2018 Brazos County Contest Rules and Guidelines OBJECTIVES • To develop life skills in composition, light, story line, posing, and awareness. • To gain knowledge about , settings, photography dimension and resolution. • To encourage 4-H members to use photography as a meaningful communication tool in their lives. • To provide photography project showcase opportunity for senior 4-H members. • To continue to share the message of 4-H. • To utilize which promote and strengthen the 4-H program.

CONTEST CATEGORIES: Animals – Domestic Landscape & Nature (non-animal) Animals – Wildlife Motion/Action Catch-All People Details & Macro Plant/Flora Dominant Sports Elements of Design Theme – “Backyard” Enhanced Travel & Place Food

RESOURCES • Adventures with Your Camera – B (Grades 6 to 9) (Available from National 4-H Council Supply) • 4-H Guide to by Daniel Johnson. (Availab le from Amazon.com) • Digital Photography for Teens by Marc Campbell and Dave Long (Available from Amazon.com) • Free picture resizer: http://freepicresizer.com • Texas 4-H Youth Development Photography Project Resource Page located on the 4-H website. Any reference to a product or company is not to endorse or support them and their causes. Links to companies are provided for their educational resources only.

RULES AND GUIDELINES The Brazos County Photography contest is open to all enrolled 4-H members age 8 and in the 3rd grade Participation Grades through 18 years as of September 1, 2017. Exhibitors will be divided into age categories of Junior, Intermediate, and Senior levels. • Juniors Grades 3, 4, 5 (ages 8-10) • Intermediates Grades 6, 7, 8 (ages 11-13) • Seniors Grades 9, 10, 11, 12 (ages 14-18)

All photographs must have been taken by 4-H members between the dates of January 1, 2017 and the time Photo Eligibility of entry. Photos may be submitted only one time and in only one category to the Brazos County photography contest. Photo Size/Format Must be .jpeg, .jpg, or .gif. Photo must be a minimum of 300 dpi quality resolution. Size: Must be 3:2 (4”X6”) or 5:4 (8”x10”) ratio (either landscape or portrait). Size: Photo may not be larger than 5120KB (5MB).

Number of Entries An exhibitor may have only one entry per category – limited to a total of 6 entries per exhibitor. A single photo cannot be entered in multiple categories.

A fee of $1.00 per picture must accompany the Photo Submission Form brought to the County Extension Entry Fee office. Exact cash, check or money order payable to Brazos Adult Leaders. Negatives Entrants must be able to provide original photo file, transparencies, negative, disk or print if requested.

Judging Judges will determine the placing. Their decision on all entries is final.

Entries must be online (Shutterfly) and Photo Submission Form with payment must arrive in the Brazos Entry Period County Extension Office by February 5, 2018 by 4:00 pm. Late Entries will be accepted until February 12, 2018 by 4:00 pm at 10 times the entry fee, or $10 per .

The Brazos County Photography Committee reserves the right to refuse inappropriate or unsuitable Refusal Rights entries. Photographs must not be offensive, degrading, racist, or contain of any form.

Alterations: Although slight computer enhanced photos are allowed, such as crop, trimming, adjusting Alterations & lighting, and red eye reduction; substantially altered photography, such as changing or applying Text usage design styles, using computer graphics will disqualify an entry. Any other alteration, manipulation, edits, to a photo would require the photo to be entered into the Enhanced category. Text on Photographs: Photographs MUST NOT contain camera or user placed text. This includes such things as date stamps, comments, or titles. Text or wording that is part of the photograph (i.e. photo of a street sign, etc.) is acceptable.

Entry must be the original photographic work of the 4-H member and not a photo taken by family Original Work of 4-H member members, other 4-H members, or secured from any other printed/electronic source. Any photo proven to be found as not original work will result in disqualification of ALL the 4-H member’s entries into the Photography Contest. Awards and Blue, Red, and White quality awards will be given to entries. Participants’ photographs will be awarded Recognition during County Round Up. Quality ribbons and score sheets may be mailed after the event.

Judging Criteria: Photographers entering the Brazos County Photography contest should be mindful of the criteria used in judging entries. Participants should use the following criteria as guidelines:

Impact Impact is the sense one gets upon viewing an image for the first time. Compelling images evoke laughter, sadness, anger, pride, wonder or another intense emotion. There can be impact in any of these twelve elements.

