Annual Changes

Each competition year may herald changes from the previous year. These are outlined here.

S4C essentially follows definitions used by the Photographic Society of America (PSA) for its exhibitions, and updates its definitions as PSA's definitiions are modified. S4C, however, restricts or clarifies these definitions where necessary to avoid confusion. Entrants to S4C competitions are advised to read the definitions and other entry requirements carefully to ensure that entered images are in conformance and are not DQed (disqualified).

Amplification to Nature Division allowance for Human-made Elements :

PSA and FIAP relaxed its rules for the appearance artifacts of human activity on the natural landscape in January 2025 as follows:

Objects created by humans, and evidence of human activity, are allowed in Nature images only when they are a necessary part of the Nature story. Additionally, human-made elements shall be permitted under the following circumstances:

• When they are an integral part of the nature story, such as a songbird singing atop a fence post, a manmade object used as nest material, or a weather phenomenon destroying a man-made structure.
  
  
• When they are a small but unavoidable part of the scene, such as an unobtrusive footprint or track in the background*. 
  
  
• Scientific tags, collars, and bands are specifically allowed.

*Note, this caveat has been greatly relaxed in 2025, both by PSA and FIAP. There are no hard rules as to what extent of evidence of human activity is allowed. The intent is that if human activity does not affect the nature story itself, then these "artifacts" of humankind should not be reason for disqualification. 

Visual Pursuits Competition Platform:

As a reminder, S4c is utilizing a new competition platform for our monthly and year-end competitions: Visual Pursuits. We will conduct six monthly competitions this year, beginning with October.

There are many videos that you can watch to learn the basics of the system. Start with an overview of Visual Pursuits, and go on from there. This 10-minute video will provide the basic details about the system. There are several video aids which  will guide you at Visual Pursuits Documentation - Software Pursuits Support Center.

To enter a competition, please use the Entrant Login link.

Please note: UENs previously assigned are no longer used. Also the following competitions have been discontinued: Creative, Arranged Color, Arranged Monochrome, and Photo Travel.

The individual entrant pages from the previous system are no longer available.