PAGB Awards Applying

Why not try for a PAGB Award, now with two NEW levels - BPAGB, CPAGB, DPAGB, EPAGB, MPAGB. 

These distinctions are only available to members of PAGB Affiliated Clubs (all SPF Member Clubs). If you are looking for a challenge, or you would like to see how your photography measures against others throughout the UK, then this is an alternative way to the RPS / BPE / FIAP for you to achieve some letters after your name. You do not have to produce work as a panel, just have the required number of photos at the level you are applying for.

You can enter in Prints or as Projected Digital Images, but you’re advised to go in the medium you are best at. NB - Print workers who enter in PDIs are regularly disappointed due to over contrasty or over sharpened images, PDIs are not easier. You should only enter in PDI if you can see your work projected regularly on fully calibrated equipment on an 8’ screen. The NEW BPAGB and EPAGB levels are in Prints only at this time.

You only pay on applying and you don’t require to pay membership to keep your Award once you have been successful. If you do well in your own club, or if your work is selected for Inter-club or SPF competitions, or you enter nationals/internationals then you’re already part way there.

For full details as an SPF PDF document (click here) (Jun 2024) also see PAGB Leaflet 1 (Dec 2023) (click here) and PAGB Leaflet 1 Supplement FAQ (Jan 2024) (click here) or visit the downloads area below.

All you need to know about the PAGB Awards for Photographic Merit is given below, or (click here) for full details as an SPF PDF document (also available from the downloads area above).

In addition to this 'FIVE STAGE' process section please see the 'More About the Five Levels of Awards' - BPAGB - CPAGB - DPAGB - EPAGB - MPAGB sections further down this webpage which supplements the 'Five Stage' process given here.

You can also view all of the SPF's successful photographer's submissions in our Galleries Section of this website. These galleries will change on a regular basis (click here).

To qualify to take part you must prove that you are an 'active photographer*' by taking part in Federation events as detailed in the 'SPF PRE-QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS' below, together with a list of 'SPF QUALIFYING COMPEITTIONS'.

This ‘pre-qualification’ requirement also helps give you a gauge of the level of your work at a national level, and even what medium you should perhaps be applying in.

You do not need to have completed this stage to attend our ‘SPF RUN PAGB WORKSHOPS’ (Stage 2). You should however be able to pre-qualify before you use the ‘PAGB’s Online Advisory Service’ this is taken on trust.

The following explains the required SPF criteria for being an ‘active photographer’ in your Club, i.e. the ‘SPF’s Pre-Qualification Requirements’ to comply with Stage 1 of the process.

SPF Pre-Qualification Requirements of what constitutes an SPF 'active photographer*'

• BPAGB – You must have entered a total of 3 of the SPF Qualifying competitions in a minimum of 2 of the last 10 years. This can include a particular event one year and the same event a different year.
• CPAGB - You must have entered a total of 3 of the SPF Qualifying competitions in a minimum of 2 of the last 10 years. This can include a particular event one year and the same event a different year.
• DPAGB - You must have entered a total of 5 SPF qualifying competitions for a minimum of Three Recent Years of the last 10 years. This can include a particular event one year and the same event a different year.
• EPAGB - You must have entered a total of 5 SPF qualifying competitions for a minimum of Three Recent Years of the last 10 years. This can include a particular event one year and the same event a different year.
• MPAGB - Applicants for the MPAGB must already have held the DPAGB for at least 11 months.

* Please Note - Even if you enter at the lowest level of award having already done the necessary SPF pre-qualifying amount required for the highest level, you must continue to support your Club in SPF pre-qualifying events to continue to be deemed an ‘active photographer’ for when you wish to apply again in the future. e.g., you should have continued to enter SPF Qualifying competitions between applying for BPAGB and CPAGB etc.

SPF Qualifying Competitions are -

• SPF 'Interim' Events
• SPF Annual Portfolios
• SPF Digital Championship
• SPF Print Championship
• Scottish International Salon
• SPF Entry to the Celtic Challenge
• SPF Entry to FlAP Biennials
• PAGB GB Cups & GB Trophy Competitions
• PAGB Competitions (Inter-Fed; Digital Championship; Print Championship)
• PAGB Masters of Print
• Attendance at an SPF run PAGB Awards Workshop within 18 months of application can now be counted once as a pre-qualifying event, provided you have work assessed for the level you are thinking of applying for.

