People may be confused by the number and meaning of initials that follow some people's names. This is a brief description of some of them
PAGB
To gain PAGB awards, entrants must be members of a PAGB affiliated club, as Hoylake is.
- Credit (CPAGB) – Standard: Good Club Photography – 10 images – prints or projected images
- Distinction (DPAGB) – Standard: Open Exhibition Photography – 15 images – prints or projected images
- Master (MPAGB) – Standard: Highest Standard of UK Amateur Photography – 20 images – prints or projected images
- APAGB - an award given for service to the PAGB
RPS
The Royal Photographic Society is based in the UK, but recognised internationally. To obtain the RPS levels you must join the society and maintain your membership if you wish to retain the awards. For each level you have to produce a panel of prints or projected images. The Licentiate, (LRPS), Associate (ARPS) and Fellow (FRPS) are internationally recognised. To achieve the RPS levels requires much time and is a costly business. We have members who have achieved all three levels who can help in the early stages of preparing an entry.
BPE
If you want to take your photography to a wider population, then you might consider entering some of the many competitions available. Some in Britain are part of the British Photographic Exhibitions– the BPE- through which you can gain Crown awards. For the BPE Crown awards, you need to have a specific number of images accepted in participating exhibitions.
BPE1 Crown Award – 25 points
BPE2 Crown Award – 50 points
BPE3 Crown Award – 100 points
BPE4 Crown Award – 200 points
BPE5 Crown Award – 300 points
Further acceptances and awards can lead to the ABPE and FBPE awards.
Members may want to enter international competitons. Many international competitions are recognised by one or more of the following – FIAP – Fédération Internationale de l’Art Photographique, the PSA – the Photographic Society of America or GPU the Global Photographic Union.
Some of members have BPE, PSA and FIAP letters to their name and can give advice to anyone wanting to start the process. Salons can be prints or digital and most entries are done completely online. The only disadvantage to entering is the entry fee, which varies enormously. Payment is normally by PayPal. One good place to start is our own Hoylake International Exhibition which the Club has organised since 2012
FIAP distinctions are based on the number of acceptances in FIAP recognised exhibitions together with some awards. Full description of requirements can be found here. The two basic levels are:-
AFIAP: Artist FIAP EFIAP: Excellence FIAP
Then there are distinction levels
EFIAP/b: Excellence FIAP Bronze
EFIAP/s: Excellence FIAP Silver
EFIAP/g: Excellence FIAP Gold
EFIAP/p: Excellence FIAP Platinum
EFIAP/d1: Excellence FIAP Diamond 1
EFIAP/d2: Excellence FIAP Diamond 2
EFIAP/d3: Excellence FIAP Diamond 3
An MFIAP application requires a themed portfolio of 20 prints to the most exacting standards, which will be assessed by FIAP.
GPU Awards. The GPU first started life as UPI until United Press International threatened legal action so the name was change to Global Photographic Unions
GPU’s system for CROWNs is based on points that the photographers collect from acceptances, mentions and awards in international exhibitions of any patronage and year.
GPU Crown 1: 200 pts.
GPU Crown 2: 600 pts.
GPU Crown 3: 2500 pts.
GPU Crown 4: 6000 pts.
GPU Crown 5: 15000 pts.
ACCEPTED photo or portfolio (not GPU’s patronage) = 1 pts.
Honorable Mention or Certificate (not GPU’s patronage) = 2 pts.
Medal or Trophy (not GPU’s patronage) = 4 pts.
THESE POINTS ARE DOUBLED IF THE SALONS HAVE GPU PATRONAGE:
Accepted image = 2 pts. ; HM/ Certificate = 4 pts. ; Medal/ Trophy = 8 pts
A different system of GPU TITLES based on stunning photo collections is:
Aphrodite: 2 photos from 5 different categories (out of 10 categories)
Hermes: 5 photos from 5 different categories (out of 10 categories)
Zeus: 10 photos from 5 different categories (out of 10 categories)
More information on GPU titles
PSA
Acceptances in PSA recognised exhibitions can be counted towards Stars in the 6 different divisions. Totally the acceptances in these Stars leads to the following Distinctions
QPSA – Qualification – 54 acceptances
PPSA – Proficiency – 288 acceptances
EPSA – Excellence – 700 acceptances
MPSA – Master – 1500 acceptances
MPSA2 – Master 2 – 2250 acceptances
GMPSA Grand Master – 3000 acceptances
GMPSA/b Bronze – 5000 acceptances
GMPSA/s Silver – 7000 acceptances
GMPSA/g Gold – 9000 acceptances
GMPSA/p Platinum 11000 acceptances
The above distinctions are based upon acceptances in PSA recognised exhibitions.
PORTFOLIOS
The PSA has introduced a new distinction based on portfolios of work. Portfolio distinctions are given for a body of work, Print or Digital, that reflects a photographer’s personal style and photographic interest.
BPSA (Bronze) SPSA (Silver) GPSA (Gold)