In the judge's chair: Photo tips for judging (part one)

By Anthony McKee | 7 February 2025

A while ago I dropped in on my old camera club to catch up with a few old friends. I had joined the club in 1984 soon after buying my first Nikon and I was an active member up until leaving town in the late 80s to study photography and eventually become a full-time photographer.

On this particular night I arrived in time to watch a senior club member judge a B-grade competition, with images being presented in both digital and print form.

Everything was going ok until I noticed a pattern – this judge was marking down good photographs from the print section, not because the visual concepts or the technicals were bad, but because the prints themselves had not been mounted properly on mat-board up to this judge's expectations.

Being a good judge often involves understanding the various trends and fads within photography, and recognising when someone has created something different. Photographers frequently photograph the famous Wanaka tree, but rather than capture the obvious, Dean Cooper used the bare branches of winter and rather low lake levels to capture this more thoughtful image.

I was disappointed by this, and while I should have mentioned something to the judge later over a cup of tea, I didn’t.

The fact is though, that poor matting can easily be fixed; all the judge had to do was score the print and then ask the author to remount before it was exhibited again.

Instead, this judge dismissed this work because of a factor that was totally irrelevant to the actual images.

Being asked to judge a photography competition is an honour but it is also a big responsibility; the decisions and comments you make can encourage photographers, but they can also discourage people too, particularly those struggling to find their own voice with a camera.

Part of the problem for most camera clubs is that there is no formal training process for becoming a judge. Usually a person who has won enough competitions will be tapped to judge a beginners’ competition, and if that goes well they will be asked to judge B grade and eventually open competitions. It is unlikely though, that they will ever get much guidance.

At the professional level though, competitions are usually judged by a panel of five judges; every image is scored by the five and each aggregate is then assessed by a panel chairperson.

Depending on the spread of scores, judges will then have 40 seconds each to explain why they think an image deserves to be scored higher (or lower), after which the image gets rescored. The system is not always perfect, but it does give every image a greater chance of a fair and considered score, free of any biases any one judge might have.

A new judge will typically join four experienced judges on a panel, and over time they will gain a feel for the scoring processes.

One of the joys of judging on a panel is that most judges usually have a solid knowledge of photography to draw on when evaluating work, and while judges might not always agree on a score, each judge usually walks away from a judging session feeling a little more enlightened.

The other joy of judging at the professional level is that occasionally we get to judge some absolutely stunning images; those are the moments we enjoy most as a judge.

Our job is to recognise the exceptional work and judge it in a considered and objective manner.

One important aspect of judging work is knowing (and appreciating) the various techniques used to make it. Wayne Rickard could easily have left the exposure controls on automatic, and chances are the train would have been as still-looking as that shed. By using a slow shutter speed though, he has managed to capture a dramatic sense of movement.

Now, while camera club competitions don’t often feature those same incredible photos that we often see at the professional awards, here is a thought for you – every photographer that you admire began by making their very first photograph; and at a guess, their first photos were probably no different to the photos the novice photographers in your club are already making.

What counts is the advice and encouragement a judge gives to those people.

Judging a camera club competition is actually no easier than judging a professional photography competition, in fact it is harder because the decisions have to be made by a panel of one: you.

And your job as a judge is not just to hand out prizes to your favourite photos; it should also be to help people realise their own directions as a photographer.

That is what can make judging camera club competitions really rewarding.

With that in mind, here are some pointers to help if you are ever asked to judge a photography competition in the future.

Be informed

To be a good judge, start by exploring the history of photography and the works of the great masters like Ansel Adams, Cartier-Bresson, Irving Penn, Joel Meyerowitz, Sebastião Salgado, Sarah Moon and Martin Parr, to name just a few.

Many of history’s greatest photographs were captured decades ago but they are still a benchmark for what can be achieved to this day.

Next, understand the technicals of a camera, including the effects of aperture, shutter speed, ISO, and focal length; know how to explain these controls to people so they too can improve their technique.