NB - A number of these Competitions allow Individuals to enter if their Club does not wish to put in an entry. Have a look under the Events pages of this website for more info on the competitions we run.

Please Note – You do not need to get acceptances, or good scores, only to have entered. No other Inter-Club, National or International Salon or Exhibition count as Pre-qualifying events only the above events.

You will require your Club Secretary, Competition Secretary or President to provide a note to certify your participation in the necessary qualifying events with basic details. The Awards Officer can help out if necessary.

This is recommended but not compulsory. These are FREE and run by the SPF 2 or 3 times a year (usually around Jan/Mar & Aug/Sept).

All spaces require to be booked as they are very popular. You can come along to observe or receive advice on what level/medium/or when to apply by bringing along Prints/PDI to find out if your work is of the standard required. You will also gain hints to improve quality.

Our SPF workshops always have several very experienced assessors in attendance. We regularly have two of the PAGB’s Awards Sub-Committee members assessing your work, including the Chairman, together with regular PAGB Awards Adjudicators.

Check out the Diary on the SPF Website for dates as available or contact Libby on the details below to be added to the e-mailing list for advance notice.

Contact Libby Smith for details or visit the SPF Diary area (click here) of this website for details. 

You can also use the ‘PAGB Online Advisory Service’ but please be aware that some of those volunteering to advise you on this service have no particular level of experience, they are simply volunteers. 

You are now ready to contact the SPF's PAGB Awards Officer Libby Smith with your SPF Pre-Qualification details to obtain a signed Application Form.

This should include giving details of what pre-qualifying events you have competed in for the minimum required time, or getting your competition secretary to confirm your entry into SPF competitions in line with Stage 1 above.

NB - It is not enough for them to say you have been a member for ‘x’ number of years and entered club and inter-club competitions during that time.

You are also required to supply the Awards Officer with details of the level and medium you wish to apply in before the form can be completed. Please also supply your Name as you wish it recorded on any certificate, your Postal address, phone and email, and please don’t forget to say which Club you are entering as a member of.

Assuming all the required information is received you will then be supplied with a signed PAGB Application Form.

You are now ready to complete and submit your SIGNED PAGB APPLICATION FORM supplied to you at Stage 3 by the Awards Officer to the PAGB. NB – The Form will only be supplied to you when all of the previous stages have been complied with.

Before submitting your Application Form, you should also have read the current version of PAGB Leaflet 1 and PAGB Leaflet 2 which will be supplied with your Application Form. (These leaflets are also available from the downloads area at the top of this webpage.) Please Note - There are stiff financial penalties attached to withdrawal after this form has been submitted to the PAGB so please ensure you are ready to apply, again see PAGB Leaflet 1 for details.

Please submit your completed Application Form with your payment to the PAGB Awards Secretary for a space on the next available PAGB Adjudication (See Stage 5). Spaces are on a ‘first come, first serve’ basis.

Your Application Form receipt will be confirmed by the PAGB Awards Secretary, then details will be sent to you confirming the Adjudication you have a space on followed by details of how to submit your entry and timescales, venues etc. as soon as these details become available. PAGB APM Leaflet 2 will tell you more.

Please also note that you require to continue to be a member of an SPF Club once your application has been submitted to the PAGB, otherwise your application with the PAGB will become void.

This is the PAGB's Adjudication of your work. These Adjudications are run by the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain. Six Judges will adjudicate your entry as outlined in PAGB Leaflet 1.

These PAGB Adjudications are run 2 or 3 times a year, always in April & Nov and are hosted by each PAGB Federation in turn (approx. once every 7 years) as audience events. You don’t have a space for your work to be Adjudicated until you have completed all of the previous stages outlined above and received confirmation of a space from the PAGB Awards Secretary.

You are required to submit your work for Adjudication at the PAGB event you receive a space on, following the instructions supplied to you by the PAGB Awards Secretary. This includes ticket and venue details, and deadlines for completing your title and PDI upload to the PAGB CES website (including for Print applications). You will then be expected to submit to the host Federation Reception Secretary your Entry Form and Digital Files approx. 4 weeks prior to the adjudication, together with any Prints approx. 3 weeks prior if you are not attending on the day. PAGB APM Leaflet 2 will tell you more.

Extra Adjudications are sometimes run as closed events.

Results of those successful will be announced at the PAGB Adjudication, and a badge presented. If you are not at the Adjudication, you will be notified by email within a few days whether or not you are successful. In all cases scores will be included in the email notification. Successful applicants not attending will have their badges sent out to them. All successful applicants will receive a certificate via their Federation once these have been produced.

In addition to the below details, please ensure you have read the area above 'GAINING THESE AWARDS IS A FIVE STAGE PROCESS' particularly as regards the SPF PRE-QUALIFICATION requirements at Stage 1.

There are two new levels that were introduced in 2023, the BPAGB and EPAGB. Both are currently only open to print applications.

Our Adjudicators are able to assess an image against the many criteria which contribute to a good photograph in a very short time, but they must also apply their judgement in relation to the level of Award being considered. The images needed to achieve the Badge Award can be described as approaching “Good Club Photography”.

Photographs which meet the requirement for BPAGB will probably do well in a good Club in an Advanced Section of their internal competitions or in Inter-Club competitions, the kind of image which a Club may sometimes choose to represent them in Federation events. However, this is simply offered as general guidance since there is no such thing as a consistent “Club Standard”. The quality of photography varies considerably from Club to Club and what is “Good” in one Club may not be so successful in another one. We cannot know the standard of work in your Club or in your Federation and, by the sheer variety of Club work, there can be no consistent “Club Standard”. It is our experienced Adjudicators who define for this Award what the requirement is for “Good Club Photography”. They have judged at a great many Clubs, and they are well equipped to do this, plus we have in place a permanent team and careful briefings to ensure that the process is as fair and consistent as is humanly possible. Adjudicators are likely to be receptive to a greater range of images than may be successful in some Clubs.

To achieve the BPAGB Award - you require to submit 7 prints of a good Club standard. These are considered by 6 adjudicators scoring between 2 and 5. The lowest score per picture is 12, the highest is 30, and you need a total of 125 from your 7 pictures to succeed.

The images needed to achieve the Credit Award can be described as “Good Club Photography”.

Photographs which meet the requirement for CPAGB will probably do well in a good Club in an Advanced Section of their internal competitions or in Inter-Club competitions, the kind of image which a good Club might choose to represent them in Federation events. However, this is simply offered as general guidance since there is no such thing as a consistent “Club Standard”. The quality of photography varies considerably from Club to Club and what is “Good” in one Club may not be so successful in another one. We cannot know the standard of work in your Club or in your Federation and, by the sheer variety of Club work, there can be no consistent “Club Standard”. It is our experienced Adjudicators who define for this Award what the requirement is for “Good Club Photography”. They have judged at a great many Clubs, and they are well equipped to do this, plus we have in place a permanent team and careful briefings to ensure that the process is as fair and consistent as is humanly possible. It is not a requirement that images entered should have won Club awards and our Adjudicators are likely to be receptive to a greater range of images than may be successful in some Clubs.

To achieve the CPAGB Award - you require to submit 10 prints or 10 digital files of a good Club standard. These are considered by 6 adjudicators scoring between 2 and 5. The lowest score per picture is 12, the highest is 30, and you need a total of 200 from your 10 pictures to succeed. * Please remember that the technical quality of your work should be good.