Creativity Creativity is the original, fresh, and external expression of the imagination of the maker by using the medium to convey an idea, message or thought.

Technical Technical is the quality of the image itself as it is presented for viewing, which includes the following aspects: •allowable amounts of retouching and adjustments (removal of red eye, cropping, minor straightening) •sharpness and correct . •lighting, which includes the use and control of light. The use of lighting whether natural or man-made and its proper use to enhance the image. •posing and capturing of the image.

Composition Composition is important to the design of an image, bringing all of the visual elements together in concert to express the purpose of the image. Proper composition holds the viewer in the image and prompts the viewer to look where the creator intends. Effective composition can be pleasing or disturbing, depending on the intent of the image maker.

Subject Matter Subject Matter should always be appropriate to the story being told (i.e. category the photo is entered into) in an image. Subject matter also includes the center of interest for the photograph or where the maker wants the viewer to stop and they view the image.

Story Telling Story Telling refers to the image’s ability to evoke imagination. One beautiful thing about art is that each viewer might collect his own message or read her own story in an image.

CATEGORIES

ANIMALS - DOMESTIC Description Examples Photos focusing on the various animals that • Dogs/Cats • Hamsters have been tamed and made fit for a human • Sheep/Goats • Horse environment. To be considered domesticated, the animal must have their behavior, life cycle, • Pig • Goose/Ducks (domestic use) or physiology systemically altered as a result of • Cow being under human control for many generations. • Chicken

ANIMALS - WILDLIFE Description What is NOT Allowed Examples Category focuses on animals not tamed or Photos taken through glass. • Deer domesticated and commonly found in the • Snakes wilderness or the bodies of water throughout the • Birds country and world. Photos can be of wildlife in • Elephants nature, zoos, and/or petting zoos. • Whales CATCH-ALL Description What is NOT Allowed Examples Category for photos that DO NOT CLEARLY FIT Do not submit a photo in this category • Polaroid image & emulsion into one of the other categories. which can clearly be submitted in transfers another photography category. • Still-life • Long zoomed images Catch-all is not intended for the use • Painting with light to eliminate duplicate photos from multiple 4-H members. DETAILS & MACRO Description Examples Getting in close is the name of the game for this • Insects category. We welcome pictures of small details • Coins that suggest a larger story. This is also the place • Clocks for macro photographs (although a macro image • Stamps of a flower might equally go into the Flowers • Ice Crystals category). DOMINANT COLOR Description Examples Photos with a dominant color. The dominant • Bowl of lemons, in a yellow bowl, on top of a yellow table covering, with a element in the image must be a specific color, bright yellow tone sun lighting on it. such as red, yellow, blue, white, black, white, green, etc. Black & White photos, duotones, are excluded from this category. ELEMENTS OF DESIGN Description What is NOT Allowed Examples Images use of graphic elements of design. Graphic design illustrations made in a • Perspective Photos that showcase line, shape, pattern, form, program such as Adobe Photoshop or • Line texture, perspective, etc. Photo can consist of Illustrator. Digital creations DO NOT • Pattern any subject matter. Category is not for graphic qualify in this category. • Shape illustrations made in commercial programs (i.e. Adobe Illustrator®) nor for extreme digital creations.