It will also help if you can explain postproduction, from cropping and colour management through to local tonal adjustments. Then there are the more challenging elements to explore such as light, colour harmony, composition and emotion.

Being a good judge requires more of you than simply saying “I like this photo but I don’t like that photo”; it involves qualifying your decisions, and to do that you need to be informed.

Some images can be quite complex, both in their design and messaging, and the challenge for the judges is to interpret the intent of the author. While some will be concerned that Carole Mills-Noronha cropped the head of this elderly subject in making this photo, the more discerning judges should be asking why she did this and to what effect. The clues are there for us to explore.

Don’t homogenise everything

One of the first things you should know as a judge is that everyone sees the world differently. In fact, if you take a dozen decent photographers, put them all in exactly the same situation and ask them to make a photo, you will get a dozen very different photographs.

So, why does the work of so many amateur photographers look so familiar?

Could it be that they have already been taught some preconceived ideas of what “good” photos should look like? Could it be they are making photos to suit a judge's sense of aesthetic rather than exploring their own?

As a judge, your job is not to tell people how YOU would have made the photo – it is to tell people how THEY can make their photos better. Your job is to understand what the author of an image is trying to achieve, and then give them options on what they might do next time.

Don’t teach people to be another you, encourage people to find their own unique vision and style.

As ever more complex techniques and even AI help photographers create ever more fanciful images, the one simple question a judge can ask themselves as they look at a work is “am I convinced by what I am seeing”? I think most of us realise this image by Michelle Wright is probably a construct, but by looking at the reflections of the animal in the water, and the balanced use of light, we could easily believe we are watching this ray gently float past us above the water.

Don’t just reward the basics

Most cameras now have computers built-in that manage autofocus and exposure, so you have to ask yourself, why do we reward mediocre photos simply because they are “well exposed” and “in-focus”? Is it the “every kid wins a prize” mentality?

Instead of rewarding people for something their camera does for them, explain what you like about their idea and then discuss how they might improve that image, either in a similar shooting situation or post.

Helping people understand how they can improve their photography in a kind and considered manner is far more rewarding than constantly handing out prizes for participation, and it will make a prize even more special when they do create strong images.

Judging wildlife can be a challenge. Yes, we want to reward the author for getting close enough to their subject, but we should also be looking for deeper complexities within the image too, such as we see in this image by Simone Panepinto. Note the diagonals, the second bird looking to camera and the gentle softness in the background that all provide support to the main subject.

Recognise good technique

Not every photographer uses the automatic settings on their camera, in fact some amateur photographers are very good at using the manual controls to good effect.

Learn to see when a photographer has used shallow depth of field to isolate a subject, or slowed their shutter to capture motion blur, or adjusted the exposure to create a high or low-key image.

Not every photograph captured in manual mode will be successful, but it is worth encouraging those photographers who do explore these options to keep evolving their technique.

Not every photograph you encounter will be to your liking, but as a judge your job is to explore the work, assess the elements that have gone into its creation, gauge your technical, aesthetic and emotional response to the work and then provide a score. This work is by Braedan Lovett, and was third in the Creative category of Photographer of the Year 2023.

Don’t Build Fences – Knock Down Walls!

Some judges have an exceptionally bad habit of quoting “The Rules” to an audience and instilling boundaries about how photographs “should” be made. These judges will make comments like “use the rule of thirds”, “use bright colours to catch the eye”, “keep the sun over your shoulder” and “always shoot at ISO 100”.

What these judges are really doing though, is creating boundaries much like the Venn diagrams we learnt about at high school.

Every rule you teach your audience becomes another circle on that graph until those photographers eventually find their creativity stuck in a tiny little hole on the middle of that page.

There is value in discussing the various compositional and photographic techniques, but don’t call them “rules”; some of the world’s best photographers are famous because they learnt all those rules and then went on to break them.

Look out for part two next week.