Competition Topics for 2026

• Nature due at 25 Nov 2025 Meeting - Judge’s feedback at 27 January 2026 Meeting

  • Subject definition: Images submitted must feature a natural subject such as animals, plants, or details of the earth’s natural environment. While minimal post processing such as cropping and changes to exposure and colour balance are allowed, drastic changes to the authenticity of the image such as removal of composited elements are not. Evidence of human presence are allowed provided they do not intrude on the main subject and do not interfere with the subjects natural behaviour.

• Pet Photography due at 24 February 2026 meeting - Judge’s feedback at March meeting

  • Subject definition: Images submitted must feature a pet animal as the main feature. Portraits or images which show interesting behaviours are acceptable Submission may include human subjects but the pet(s) should predominate.   

     Images of horses are permitted as entries only if they are kept as pets. This means that a horse you own primarily for companionship or personal recreation, such as riding, is considered a pet and is eligible for the competition.

    However, horses that are primarily used for commercial, sporting, or professional purposes—such as racehorses—do not qualify as pets and therefore cannot be entered into the pet photography competition.

    Examples

    ·       Eligible: A horse kept at home, enjoyed as a companion animal, or used for leisurely riding by family or friends.

    ·       Not Eligible: A racehorse or any horse kept mainly for professional racing, showing, or breeding purposes.

• Shadows due at 28 April 2026 meeting - Judge’s feedback at May meeting

  • Subject Definition: Images submitted may be of any subject featuring shadows. Images will be judged on the degree to which shadow contribute to the composition or impact of the image

• Portrait due at 23 June 2026 meeting - Judge’s feedback at July meeting

  • Subject Definition: Images submitted should feature one or more human subjects as a main feature of the composition. Portraits may vary from head and shoulders to environmental portraits. The human subject(s) must be the main point of interest.

• Open - due at 25 August 2026 meeting - Judge’s feedback at September meeting

  • Subject Definition: All genres and subjects welcome in this competition

• Photo of the Year - due at 27 October 2026 meeting = Judge’s feedback at November meeting

  • Subject Definition: Images submitted must have been entered in a previous 2026 competition. Edits from previous version are acceptable

All entries in LVCC competitions must comply with the guidelines provided by the Australian Photographic Society and endorsed by VAPS and APJA. Read the document here