Amateur Photographer - UK (2020-02-29)

16 29 February 2020I http://www.amateurphotographer.co.ukI subscribe 0330 333 1113

Technique PORTFOLIO TIPS

PeterHayesFRPS

ChairRPSDistinctions

Committee

Formanyphotographers,

a RoyalPhotographic

Society(RPS)Distinction

is theculminationof

months,evenyears,of

hardwork.Partofthe

attractionliesinthefact

thata successfulpanelcanleadtomore

thanjustlettersafteryourname,asPeter

HayesFRPS,ChairRPSDistinctions

Committeeexplains.‘OurDistinctions

takeyouona personaljourney,exploring

notjusttechnicalcompetencebuthowyou

wanttodevelopasa photographer.’Peter

hasseena fairfewpanelsinhistime,and

hasa clearideaofwhattheassessorsare

hopingtosee.‘Welookfora seriesof

imagesthatcommunicatea

photographer’svisionandunderstanding,’

headvises.‘Thereneedstobea themeso

eachimagetellsa storythataddstothe

overallnarrative(thisappliestoAssociate

andFellowshiplevelsonly).’Naturally,

photographersneedtodemonstratea high

leveloftechnicalability,buttheyalsoneed

touse processes that are appropriate to

TyroneMcGlinchey

Co-ownerofInternational Garden Photographer

of the Year(IGPOTY)

1 Considertheorder.Helpyourportfolio‘fl ow’byensuringthat
eachimagecomplementsthenext.Thinkabout the visual
impactthey’llhaveoncecollectivelyframed.

2 Exploreideas.Beoriginalwithyourcreativestyling.

3 Stay on brief. Stick to the theme of the competition.

Tyrone’s top tips

Attractingmorethan20,000entriesannually,
InternationalGardenPhotographeroftheYear
(IGPOTY)specialisesingarden,plant,flower
andbotanicalphotography.Asidefromregular
categoriesthereis alsoa sectionforPortfolios.
Photographersmustsubmitsiximagesthathang
togetherasa set.‘Portfoliosneedtoshowclear
originalintent,whilstatalltimeskeepingtothethemeofthe
categoryandthecompetitionatlarge,’saysTyroneMcGlinchey,
co-ownerofIGPOTY.‘We’relookingfora homogenoussetof
originalimagesthatshowclearcreativeconstruct.’But
producinga portfoliothathitsalltherightnotesis tough,and
Tyroneseesthesameerrorstimeaftertime.‘Manyofthe
portfoliosarecreatedinhomestudios,wherecontrollingthelight
canbechallenging,’hesays.‘Photographerswhochoosetoshoot
outside,ontheotherhand,oftenstruggletokeepthingsconsistent
acrosstheportfolio,duetofactorssuchastheweatherand
wildlife.’Otherfrequentblundersincludeincompleteportfolios
(submittingfiveimageswhensixarerequired),disparate
orientation/sizing(withoutgoodreason),andlosingthe‘fl ow’ofa
set by including an image that has no obvious link to the rest.

Peterandhiscolleaguesneed

tosee 15 imagesatAssociate

level,andeachoneofthem

needs to be of a high standard

© STEWART WALL

ALL PICTURES © DAVID MAITL AND/ INTERNATIONAL GARDEN PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR (IGPOT Y)