TPF POTY PHOTOGRAPHIC SUBJECT TYPE CATEGORIES AND DEFINITIONS
December 16, 2016
INTRODUCTION:
The aim of the TPF Photographer of the Year is for photographers to explore a range of photographic skills to provide entries in each of four sections of distinctly different subject types from the following list of 11 subject type categories. Any manipulation is permitted unless specified below and/or in the Section Requirements part of the entry form.
Still Life (non-macro images):
Images that depict inanimate subject matter, most typically a single object or a small grouping of objects.
Includes Floral Arrangements, Food photography, Tabletop and Still Life.
- Images may utilise some form of controlled lighting.
- Images that can be classified as ‘Macro’ must be entered as ‘Macro’.
Portrait/People:
Images capturing the likeness of a person or a small group of people.
Includes Portrait, Family, Baby/Child Study, People, Glamour/Fashion, Wedding, Figure Studies and Nude.
- Images generally capture the personality of the subject(s) by using effective lighting, posing, backdrops or natural environment.
‘Scapes:
Images portraying a natural, urban or industrial scene.
Includes Countryside, Landscape, Seascape, Winter Landscape, Rivers, Mountains, Lakes, Waterfalls, Urban/City Landscape, Industrial Landscape, Weather, Sunset/Sunrise and Aerial photography.
- Images can be panoramic, wide-angle or focused on a small part of the scene.
Contemporary:
Images that are creative: created in the author’s imagination beyond what is seen through the camera’s lens, conceptual :convey a concept or idea (such as ‘Time flies’) and/or abstract: does not have an immediate association with reality.
- Images may involve the use of colour, light, shadow, texture, shape and/or form to convey a feeling, sensation or impression. Extreme bokeh photography would also fall under this category
Macro:
Images in which the subject of the photograph is usually very small or is a very small detail of a larger object.
- Images are larger than life size. Photo focus stacking to increase depth of field is permitted.
Action:
Images demonstrating some form of motion or action.
Includes People (Sports, etc.), Animals (Show Jumping, Greyhound Racing, etc.), Transport (Motor Sports, Sailing/Boating, Aeronautical Displays, etc.), any type of animal that is not classified as ‘Nature’ including Birds, Fish, Animals, Insects and Invertebrates, etc. (wild, tame, domesticated or pets). ‘Panning’ may be used to blur the background.
- Images must convey that an object is moving.
Architecture/Engineering:
Images that emphasise a structure’s form, shape or purpose in an artistic manner.
Includes Domestic, Commercial, Industrial, Religious, Institutional, and Engineering structures as well as Historical and Heritage-listed Buildings and Bridges. Also includes images of Stationary Vehicles and other forms of Man-made Transport or other Mechanical Equipment.
- Urban or City landscapes that just portray buildings or structures in general must be entered into the ‘’Scapes’ category.
Social Documentary:
Images that document the culture, customs and/or history of an area.
Includes Photojournalism (see note below), Travel Photography, Street Photography, Candid and Concert Performance.
- Photojournalism images should portray a newsworthy story. It should be an accurate and truthful representation of an event free from interference by the photographer. Subtle enhancement of the image is permitted, but techniques which add, remove, obscure or move any elements in the image, apart from limited cropping, are not permitted.
- Images that can be classified as ‘Scapes’, ‘Portrait/People’ or ‘Architecture/Engineering’ must be entered in those categories.
Nature:
Nature photography is restricted to the use of the photographic process to depict all branches of natural history, except anthropology and archaeology, in such a fashion that a well-informed person will be able to identify the agreed subject material and certify its honest presentation. The story-telling value of a photograph must be weighed more than the pictorial quality, while maintaining high technical quality.
Human elements shall not be present, except where those human elements are integral parts of the nature story such as nature subjects, like barn owls or storks, adapted to an environment modified by humans, or where those human elements are in situations depicting natural forces, like hurricanes or tidal waves.
Scientific bands, scientific tags or radio collars on wild animals are permissible. Photographs of human created hybrid plants, cultivated plants, feral animals, domestic animals, or mounted specimens are ineligible, as is any form of manipulation that alters the truth of the photographic statement.
No techniques that add, relocate, replace, or remove pictorial elements except by cropping are permitted. Techniques that enhance the presentation of the photograph without changing the nature story or the pictorial content, or without altering the content of the original scene, are permitted including HDR, focus stacking and dodging/burning. Techniques that remove elements added by the camera, such as dust spots, digital noise, and film scratches, are allowed. Stitched images are not permitted. All allowed adjustments must appear natural. Colour images can be converted to greyscale monochrome. Infrared images, either direct-captures or derivations, are not allowed.
- Images can have landscapes, geologic formations, weather phenomena, and existing organisms as the primary subject matter. This includes images taken with the subject(s) in controlled conditions, such as zoos, game farms, botanical gardens, aquariums and any enclosure where the subjects are totally dependent on man for food.
- Images that can be classified as ‘Macro’ or ‘Still Life’ must be entered in those categories.
Night Photography:
Images taken after dark, by moonlight or artificial lighting.
Includes images of fireworks, night skies, nightscapes, urban nightscapes, star and traffic trails, etc.
- Images may be longer exposures shot at higher than normal ISO settings and may include some light painting.
Other:
Images which cannot be reasonably placed in any of the above categories.
- It is expected that few images overall would be entered in this category.