Newark & District Photographic Society

Competitions

Digital Projected Images

For Digital Projected Images submissions must conform to the following:

• JPEG only (not RAW, PSD etc.) at the highest quality (giving a typical image size of approx 400-500KB)
• sRGB profile only (see Image Preparation Guide below if you are unsure about this)
• Maximum width of 1400 pixels
• Maximum height of 1050 pixels
• Named with a combination of the section entered, your order of preference, your name, and the image title
• Submitted at least one week prior to the competition (except by agreement or where the first night of the season or new year) to the Secretary by email, accompanied by the following information:
  • Competition Date
  • Author's Name
  • Title List (identifying Section entered and order of preference)

  Entries may also be supplied on a USB pen drive or CD but bear in mind that the Secretary may not always be at the meeting prior to competition.

  Beginners must make themselves known when entering their first heat.

Image Preparation Guide

The following guide has been written for anyone who is unsure of how to ensure their images are displayed as intended (watch flash tutorial — 1.5MB).
If you have trouble with this process please approach one of the more experienced digital workers in the Society.

RAW workers may benefit from referring to the Image Preparation Guide for High Colour Depth Workflows below instead.

1. Open the image (or a duplicate if you are concerned you may accidentally overwrite the original).

2. Most digital cameras photograph in sRGB although some offer the option to select other profiles (e.g. Adobe RGB 1998).
   If you have the image already tagged as sRGB you can skip this step — otherwise choose one of the following options as appropriate:

   • If you shot in sRGB, or assigned sRGB during RAW processing, but elected not to colour manage: Assign Profile > sRGB
   • If you shot JPEGs in sRGB and have since converted to another profile, or you shot RAW and assigned a profile other than sRGB during processing:
     Convert to Profile:
     • Change the Destination Space to sRGB
     • Set the ENGINE to Adobe(ACE)
     • Set the INTENT to RELATIVE COLORMETRIC

   Colour shifts may occur if you attempt to assign a profile — other than that in which the image was created — to an untagged image or one which has been opened in an environment in which colour management is disabled.

   Untagged images entered will be assumed to be sRGB and may consequently not display as intended.

3. Step 4 may take an unreasonable amount of time and resources with layered files unless you first flatten your image:
   Layers > Flatten Image.

4. Images must be supplied with a maximum Width of 1400 pixels and maximum Height of 1050 pixels: Image > Image Size.
   Set both Width and Height unit drop-downs to pixels and make sure Constrain Proportions and Resample Image are selected.

   Document Size will have no effect, as this applies to printed as opposed to on screen output, but a Resolution of 72 pixels/inch set before specifying the Pixel Width and Height dimensions should result in a maximum document size of 493.89mm wide by 370.42mm high which can be used to confirm the other settings are correct.

5. Files must be saved as the highest possible quality JPEGs: File > Save As

   • Select JPEG as the file format
   • Choose a location to save the file to that you can remember for Step 6
   • Specify a file name made up of:
     1. Section entered, i.e. General or NH
     2. Order of preference (in case entries have to be limited)
     3. Author's name
     4. Image title (if any)
   • Set Quality to 12 and select OK to save

6. Repeat steps 1 thru 5 for each image and email these files to the Secretary (or copy files to a USB pen drive or CD and deliver to the Secretary).

Image Preparation Guide for High Colour Depth Workflows

The following guide is more appropriate if you are shooting in RAW and making extensive adjustments that might otherwise suffer from posterisation.
If you have trouble with this process please approach one of the more experienced digital workers in the Society.

1. Open the Raw file in your preferred software:

   • Specify one of the wider gamut Colour Spaces (e.g. Adobe RGB 1998) at 16 bits per channel or higher.

   • Make any necessary adjustments.

2. Open the resultant image and carry out any remaining editing; save your work.

3. Open a copy if concerned you may accidentally overwrite this, e.g. click the Create a New Document From Current State button in the History panel.

4. The steps 5 and 7 may take an unreasonable amount of time and resources unless you select the option to Flatten Image to Preserve Appearance in the Image Size dialogue, or first flatten your image: Layers > Flatten Image.

5. Images must be supplied with a maximum Width of 1400 pixels and maximum Height of 1050 pixels:

   • Crop Tool

     • The Crop Tool will also resize if you specify a Width and/or Height including units (e.g. 1400 px).

     • Resolution will have no effect, as this applies to printed as opposed to on screen output.

   • Image > Image Size

     • Set both Width and Height unit drop-downs to pixels and make sure Constrain Proportions and Resample Image are selected.

     • Document Size will have no effect, as this applies to printed as opposed to on screen output, but a Resolution of 72 pixels/inch set before specifying the Pixel Width and Height dimensions should result in a maximum document size of 493.89mm wide by 370.42mm high which can be used to confirm the other settings are correct.

   Note: Extreme resizing may produce better results if carried out at 16 Bits/Channel or higher instead of 8 Bits/Channel.

6. Images may darken slightly during resizing, whatever the Colour Depth, and in particular fine highlights may become subdued; sometimes this can be alleviated by using Bicubic Sharper but final adjustments may be necessary prior to step 7.

7. Images must be enterred as sRGB with 8 Bits per Channel, for best results carry out the following changes in the order provided:

   1. Convert to Profile:
      • Change the Destination Space to sRGB
      • Set the ENGINE to Adobe(ACE)
      • Set the INTENT to RELATIVE COLORMETRIC
   2. Reduce the Colour Depth
      • Image > Mode > 8 Bits/Channel

   Note: Colour shifts may occur if you change Colour Depth first. Some images with extreme colours may benefit from a conversion INTENT of PERCEPTUAL.

8. Files must be saved as the highest possible quality JPEGs: File > Save As

   • Select JPEG as the file format
   • Choose a location to save the file to that you can remember for Step 6
   • Specify a file name made up of:
     1. Section entered, i.e. General or NH
     2. Order of preference (in case entries have to be limited)
     3. Author's name
     4. Image title (if any)
   • Set Quality to 12 and select OK to save

9. Repeat steps 1 thru 8 for each image and email these files to the Secretary (or copy files to a USB pen drive or CD and deliver to the Secretary).