed in any way (for example, all four in Small Color).
Note: If you upload an edited version, the website may require a unique file name. Add “edited” to the image title (example: “Baskets – edited”). If you are having issues, this
step by step guide with screenshots shows how to enter previously submitted images.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can only winning images in the monthly Competitions be submitted? No, all images that were entered into the regular monthly competitions are eligible, whether they received an award or not.
My image was originally entered into Nature. Can I enter it into Open instead? No. Images in the End of Year Competition must be entered into the same Category in the End of Year Competition as they were in the original monthly competition.
Who judges these images? Three people who are not members of SPS judge the images. Often this is another photo club.
Awards
The Annual Awards Celebration is held via Zoom on the Education Night each June. Winners of the End of Year and Special Award Competitions are announced, and other certificates and awards are presented.
Awards presented may include:
Merit Award
Presented each time a member accumulates 5 Merit Points within a Division (Print) or Category (Projected.) Merit Points accumulate over the lifetime of the member.
- Print Division: one (1) Merit Point is awarded to the maker of each 1st place image that scores 39 points or above. (There may be multiple 1st place winners, and all will receive one Merit Point.)
- Projected Division: one (1) Merit Point is awarded to the makers of each 1st and 2nd place image that score 39 or above. (There may be multiple 1st and 2nd place winners, and all will receive one Merit Point.)
Total Points Accumulated Award
Presented to members with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd highest total scores in each Category for the competition year. (Ties are possible.)
Highest Average Score Award
Presented to members with the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd highest average scores during the competition year, recognizing consistent achievement. (Ties are possible.)
- Print Division: calculated by using each member's ten (10) highest scores across Print Division. Small Color, Large Color, Small Monochrome, and Large Monochrome are included into one average.
- Projected Division: calculated using each member’s six highest scores within each projected Category (Creative, Nature, Open and Themes.)
People’s Choice Award
Presented each time a member accumulates five (5) People's Choice Points within a Category. After every Competition, members vote for their favorite image(s) in each Category. People’s Choice Points accumulate over the lifetime of the member.
Distinguished Service Award
This award is presented on occasion to a member who has shown a long history of committed service to the club. Recipients of this award have been active members who have worked to improve the club in numerous ways such as by serving on the board, by being a commentator, by judging images, and/or by conducting workshops. The club could not function without these dedicated volunteers.
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