Top tips for entering the EEF Photography Awards

Here are some useful tips if you are considering entering the EEF Photography Awards

Putting a caption on your image

When you submit a photograph you need to add caption information to the image so our judges know what they’re looking at.

You can do this after you upload or you may like to do it in advance using a caption editor, particularly the image description (up to 100 words) that goes in the caption field - this should include a title and a summary of the image.

There are a variety of caption editors available, some come with digital cameras or in photo-editing software, such as Photoshop.

There are also many free versions on the web such as irfanview

Remember to keep a copy of your image as backup

Always make a permanent backup of your master file, the exact file downloaded from your camera, ideally on a CD or external hard drive.

You may wish to prepare your entries in a photo-editing program, such as Photoshop.

Always prepare your image for the competition from a copy of the original file - so you can experiment, and always start again if you need to.

Make sure your image is large enough

An ideal size for submission is an A4 image – aim for around 2480 x 3508 pixels.

A few tips on treating the image

Remember a picture can be any shape - oblong, square, tall and thin, or panoramic - so your longest edge is about 3508 pixels.

Do not try and enlarge a small picture up to A4 for the competition, you may get pixellation.

Don't over-sharpen

Don't unintentionally over-sharpen the image unless that's what you are aiming for.

Make a copy!

Once you have finished preparing your photograph and are ready to submit your entry – make a copy to back it up!

Using a caption editor

Add Metadata (information about your photograph) this way:

IPTC Fields: Field Number - IPTC field= EEF required field

#005 - Object Name = Image Title

#055 - Created Date = Date of Capture

#085 - City = Location

#120 - Caption = Caption (Narrative under 100 words)

Category & Copyright must be selected after upload from drop down boxes.