LRPS success
AYWMCer Karen Brickley was awarded her LRPS in October. She has very kindly written about the process and the assessment day so that if you are considering going for a distinction with the RPS you can learn from her experience. She had such a strong panel that the RPS have used it on their site as an example of what a successful LRPS looks like.
One of the things she said that struck me in particular is this: you might find yourself changing the way you shoot in order to create a panel that fits the RPS’s criteria, and you might end up choosing shots that aren’t your favourites for your final submission. As with all competition or judged processes it’s easier for you if you accept this rather than fighting the system.
Follow Karen on Instagram @KarenBrickleyPhoto and on the AYWMC app @karenbrickley.
If you are thinking about going for it in 2020, take plenty of notes. This is what Karen Brickley, LRPS had to say:
Before the day
Panels have to be submitted at least 14 days in advance. I sent mine in by courier, others were sent in by post or hand delivered, including one lady who drove from Canterbury to Bristol and back in a day as she left choosing her final image to the last minute!
The RPS send an e-mail confirming receipt.
About 10 days beforehand I received a second email, my panel would be up first. Yikes! At least it would be over quickly and I could concentrate on picking up tips from the other panels.
On the day
The emails give details/links of how to get to the venue. We chose to park in the nearby Sainsburys car park using yourparkingspace.co.uk . This was less than 10 minutes walk away, although the venue was not the easiest to find using Google maps.
Everyone gathers in reception - lots of nervous chatter/tense silence - before being taken through to the auditorium, roughly 20 rows of 10 seats across and the hanging rails at the front. These were lit from above but the lighting wasn’t too harsh. The assessors are on the front row; five plus a trainee (whose vote didn’t count). There was also an RPS representative sitting to the side.
Proceedings started with the chairperson (who did not vote) introducing the assessors, explaining what would happen (no photos allowed) and quickly discussing a successful panel which was on display (I can’t remember a single picture from this panel, nerves must have started kicking in…)
Then my panel was brought out.
The assessors sit looking at the panel as a whole for less than a minute, then all rise and step forward and examine the shots more closely, picking them up to see better, stepping back and stepping forward. This takes a couple of minutes.
They all sit down and the chairperson asks for an initial vote. This is done by showing a red or green card. A majority vote is enough for success, the vote need not be unanimous. The row of seats behind the assessors was empty so no one in the audience could see how they were voting.
Next the chairperson invites two of the assessors to talk about the panel; heart starts beating a bit faster. There were nice comments about the panel overall - shows a range of techniques/shutter speeds/apertures/viewpoints/lenses used. The speaker likes the triangle of blue in the middle and the colours overall. There could be more detail in the front of the windmill and in the trousers/suitcase of the man in front of the train. The 10th shot is a bit flat.
The second assessor agrees with the first and doesn’t add much too much more. The chairperson asks if anyone else would like to comment, one of them steps up to say how much he enjoyed the panel (a comment he echoed about a number of the other panels) and how well he felt the train and canal shot bookended the bottom row.
Time for a second vote, the one that counts. Vote over, the chairperson asks if I am in the room and says that they will be recommending the panel, profuse surprised thanks from me and a round of applause. Somehow I had done it. The whole process took about 10 minutes.
There were 14 panels assessed during the morning, 3 of which were resubmissions with between one and three shots being individually assessed, together with how they fitted into the panel as a whole. All of these were recommended, for one lady it was her fourth attempt so she was delighted.
11 of the panels (so 8 of the first time submissions) were recommended and 3 were not, having at least one shot that was not deemed to be up to standard.
Things that caused the panel not to be recommended were:
Taking down blown highlights so that they were grey. This was done on the window used for a “shaft of light” shot. The shot was also somewhat oversaturated and overly busy. Interestingly a similar shot with no work done on the window was deemed fine. It was in black and white and had a much more simple composition as well.
Portraits with distracting highlights, overly harsh lighting and indecisive cropping.
A night shot of a cathedral with a bright street lamp in front, over processing a black and white shot and cutting off the legs of animals.
If the panel was not recommended then the assessors completed a feedback form, to help the panellist. All the shots that are up to standard can be “banked” for the next attempt. I saw later that I had received an e-mail very soon after my panel was assessed so you get some feedback quickly even if you can’t attend.
There was a fair amount of debate over some of the panels. The assessors did not always agree, sometimes it was clear that the assessors were swayed by another’s opinion. Most of the panels had some minor faults but these were deemed acceptable and did not prevent them being recommended.
The things that caused the most concern were:
Oversaturated colours.
Perceived colour casts.
Distracting highlights. This was picked up in one shot with a candle in front of a statue, another assessor argued that there was detail in the candle flame and that it was necessary to understand the light in the shot. After a second look several of the other assessors agreed and the panel was recommended.
Lack of variety of techniques.
Repetition of techniques.
Inconsistent monochrome tones.
Not using the appropriate depth of field.
There were several panels that included a number of really creative shots, much braver than me. These included ICM, use of textures, multiple exposures, collage type shots; in general these were welcomed, as long as they displayed a desired technique.
Most panels were printed on lustre paper, one was on gloss paper and this worked with the shots chosen, and was commented on. One included two shots printed on art paper, again this suited the shots and was remarked upon and accepted.
Most shots were printed at about A4 size in generous mounts (500 by 400 ish), usually white or ivory. A few had smaller shots/mounts – the assessors were happy with these but they were difficult for the audience to see.
The majority of the panels were two rows of five with a few presented in three rows where it suited the panel – monochrome/colour or different genres.
Most panels had a mix of orientations and were broadly symmetrical in terms of aperture size/shape.
At the end of the session the panels were brought to the front of the auditorium for collection.
Overall impression
It was not as scary as I expected; everyone was friendly and welcoming. The whole procedure ran very smoothly. The audience was appreciative of everyone’s efforts, I certainly only heard positive comments. The assessors worked hard – they had a lot to take in and assimilate in a short time and I felt they were fair and reasonable. The amount of debate between the assessors was encouraging and they were more accepting of the more creative type shots than I expected. That said I think this type of photograph could still be risky if not very well executed.
One of our community managers, Judith White, has also written about her LRPS experience and you can read her advice here: How to start your LRPS.
You might also enjoy:
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If you still struggle with the basics of photography and feel that your LRPS is a long way off, join my free beginner’s workshop here and you’ll be off auto and creating the photos you can see in your head before you know it:
