Categories and Abbreviations

This is a list of Club Photo Categories for meetings. The letters in the Parenthesis are used to name the file for submission.

ex: JoeSmith_A_GoldenGateBridge

ASSIGNED (A): Each competition has an assigned topic chosen by club members.  The assignments are designed to diversify and broaden our understanding of topics we would not ordinarily “see”.  The list will be announced prior to the first meeting after the summer break.

NATURE (N): The nature category is restricted to nature subjects only.  A nature photograph must not show “the hand of man”, such as a road, fence, or people.  The subject must be taken in its natural environment.  Nature photographs taken at zoos, game farms, etc. should be shown in the pictorial or landscape category.  No manipulation or modification is permitted except sharpening, resizing, selective lightening or darkening, and saturation to restore the original color to the scene.  No elements may be moved, cloned, added, deleted, rearranged, or combined.  Any adjustments must appear natural.  The story-telling value of a nature photograph is more important than just a beautiful scene.

LANDSCAPE (L):  This differs from nature as you now can have roads, fences or other man-made items in the photos whereas in the Nature category you cannot.  Landscape differs from pictorial because it usually shows large backdrops.  Examples are a barn in a big meadow, lake with boats, or a meadow of grazing sheep surrounded by a fence. 

PICTORIAL (P): Entries in the pictorial category are varied.  They may include people, pets, structures, events, or any other subject.  Nature subjects with people, or other artifacts such as a barn or truck are frequently shown.  A child licking a dripping ice cream cone with a dog waiting for a drop is more important than just a beautiful scene.

CREATIVE (X): All Photography is creative, but this category takes creativity further.  In this category there is no technique that is forbidden, and the photographer is free to utilize any Photoshop feature or other means at his/her disposal.  Abstracts, composites, flights of fancy, or highly manipulated photos fit this category.

MONOCHROME (M): Monochromatic photography is a type of photography that uses a single color or tone. Common monochromatic photographs are black and white, but they can also be made using other colors, such as blue or green.  Black and white photography refers to photographs that are made using only shades of black, white, and gray. Monochrome photographs can be made using any color, not just black and white.

PHOTOJOURNALISM (J): The purpose of Photojournalism is to capture the real world as it is happening.  Therefore, no manipulation or modification of the elements in the image should occur.  As in the nature category, no elements may be moved, cloned, added, deleted, rearranged, or combined.  The photo must be kept exactly as it was shot to be true to the moment.

TRAVEL (T): This category is for photographs taken on trips, whether they are a short distance away or across the ocean.  The subject of the photograph should clearly illustrate the location in which it was shot.

SPORTS (S):  This category is for photographs taken of any sporting activity; examples – football, baseball, soccer, swimming, etc.

STREET PHOTOGRAPHY (ST):  Street photography, sometimes called candid photography, is photography conducted for art or enquiry that features unmediated chance encounters and random incidents within public places.

MACRO (MC): From insects to extreme close-ups of flowers or other objects, this category usually requires a macro lens to capture. The plane of focus is very narrow (you can focus stack in Photoshop) so a tripod is very helpful. 

ARCHITECTURE (AR): From skyscrapers to gothic gargoyles, it is all about how you showcase interesting vantage points, weather and time of day to get the best shots.  These could be indoors or outdoors.

Night Photography (N): Creating photographs after dark using long exposures and careful light management to capture landscapes, cityscapes, and other low-light subjects.

Astrophotography (AP): Capturing images of the night sky and celestial objects, from wide-field Milky Way landscapes to detailed photographs of the Moon, planets, and deep-sky wonders.