SUBJECT MATTER AND SECTION DEFINITIONS

Statement on Subject Matter - applicable to all sections

The fundamental rule that must be observed at all times and applies to all sections offered in exhibitions with PSA recognition is that the welfare of living creatures is more important than any photograph. This means that practices such as baiting

of subjects with a living creature and removal of birds from nests, for the purpose of obtaining a photograph, are highly unethical, and such photographs are not allowed in any exhibition with PSA recognition.  Under no circumstances may a living

creature be placed in a situation where it will be killed, injured or stressed for the purpose of obtaining a photograph. Images that show live creatures being fed to captive animals, birds or reptiles are not permitted under any circumstances.There are also concerns about the use of aerial photography, drones, helicopters,

low flying aircraft. These should not cause any interference with other individuals or animals which causes a disturbance in their normal activity or disrupt the way any individuals or animals interact with their environment.  Entrants in PSA recognized exhibitions should comply with all relevant laws and regulations, associated with aerial photography, in the country in which the image was taken. 

Entry into PSA recognized exhibitions is conditional on accepting these policies.  The content of images must comply with the General Conditions and with the Division and Section definitions listed in these conditions. Images that - in the sole opinion of the judges or the Exhibition Organizers - do not comply, will be disqualified so the entrant may be aware of the problem when considering entry into other exhibitions with PSA recognition

PSA Monochrome Definition

An image is considered to be Monochrome only if it gives the impression of having no color (i.e. contains only shades of grey which can include pure black and pure white) OR it gives the impression of being a greyscale image that has been toned in one color across the entire image. (For example by Sepia, red, gold, etc.)  A greyscale or multi-colored image modified or giving the impression of having been modified by partial toning, multi-toning or by the inclusion of spot coloring does not meet the definition of monochrome and shall be classified as a Color Work.

Greyscale Monochrome images may be entered for Nature, Photojournalism and Photo Travel but toned images are not permitted for these sections.
Monochrome images may not be entered in PID Color Sections. 

Attention is drawn to the PSA Statement on Subject Matter which applies to all sections

Editing Guidelines for Nature and Photo Travel
These sections require images to be truthful records, so there are limits on the amount of manipulation allowed.

Editing Guidelines
Processing or editing must be limited to making the image look as close to the original scene as possible, except that conversion to grayscale monochrome is allowed.

Allowed editing techniques:
•    Cropping, straightening and perspective correction.
•    Removal or correction of elements added by the camera or lens, such as dust spots, noise, chromatic aberration and lens distortion.
•    Global and selective adjustments such as brightness, hue, saturation and contrast to restore the appearance of the original scene.
•    Complete conversion of color images to grayscale monochrome.
•    Blending of multiple images of the same subject and combining them in camera or with software (exposure blending or focus stacking);
•    Image stitching – combining multiple images with overlapping fields of view that are taken consecutively (panoramas);

Editing techniques that are not allowed:
•    Removing, adding to, moving or changing any part of an image, except for cropping and straightening.
•    Adding a vignette during processing.
•    Blurring parts of the image during processing to hide elements in the original scene.
•    Darkening parts of the image during processing to hide elements in the original scene.
•    All conversions other than to complete grayscale monochrome.
•    Conversion of parts of an image to monochrome, or partial toning, desaturation or over-saturation of color

Borders
For the purpose of this exhibition any border added to a digital file must be a single border of white or grey, no greater than 3-5 pixels in width.

PSA/FIAP Nature Definition

Content Guidelines
•    Nature photography records all branches of natural history except anthropology and archaeology. This includes all aspects of the physical world, both animate and inanimate, that have not been made or modified by humans.
•    Nature images must convey the truth of the scene that was photographed. A well-informed person should be able to identify the subject of the image and be satisfied that it has been presented honestly and that no unethical practices have been used to control the subject or capture the image. Images that directly or indirectly show any human activity that threatens the life or welfare of a living organism are not allowed.
•    The most important part of a Nature image is the nature story it tells. High technical standards are expected and the image must look natural.
•    Objects created by humans, and evidence of human activity, are allowed in Nature images only when they are a necessary part of the Nature story.
•    Photographs of human-created hybrid plants, cultivated plants, feral animals, domesticated animals, human-created hybrid animals and mounted or preserved zoological specimens are not allowed.
•    Images taken with subjects under controlled conditions, such as zoos, are allowed.
•    Controlling live subjects by chilling, anaesthetic or any other method of restricting natural movement for the purpose of a photograph is not allowed.

