Salon Entry Information
You must be a current dues paying SANP member with your dues current as of August 31, 2025
For categories, more details, and the rules, please look at this link.
Adobe has done an excellent job with the Generative AI tools with recent updates. Salon entries are always on the honor system and all Generative AI tools are prohibited. For those of you who are good at using AI tools, unless your image lights up AI being used on it, there is no way that anyone will know if you used the Generative AI tools of your software processing. Remember that you are on the honor system to comply with the Salon rules.
A couple of good questions have been asked about the Abstracts in Nature category.
Abstracts in Nature—Images of the natural environment that push the boundaries of creative expression through photography. This category is for creative compositions made in-camera and in nature without unusual computer processing or manipulations.
The intent of that category is for the abstracts to be done in camera, such as intentional camera movement or double exposures with limited computer or software processing.
Can an in-camera double exposure image be used? Yes, that fits within the description of the category.
Can neural filters such as Painterly be used on an image? Unfortunately, the answer is NO. Most of the neural filters in Adobe use Generative AI and are powered by Adobe Firefly.
Any editing tool that uses Adobe Firefly is not acceptable for use with Salon entries as it adds pixels to the image from another image.
Can roads, highways, pavement be a part of an image? Only those categories where it is allowed based on the category description or the conditions listed in the rules. Several categories limit what manmade items may be in the category.
Conditions #1 and #4 of the rules limits what is acceptable and most items that are prohibited. Condition #4 prohibits generative AI as it imports parts of another image to replace or edit the image.
The Remove tool in Lightroom and Photoshop uses AI unless the Generative AI is unchecked, that is part of that tool selection. There are other tools that will accomplish the removal of small distractions without using AI.
Please read all conditions for this year’s Salon entries. Titles must fit in the required space, as some of you were creating titles that could fill a page in a book. The 30 characters include spaces. Be creative with your titles. Use ChatGPT to see what options it suggests. Yes, we will allow ChatGPT titles that fit within 30 characters. I know you consider that a double standard, but what the heck. We are not perfect. Please come up with a title other than the location that none of us can accurately pronounce. If you are not sure what to call a bird portrait or wildlife image, give them a name that fits the image, such as Smoky Joe or St Louis Red. Be creative with your titles.
The conditions are listed below, but you also need to read the description of the categories online.
All entries must be nature photographs unless otherwise stated in the category description.
The photograph’s main subject cannot be people, architecture, museum exhibits, trains, cars, common pets, domesticated animals, or other subjects that do not inherently occur in nature. These conditions do not apply to Great Smokies Mountain National Park, Night Photography, Travel & Place categories, or People in Nature categories.
For all categories, except Great Smokies National Park, Night Photography, Travel & Place # 1 and #2, or People in Nature, any evidence of man or his creations, when included, should not be the main focal point of the image but an incidental part of it.
An individual cannot enter the same, or nearly identical, images in both the Digital and Print competitions in a given year. Images that have previously won first, second, third, or honorable mention awards in previous SANP Salon competitions are not eligible for entry in the current year’s Salon.
Images submitted may be enhanced or changed using any of the tools available in a post-processing graphics editing program, except one cannot copy or significantly alter the primary subject or primary parts of the image in any way, nor can one import items from another image. High dynamic range (HDR), focus stacking, stitching, and similar techniques are allowed. The intent of the original image must be maintained. Replacing the sky is NOT ACCEPTABLE.
You cannot add additional borders, edgings, or lines around the photograph that were not part of the original image.
Number of Entries: Each SANP member may enter a maximum of ten (10) digital images. The maximum number of photographs that can be entered in any category is one (1).
Titles: To help track entries during the judging, each photograph must have a title that does not include your name. The title cannot exceed 30 characters, including spaces.
Read the rules. Digital Entries go to Ed Stickle. Prints JPG go to Theresa Williams. You can find their email on the website.
We look forward to your entries this year.
If you have any questions, please contact me.
Dale Potter
