Rules

DATA PROTECTION
By entering this exhibition, you are explicitly consenting to the personal details you have supplied, including email addresses, being held, processed and used by the exhibition organizers for purposes associated with this exhibition. You also explicitly consent to such information being sent to organizations that have accorded official recognition, patronage or accreditation to this exhibition. You
acknowledge and accept that entering this exhibition means that the status and results of your entry may be made public.

SUBJECT MATTER AND SECTION DEFINITIONS

”Statement on Subject Matter – applicable to all sections The fundamental rule that must be observed at all times and applies to all sections offered in exhibitions with PSA recognition is that the welfare of living creatures is more important than any photograph. This means that practices such as baiting of subjects with a living creature and removal of birds from nests, for the purpose of obtaining a photograph, are highly unethical, and such photographs are not allowed in any exhibition with PSA recognition. Under no circumstances may a living creature be placed in a situation where it will be killed, injured or stressed for the purpose of obtaining a photograph. Images that show live creatures being fed to captive animals, birds or reptiles are not permitted under any circumstances. There are also concerns about the use of aerial photography, drones, helicopters, low flying aircraft. These should not cause any interference with other individuals or animals which causes a disturbance in their normal activity or disrupt the way any individuals or animals interact with their environment. Entrants in PSA recognized exhibitions should comply with all relevant laws and regulations, associated with aerial photography, in the country in which the image was taken. Entry into PSA recognized exhibitions is conditional on accepting these policies. The content of images must comply with the General Conditions and with the Division and Section definitions listed in these conditions. Images that – in the sole opinion of the judges- do not comply, will be disqualified so the entrant may be aware of the problem when considering entry into other exhibitions with PSA recognition.”

”Non-compliance See the PSA Ethics Policy at  https://psa-photo.org/page/ethical-practices. See the PSA statement on Subject Matter at https://psa-photo.org/page/division-definitions If, in the discretion of the exhibition organizer or the judges, an entrant has submitted that may fail to comply with these Conditions of Entry, they are allowed to request unedited or raw files of the submitted image. For composite images all files are required. Exhibition organizers may verify that: a) the images are the original work of the entrant b) the images comply with the rules and definitions as set out in these ES-COE Such entries may be referred to PSA for further investigation of possible ethics violations. PSA retains the right to investigate all complaints, impose penalties if deemed necessary, void the acceptances of any image found to violate the PSA rules, include the entrant’s name on the list of sanctions provided to Exhibitions, and share such investigations with FIAP. Entrants automatically agree to these terms by the act of entering the Exhibition and agree to cooperate with any investigation. If another party is processing and/or submitting images on the entrant’s behalf, the entrant will still be held responsible for adhering to the entry rules and will be subject to penalties for any violations to these Conditions of Entry or to PSA’s Statement of Ethics. NOTICE: When entrants fills in the Entry Form to submit an entry they will see the following feature to affirm they have read these Conditions of Entry “I hereby confirm that I have read and understood and agree to the Conditions of Entry of this exhibition. I have read and understood the PSA document to be found at https://psa-photo.org/resource/resmgr/pdf/exhibitions_/exhibition-entrants-agreemen.pdf . I am aware that PSA may apply penalties for non-compliance to these Conditions of Entry” Failure to agree will mean that the application will not proceed.’ 

Monochrome images may not be entered in color sections of PID.

Editing Guidelines for Nature, Photojournalism and Photo Travel
These sections require images to be truthful records, so there are limits on the amount of manipulation allowed.

Editing Guidelines
Processing or editing must be limited to making the image look as close to the original scene as possible, except that conversion to grayscale monochrome is allowed.

Allowed editing techniques:

• Cropping, straightening and perspective correction.
• Removal or correction of elements added by the camera or lens, such as dust spots, noise, chromatic aberration and lens distortion.
• Global and selective adjustments such as brightness, hue, saturation and contrast to restore the appearance of the original scene.
• Complete conversion of color images to grayscale monochrome.
• Blending of multiple images of the same subject and combining them in camera or with software (exposure blending or focus stacking);
• Image stitching – combining multiple images with overlapping fields of view that are taken consecutively (panoramas);

Editing techniques that are not allowed:

• Removing, adding to, moving or changing any part of an image, except for cropping and straightening.
• Adding a vignette during processing.
• Blurring parts of the image during processing to hide elements in the original scene.
• Darkening parts of the image during processing to hide elements in the original scene.
• All conversions other than to complete grayscale monochrome.
• Conversion of parts of an image to monochrome, or partial toning, desaturation or over-saturation of color

PSA/FIAP Nature Definition

• Nature photography records all branches of natural history except anthropology and archaeology. This includes all aspects of the physical world, both animate and inanimate, that have not been made or modified by humans.
• Nature images must convey the truth of the scene that was photographed. A well-informed person should be able to identify the subject of the image and be satisfied that it has been presented honestly and that no unethical practices have been used to control the subject or capture the image. Images that directly or indirectly show any human activity that threatens the life or welfare of a living organism are not allowed.
• The most important part of a Nature image is the nature story it tells. High technical standards are expected and the image must look natural.
• Objects created by humans, and evidence of human activity, are allowed in Nature images only when they are a necessary part of the Nature story.
• Photographs of human-created hybrid plants, cultivated plants, feral animals, domesticated animals, human-created hybrid animals and mounted or preserved zoological specimens are not allowed.
• Images taken with subjects under controlled conditions, such as zoos, are allowed.
• Controlling live subjects by chilling, anesthetic or any other method of restricting natural movement for the purpose of a photograph is not allowed.