Attention is drawn to the PSA Statement on Subject Matter which applies to all sections and to the Editing Guidelines for Nature, and Photo Travel

PSA Photo Travel Definition

A Photo Travel image is a portrayal of the real world we live in, as it is found naturally. There are no geographic limitations.

Content guidance:
1.    If the image is predominantly or exclusively a land-, sea- or cityscape, these “scapes” must include characteristic, distinctive and recognizable physical features, although it is not necessary that the image identify the exact location;
2.    Images that predominantly or exclusively depict people and their activities must illustrate a distinctive culture of a country, region, or continent;
3.    Images that predominately or exclusively depict animal populations are allowed, if the animals are in their native environment and are characteristic of that country, region, or continent;
4.    Portraits or other close-ups of people or objects, in addition to meeting the above paragraphs as applicable, must include elements depicting some of the surrounding environment to make it obvious that the image was not taken in a studio setting;
5.    Images from events or activities arranged for photography, or of subjects directed or hired for photography, are NOT allowed.
6.    Time exposures are allowed, if they do not dominate the image as a special effect (star trails, for example, are a dominating effect).
7.    Highly distorted images such as those produced by fish eye lenses are NOT allowed.

Attention is drawn to the PSA Statement on Subject Matter which applies to all sections and to the Editing Guidelines for Nature, and Photo Travel

CD - General Rules
Breaches of Rules
Entrants are strongly advised to look at the PSA Ethics Policy which can be found at https://psa-photo.org/page/ethical-practices.

If, at any time, it is determined in the reasonable discretion of the exhibition organizer or the judges before, during, or after the judging of an exhibition that an entrant has submitted entries where one or more images may fail to comply with these Conditions of Entry, including the stated definitions, exhibitions, on behalf of the judges, are allowed to request unedited or raw files of the submitted image

In order to ensure that images comply with the Conditions of Entry and definitions, the exhibition organizers may carry out reasonable measures to verify that:
a) the images are the original work of the entrant and
b) the images comply with the rules and definitions as set out in these Conditions of Entry

These steps include, but are not limited to, questioning any entrant, requiring the submission of RAW files or other digital files representing the original capture of the submitted image(s), confronting the entrant with evidence that one or more submitted images fails to comply with the Conditions of Entry (also known as Entry Rules), and offering the entrant a reasonable opportunity to provide counter evidence to refute the exhibition organizer’s evidence by a set deadline. Such entries that are not cleared or are still questionable after the entrant has presented evidence may be considered in breach of these Conditions of Entry, and declined. Such entries may be referred to PSA for further investigation of possible ethics violations

PSA, on receiving reports from exhibitions of possible breaches, retains the right to investigate in any way all complaints/suspicions of breaches of entry conditions, impose penalties if deemed necessary, void the acceptances of any image found to violate the PSA rules, include the entrant’s name on the list of sanctions provided to Exhibitions, and share such investigations with FIAP. Entrants automatically agree to these terms by the act of entering the Exhibition and agree to cooperate with any investigation.

If another party is submitting images on the entrant’s behalf, the entrant will still be held responsible for adhering to these Conditions of Entry (Entry Rules) and will be subject to penalties for any violations to these Conditions of Entry and PSA’s Statement of Ethics that may result.

If another party is processing images for an entrant or submitting images on the entrant’s behalf, the entrant will still be held responsible for adhering to all Conditions of Entry including the specific conditions in the relevant definitions.

NOTICE: When entrants fills in the Entry Form to submit an entry they will see the following feature to affirm they have read these Conditions of Entry
“I hereby confirm that I have read, understood and agree to the Conditions of Entry of this exhibition. I have read the PSA document to be found at https://psa-photo.org/resource/resmgr/pdf/exhibitions_/exhibition-entrants-agreemen.pdf. I am aware that PSA may apply penalties for breaches of these Conditions of Entry”
Failure to agree will mean that the application will not proceed.

Licence agreement:
By submitting an entry, the entrant certifies legal Age, and own all rights to these images, including copyright or parents or guardians gives permission on his/her behalf if he/she is not of Legal Age.
The exhibition assumes no liability for any misuse of copyright.

RULES Download