Pre-con Class:  Saturday, April 26

Photographic Competition Boot Camp
All New for 2025!
Hosted by Mark McCall

Saturday, April 26, 2025
10:00AM -5:00PM

This lighthearted and entertaining program illustrates the ins and outs of print competition, and what you can do to score merits and Imaging Excellence Awards regularly. Mark’s humorous teaching style will educate and entertain!

“What are the Judges looking for”?  How many times have you caught yourself saying that? This class will show you exactly what Jurors are looking for. Even better, show you what will get dinged so you can avoid them.

Jurors use 12 Elements when judging your image, but did you know that 3 of them are more important than the other 9? Concentrate on 3 Elements instead of 12 to get those higher scores.

You’ll leave with the knowledge and confidence to get those print merits…and get them regularly. Learn the tricks and the thought process Mark brings to each competition and take advantage of the same things yourself! Information is the most valuable commodity on earth. Leave this program with tools you need to succeed!

You’ll learn:

  • #1 thing that drives a score down, and how to stop doing it!
  • One type of image almost always merits. Find out what it is and how to create it. Better yet, find out how to get others to pay for it.
  • Learn to see competition images the way a Juror sees them.
  • The new scoring system allows for a higher number of Imaging Excellence Awards!  Learn how to get yours!
  • See the completely new 12 Element List!, placed in the order that Jurors mentally apply the Elements to your images.  This one item will be worth the cost of admission!
  • Storytelling goes a long way. Learn to tell or create a story within your image that can make a less-than-perfect image score much higher. PPA has Story Telling listed as #12 on the list of 12 Elements, but Mark has it ranked #2!!!  Find out how to emphasize the story in your image and see the true order of how   the human brain reacts to each element.
  • Two subjects are usually better than one, find out why.
  • See Mark’s SECRET WEAPON he uses in many of his competition works.
  • Learn how to squeeze an extra point or two by paying close attention to an overlooked area…the mat!!!
  • See the Juror’s Charge, the video every Juror must watch before sitting on a panel.
  • Learn what the Jurors can say, and more importantly, what they can’t say.
  • Entering client work vs shooting for competition. Which is better? The answer will surprise you.
  • Printing your work vs entering digitally, which is better? Another shocking answer!
  • Why do images score differently at different competitions? You’ll leave with a complete understanding of why this happens.
  • Hear a few of Mark’s funny print competition stories….real things that have happened in Print Competition.

Meet Mark McCall
Mark has entered and judged photographic competitions in Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, New Mexico, Arkansas, Virginia, Kansas, Nebraska, Louisiana, New Hampshire, Mississippi and Alabama. His background in Human Behavioral Studies, as well as thousands of hours sitting on Judging Panels, working up images, working behind the curtain in Texas and Southwest, listening and participating in print competitions has given him a unique insight as to what will merit, and what will not.

Mark wrote the TPPA Print Competition Guide Book and is the author of the “Did You Know” series online and has over 100 print merits, and 25 Loan Images in his merit report. He was awarded the 2017 National Award by PPA.