PSA Photo Travel Definition
A Photo Travel image is a portrayal of the real world we live in, as it is found naturally. There are no geographic limitations.

Content guidance:

• If the image is predominantly or exclusively a land-, sea- or cityscape, these “scapes” must include characteristic, distinctive and recognizable physical features, although it is not necessary that the image identify the exact location;
• Images that predominantly or exclusively depict people and their activities must illustrate a distinctive culture of a country, region, or continent;
• Images that predominately or exclusively depict animal populations are allowed, if the animals are in their native environment and are characteristic of that country, region, or continent;
• Portraits or other close-ups of people or objects, in addition to meeting the above paragraphs as applicable, must include elements depicting some of the surrounding environment to make it obvious that the image was not taken in a studio setting;
• Images from events or activities arranged for photography, or of subjects directed or hired for photography, are NOT allowed.
• Time exposures are allowed, if they do not dominate the image as a special effect (star trails, for example, are a dominating effect).
• Highly distorted images such as those produced by fish eye lenses are NOT allowed.

 Attention is drawn to the PSA Statement on Subject Matter which applies to all sections and to the Editing Guidelines for Nature, Photojournalism and Photo Travel

BREACHES OF RULES

FIAP:
The mention that by the sole act of submitting his/her images or files to a salon under FIAP Patronage, the entrant accepts without exception and with no objection the following terms: – that the submitted images can be investigated by FIAP to establish if these obey to
FIAP regulations and definitions even if the entrant is not a member of FIAP, – that FIAP will use any means at its disposal for this undertaking, – that any refusal to cooperate with FIAP or any refusal to submit the original files as captured by the camera, or failure to provide sufficient evidence, will be sanctioned by FIAP, – that in case of sanctions following the non compliance with FIAP regulations, the name of the entrant will be released in any form useful to inform the breaches of the rules. It is recommended to leave the EXIF data in the
submitted files intact in order to ease eventual investigations. If, at any time, it is determined in the reasonable discretion of the exhibition organizer or the judges before, during, or after the judging of an exhibition that an entrant has submitted entries where one or more images may fail to comply with these Conditions of Entry, including the stated definitions, the exhibition organizers reserve the right
to delete the entry from the exhibition and void any or all acceptances or awards in connection with the exhibition. Fees may be forfeited or refunded in these circumstances. The entrant acknowledges that the decision of the exhibition organizers or the judges is final

PSA
If, at any time, it is determined in the reasonable discretion of the exhibition organizer or the judges before, during, or after the judging of an exhibition that an entrant has submitted entries where one or more images may fail to comply with these Conditions of Entry, including the stated definitions, the exhibition organizers reserve the right to delete the entry from the exhibition and void any or all acceptances or awards in connection with the exhibition. Fees may be forfeited or refunded in these circumstances. The entrant acknowledges that the
decision of the exhibition organizers or the judges is final In order to ensure that images comply with the Conditions of Entry and definitions, the exhibition organizers may carry out reasonable measures to verify that:
a) the images are the original work of the entrant and
b) the images comply with the rules and definitions as set out in these Conditions of Entry
These steps include, but are not limited to, questioning any entrant, requiring the submission of RAW files or other digital files representing the original capture of the submitted image(s), confronting the entrant with evidence that one or more submitted images fails to comply with the Conditions of Entry (also known as Entry Rules), and offering the entrant a reasonable opportunity to provide counter evidence to refute the exhibition organizer’s evidence by a set deadline.
Such entries that are not cleared or are still questionable after the entrant has presented evidence may be considered in breach of these Conditions of Entry, and declined. Such entries may be referred to PSA for further investigation of possible ethics violationsPSA retains the right to investigate in any way all complaints/suspicions of breaches of entry conditions, impose sanctions if deemed necessary, void the acceptances of any image found to violate the PSA rules, include the entrant’s name on the list of sanctions provided to Exhibitions, and share such investigations with FIAP. Entrants automatically agree to these terms by the act of entering the Exhibition and agree to cooperate with any investigation.
If another party is submitting images on the entrant’s behalf, the entrant will still be held responsible for adhering to these Conditions of Entry (Entry Rules) and will be subject to sanction for any violations to these Conditions of Entry and PSA’s Statement of Ethics that may result. If another party is processing images for an entrant or submitting images on the entrant’s behalf, the entrant will still be held responsible for adhering to all Conditions of Entry including the specific conditions in the relevant definitions

FIAP document 033/2021

FIAP NOTICE: In order to have legal authority on those who do not respect the rules of FIAP, the organiser must make sure that all participants of an online event under FIAP Patronage tick a box next to which the following text is stated:
“I hereby expressly agree to FIAP document 018/2017 « Conditions and regulations for FIAP Patronage » and FIAP document 033/2021« Sanctions for breaching FIAP regulations and the red list ». I am particularly aware of chapter II « Regulations for International photographic events under FIAP patronage » of FIAP document 018/2017, dealing under Section II.2 and II.3 with the FIAP
participation rules, the sanctions for breaching FIAP regulations and the red list.”

PSA NOTICE: When an entrant fills in the Entry Form to submit an entry the entrant will see a feature to affirm he or she has read these Conditions of Entry when he or she fills out the entry form. If the entrant does not so affirm the entry will not be submitted