FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
FAQ for new CTPS members
CREDIT: Neels Beyers
What happens now that I have joined CTPS?
You will receive an email welcoming you to CTPS and giving you some basic information about meetings and contact details. You will also receive a welcoming letter from the competitions convenor, who may ask you to submit 6 of your best images so that you can be placed in a ranking category in which you can enter photos for competitions.
Why do I need a club ranking?
Members enter their images in the monthly club competition in five rankings: Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced and Salon (senior). In 2016/17 a fifth category, Master, was introduced – but a member must re-apply to be a Master every year, while with the other four, the highest ranking achieved is kept indefinitely. Click here for full details.
What do the club rankings mean?
During the monthly club competitions a judge gives each image a score out of 30. Depending on the members’ ranking, he/she is awarded gold, silver or bronze, or no award. See table below for criteria for each award per category:
| Gold | Silver | Bronze | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salon and Master | 24 | 20 | 16 |
| Advanced | 22 | 18 | 14 |
| Intermediate | 20 | 16 | 12 |
| Beginner | 18 | 14 | 10 |
Master status requires 10 CTPS gold awards and 10 national salon acceptances per year to achieve the award. Click here for monthly competition results.
How can I enter competitions?
After you have been allocated a ranking, the competitions convenor will send you information on how to create a profile on Photovault and upload your images for club competitions, salons etc. Visit our competition pages for information on how to enter and to familiarise yourself with the rules.
What is E & D?
Our Education & Development (E&D) evenings are held every third Wednesday of the month and offer members the opportunity to learn from experts who share their experience or knowledge. Click here for planned E&D activities and forthcoming speakers.
 Where do I find out more about CTPS?
You can find a summary of the society’s history on the About page of the website. The constitution can also be downloaded from this page.
Where do I find information about activities?
CTPS has four sources of information for members:Â
Our website is a valuable source of long-term information about the what, where and when of all CTPS activities, rules, constitution and history.
Cape Camera is our monthly digital newsletter that can be read online or downloaded from our website. News about all CTPS activities during the month, as well as forthcoming activities and events, are
covered in the newsletter.
Snapshot is a short online newsletter that provides information and reminders about upcoming activities. It is usually emailed to members weekly or as the need arises.
The CTPS Facebook group is an interactive forum for members where interesting information and useful photographic tips from the world’s top photographers are shared. This is an invaluable resource for any member wishing to improve their photographic skills. To join, find Cape Town Photographic Society on Facebook, and click join. It is a
closed group and if you have joined as a member, the administrator, Steff Hughes, will allow you access.
What is the PSSA?
The Photographic Society of South Africa (PSSA) was founded in 1954 to represent the interests of photographers and clubs across the country. CTPS is one of the 93 South African clubs affiliated to the association, which means that the club can enter into
PSSA competitions. Members can also join the PSSA individually. See more on their website under the tab Join Us.
What are salons?
Clubs can apply to the PSSA to host a salon where they invite all South African photographers (if it is a national salon) or from across the world (an international salon) to submit photos in specific categories. Entrants pay a small fee per photo submitted. These are then awarded scores and about 25% of the images entered in each category are awarded an acceptance in the salon. The top 10% of these are rewarded a certificate of merit, and the winner in each category receives the PSSA silver medal. Â