The Adjudicators are looking for photographs that, in their opinion, should be good enough to achieve a high level of acceptance in Open Exhibitions but, although there can be a much greater commonality of standard at exhibition level, there are still considerable variations. Some Exhibitions accept up to 40%, or more, of the entries, many accept around 20%. Some Exhibitions have experienced judges whom the PAGB would choose as Adjudicators, some don’t. Some Exhibitions, particularly overseas, apply different criteria and standards. Not necessarily poorer but different. Exhibitions cannot therefore be relied upon to define a consistent “Exhibition Standard”. Other bodies, such as FIAP, BPE and PSA award their distinctions for a high number of exhibition acceptances but the PAGB Award is given based solely on an assessment by an expert panel of Adjudicators. They will not be informed of any previous Exhibition successes although they may, of course, be aware from their own experience. The pictures do not need to have been previously entered in any Open Exhibition although success at this level is obviously a good guide. However, a high number of exhibition acceptances for an image does not guarantee it a high mark in the PAGB Adjudication. Our Adjudicators will also give due credit to photographs, such as Record and Documentary, which meet our requirements but may be less likely to be accepted into exhibitions.

You require to enter 15 prints or 15 digital files and, bearing in mind that the adjudicators are looking for international* exhibition standard, you have to score a total of 300 points to get the award. * Please remember that this is a UK Award, and that the technical standard of the work should be very good.

Only existing holders of the DPAGB Award may apply for the EPAGB and none of the images used at DPAGB may be used for EPAGB.

The Adjudicators are looking for photographs that, in their opinion, should be good enough to achieve a high level of acceptance in Open Exhibitions but, although there can be a much greater commonality of standard at exhibition level, there are still considerable variations. Some Exhibitions accept up to 40%, or more, of the entries, many accept around 20%. Some Exhibitions have experienced judges whom the PAGB would choose as Adjudicators, some don’t. Some Exhibitions, particularly overseas, apply different criteria and standards. Not necessarily poorer but different. Exhibitions cannot therefore be relied upon to define a consistent “Exhibition Standard”. Other bodies, such as FIAP, BPE and PSA award their distinctions for a high number of exhibition acceptances but the PAGB Award is given based solely on an assessment by an expert panel of Adjudicators. They will not be informed of any previous Exhibition successes although they may, of course, be aware from their own experience. The pictures do not need to have been previously entered in any Open Exhibition although success at this level is obviously a good guide. However, a high number of exhibition acceptances for an image does not guarantee it a high mark in the PAGB Adjudication. Our Adjudicators will also give due credit to photographs, such as Record and Documentary, which meet our requirements but may be less likely to be accepted into exhibitions.

You require to enter 15 prints, bearing in mind that the adjudicators are looking for international* exhibition standard, you need to score a total of 330 points or more to gain this award. *Please remember that this is a UK Award, and that the technical standard of the work should be very good.

Master Award (MPAGB) is awarded for “the very best amateur photography”. 

The Adjudicators are looking for photographs that, in their opinion, should be good enough to achieve a high level of acceptance in Open Exhibitions but, although there can be a much greater commonality of standard at exhibition level, there are still considerable variations. Some Exhibitions accept up to 40%, or more, of the entries, many accept around 20%. Some Exhibitions have experienced judges whom the PAGB would choose as Adjudicators, some don’t. Some Exhibitions, particularly overseas, apply different criteria and standards. Not necessarily poorer but different. Exhibitions cannot therefore be relied upon to define a consistent “Exhibition Standard”. Other bodies, such as FIAP, BPE and PSA award their distinctions for a high number of exhibition acceptances but the PAGB Award is given based solely on an assessment by an expert panel of Adjudicators. They will not be informed of any previous Exhibition successes although they may, of course, be aware from their own experience. The pictures do not need to have been previously entered in any Open Exhibition although success at this level is obviously a good guide. However, a high number of exhibition acceptances for an image does not guarantee it a high mark in the PAGB Adjudication. Our Adjudicators will also give due credit to photographs, such as Record and Documentary, which meet our requirements but may be less likely to be accepted into exhibitions.

You require 20 photographs, a much more stringent adjudication standard with an average score of 22.5 required, and 450 points to succeed. * Please remember that this is a UK Award, and the technical standard of the work should be excellent if not flawless.

Awards for Photographic Merit (APM) are available in audio-visual. Joint applications are permitted.

The Levels (designated CPAGB/AV, DPAGB/AV, MPAGB/AV) are the same as for still images.

Media is by digital projection with sound, and information is given in the AV Leaflet.

Adjudications are hosted by the PAGB and may be annually or every eighteen months, depending on demand. It may help to indicate in advance that you are thinking of applying so that demand is known.