ENHANCED Description Examples A single photo that has been technically • Photoshop® composites and creations manipulated to be an abstract, panoramic, • Images greatly manipulated with a variety of filters stitched, or composite images. Others • Photos with artistic borders variations are allowed as well. • Photos stitched into a panoramic FOOD Description What is NOT Allowed Examples Category is a still life specialization of No photos of alcohol beverages are Thanksgiving dinner, cakes/pies, photography, aimed at producing attractive allowed! fruits and place settings, Easter eggs, photographs of food for use in such items of sandwiches, ingredients, etc. advertisements, packaging, menus and/or cookbooks. LANDSCAPE & NATURE (NON-ANIMAL) Description What is NOT Allowed Examples The focus of this category includes landscapes, Photos which primary subject is wildlife • Landscapes/Gardens outdoor scenes, nature images, sunsets, urban or person. • Scenes landscapes, seascapes, cityscapes, and farms. • Outdoors Images focus on the beauty of the outdoors. MOTION / ACTION Description What is NOT Allowed Examples The capture of movement within a single photo. Photos which would clearly fit into • Horse Running across field/pasture another category, such as sports. • Ferris Wheel Spinning PEOPLE Description NOTE: Examples Photos focus from all walks of life, parenting and All individuals in the photos must have • Babies family, children, babies, models/fashion, sports, provided consent and permission as a • Kids and couples. subject. If requested, a release will be • Families needed from the photographer and • Models/Fashion subject. PLANT/FLORA Description Examples Photos of interesting, unique, and beautiful • Rose(s) flowers and flora. Photography can occur • An upward shot of a tree outdoors or indoors. Photo subject should • A flower bouquet be that of a single flower, plant, bush, tree, etc. Large collections of plant/flora should be considered for entry into the Nature & Landscape category. SPORTS Description Examples Photo that captures individual or team sports. • Gymnast Can be either professional or amateur (human) • Football player or team and the focus could be on the sportsperson, the • Swimming sport environment, the effort expended, or the • Rodeo contestant conflict/rewards. Must reflect a strong message. THEME Description What is NOT Allowed Examples Theme photo focuses on a subject announced Photos should not be of ranch • Kids swinging and outlined in the contest rules and guidelines. rangeland, but focus on immediate • Swimming pool For 2017-2018 the theme is “BACKYARD”. This outside area of one’s house. • Person mowing yard creative category will feature photos what one • Garden/Flower Beds would see when stepping out your back door.

TRAVEL & PLACE This category includes images that express What is NOT Allowed Examples the joys and adventures of travel photography, Photos in the travel and place • Disney World/Land showcasing place as an important part of the category cannot be entered into other • Roman Ruins photo. categories (landscape & nature), but • Great Wall of China may be similar, however, photos in this This category can include historic buildings, category must depict traveling and ruins, islands, any subject you might encounter experiencing other parts of the world. while traveling, as long as the photo expresses a sense of PLACE.

PROPER ENTRY OF PHOTOS: Each entry must be submitted online and using the Photo Submission Form in this packet. Include the following information to ensure proper entry. Some information will be based on the age division and category entered.

Steps for submitting your digital photos online:

1. Set up a Shutterfly account if you don’t already have one. It’s simple & FREE! Shutterfly has recently made updates so make sure that you have an updated account, if not you can call and request your account be updated. a. Go to http://www.shutterfly.com/?esch=1 b. Click on “sign up” & follow the steps.

2. To the right of where it says My Photos click the upload button

3. Click “select files”

4. Select photos that you want to upload

5. Create an album just for this year’s photo contest

6. Once you see your photos in the album double click the photo and where it says “people” click the add button, insert your name and if you are in the Junior, Intermediate or Senior division. In the tags area put your category, caption, and title. Make sure you click the “save” button after you type in your information.

7. Once you are finished adding text to all of your photos, in the top left corner of each picture click the check mark and at the bottom left click share insert [email protected] In the message please insert 4-Hers name.

DISQUALIFICATIONS OF ENTRIES:

Entries that do not follow the rules, division and class guidelines or any general guidelines will automatically be disqualified. Disqualifications forfeit all entry fees. A general form letter specifying reason(s) for disqualification will be returned together with photo. Reasons for disqualification: • Information incomplete. • Entered into incorrect age division and/or category. • Same photo entered into multiple age divisions and/or categories. No signature(s). • Entry fee not paid or only partial fee paid. • Inappropriate or unsuitable photograph. • More than one entry in an age division and/or category. • For photos – not a true black and white photo.

The members of Texas A&M AgriLife provide equal opportunities in programs and activities, education, and employment to all persons regardless of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation or gender identity and will strive to achieve full and equal employment opportunity throughout Texas A&M AgriLife. The Texas A&M University System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas Cooperating

BRAZOS COUNTY 4-H PHOTOGRAPHY SUBMISSION FORM

Complete form & turn in with payment

Name: ______Club: ______

Age Division (check one): O Junior O Intermediate O Senior

# Category Title 1 2 3 4 5 6  $1 per photo (limit 6) - Entrant responsible for fees. Bring exact cash or check to the county extension office payable to: Brazos Adult Leaders Fee Total: ______

The members of Texas A&M AgriLife provide equal opportunities in programs and activities, education, and employment to all persons regardless of race, color, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, sexual orientation or gender identity and will strive to achieve full and equal employment opportunity throughout Texas A&M AgriLife. The Texas A&M University System, U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the County Commissioners Courts of Texas Cooperating