Photo Judges, They are Not

Most photographic competition, contests, and/or exhibits are often judged by competent and professional photographers. This was not the case with one particular meetup group in metro-Atlanta. The organizer and his favorite co-organizer selected a judge for each of their past two competition/exhibits without the advice and/or consent from their steering committee. The judge’s names were not revealed until shortly before or after the event/announcement of the winners.

What does it take to be a photographic judge of a photographic competition/exhibit? What are the basic requirements? These are a couple of questions I posed to create what I thought should be the basic requirements.

First and foremost, a judge should have a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree (BFA). The four years of college would expose the student to concepts, history, practical experience, and an implanted knowledge of all the elements of one's craft. Secondly, the judge should be a professional photographer whereby most of his/her income is derived from the craft of a photography related business. In other words, no semi-pro should apply. Thirdly, the judge should be certified by a professional and reputable organization such as Professional Photographers of America (PPA).

The judge should have an on-line portfolio. This affords the organizer and steering committee of the competition/exhibit to view the judge’s portfolio and make a final determination. If the judge is retired, there should still be an on-line portfolio or readily available prints. There should not be an excuse for not having a portfolio.

It was post determined in the first competition/exhibit (2009) that the judge, a retired photographer, had no verifiable references and no portfolio. For the second competition/exhibit (2010), the judge had no BFA degree, was not a member of any reputable photographic organization, and was not a professional photographer; he was a biology professor at a local college. The second judge’s on-line images consisted of the same pattern of frequent mistakes often made by non-professionals.

I tried to find a reasonable explanation as to the selection process of these two judges. Honestly, I determined that there was not any valid reason to select these particular judges on their purported merits. It became obvious that neither met the basic requirements expected of a photography judge.

Regardless of what I discovered after the fact, the second judge was kept secret and was not revealed until the competition/exhibit winners were selected. I was disappointed in the manner of the selection of judges and unfortunately, I consider both competition/exhibits to be invalid.

Simply put, neither judge selections should have been made; they were not qualified to judge.