Judging and club nights!

I have to say up front that I’m not a judge but I do remember some years ago there was a fun evening doing the rounds where you get an incite and get to play "judge" of a photograph. It was great fun but it also showed how difficult it can be when you've seen very similar images loads of times or see something unusual but can't quite work out what it is or why you like/dislike it!

I know some judges like to see images beforehand - and generally in my experience they seem to be the better ones because they spend time before hand to look and write down their thoughts on the images. Other judges tend to like to judge more spontaneously and always seem to create contention as they say things like "a very nice image, well taken" and then give those 15!!

I don't know what process this judge used but he didn't seem to have done any homework with the images and therefore hadn't contructed his thoughts which may explain why he dragged it out so long and why some of the marks didn’t match the comments.

I guess marking is the ultimate contentious subject. For me we do get too focussed on the score and pay not enough attention to the comments (assuming of course that you've got a judge good enough to give you an accurate and precise critique). Actually some of our most tedious evenings have been where judges have struggled with their own notes and pre-scores. I much prefer evenings where a judge works off the cuff with their comments and scores.

The biggest problem that we have as a group of camera clubs is that there has been a mark inflation such that it becomes very hard to distinguish great work from good work, and good from average. I might argue that the same thing has happened in our schools. So when I was at school, an 'A' grade in a subject was usually at the 70-75% mark equivalent to a 14 or 15. Technically sharp or soft as needed, highlights and shadows under control etc should only get you a 14-15. Marks below 14 for when the technique has slipped and a very clear description as to why. Really, the marks from 16 to 20 should be reserved for those who have pushed their photography beyond technical competence into artistic, creative or more visionary areas showing something beyond image taking, but rather image creation. And yes if I were a judge and didn't feel any image on a night deserved a 20, I wouldn't give one out. But camera club members often howl if most of the work in an evening scores at a "lowly" 14 or 15. But really giving everyone an 18, 19 or 20 helps no-one learn what works and what doesn't work. Of course, that means many of the higher-scoring marks would be given for subjective reasons. It's an art form not a science. So develop a thick skin.

So why do judges always say something nice about every image ? Well that is part of the guidance that every judge is given through the training process to be a KCPA judge. There is no desire to discourage anyone on their photography journey.

And as clubs we get the judging that we deserve. If we don't feed back to judges that we thought they gave too many high scores, too many low score or whatever, they won't respond to our needs.

So what is judging for and why do you enter competitions ? Personally I'm trying to learn to become a better photographer, and the comments and scores sometimes help me understand and critique my own work better. But winning or losing are really not the point though I do alright from time to time. I get to see a vast range of work from other photographers, and their work now and then will influence mine.

As clubs provide guidance to your judges as to how you would like competitions to run and feedback when they're done (not just the standard glowing thankyou speech). And we'll all get competitions the way we would like them.

Perhaps if we informed judges that they only had an hour or an hour and a half to make their comments and give markings the rest of the evening could be used for an informal chat session and/or viewing at closehand the entries. One judge actually looked at all the prints before hand (they were a lot of entries that time) came with a list of short comments which he proceeded to read out - this sped up the event a lot.