So, you would like to judge a
photo competition (click this link for a
definition), perhaps for a local camera club!?
My
immediate reaction is: "Great!!, we need more people like you!"
But
with judging, like most things in life,
there is a right and a wrong way. If done right, your judging will be seen
as fair to competition participants (even by those getting low scores) and
helpful to the club or organization. If done
improperly, it may appear unfair or biased. You might not get invited back and
may even be put on the organization's "black list of bad
judges" :-( !!
This brings to mind an
amusing incident at my local camera club's
monthly photo competition
some 13 years ago. Color slides were being evaluated by our invited judge
for the evening, and a slide appeared showing skeletal remains at the ruins of Pompeii.
Someone piped up with, "That's what we did to our last judge!", and
there were howls of audience laughter for the next half minute. It sure
broke the tension of the evening, but I can't remember if the judge's scores
went up or down in response!
I have been both judge
and participant at amateur photo competitions over the last 15 years. At my
camera club (Delaware
County Camera Club), the perennial topic of conversation following our monthly competition
has almost always been how great or
how lousy a job the judge did. From this compendium of gripes,
complaints, praises, likes and dislikes, I've formed my version of the
"ideal" judge.
If you pursue photography as a hobby or profession and know what
makes a good photo, then theoretically you are "qualified"
to be a judge.
However, it takes more than this to judge well, and not all great
photographers make even competent judges. I have
discovered that many of the "additional" qualities needed can be acquired through
1) proper mental preparation prior to judging and 2) an awareness of the
pitfalls and excesses to be avoided.
This
humble accumulated wisdom of mine is now summarized in the following list of
Commandments for Good
Judging. Though some of them may sound obvious, I'm amazed at how many active
judges are oblivious to many of these rules!
Camera club competitions
share at least some of the
following characteristics: They are usually held in the evenings,
and the invited judge (or panel of judges) often has not seen the
images to be judged before arriving. He/she/they will sit up front
commenting on and scoring slides and prints before an audience of
club members which includes those participating in the competition. Needless to say, such an
event can be a harrowing experience to the first-time judge. This
website will hopefully help in this regard. It can also be
applied, at least in part, to judging at other types of photo competitions such as
exhibitions, salons, and contests held by non-photographic
organizations.