Archive Mode. Call The Montgomery Photo Festival 2022 ended on 4/25/22, 10:00 AM. Call settings are read only. See Current Open Calls

Submission guidelines

Artists submit digital images of their work via the online submission process. 

The juror, Anna Walker Skillman, will select photos for the exhibition from the submitted digital images and choose the award winners from the photos when hung in the gallery. 

Photographers working in all forms of photography are eligible. The four categories that you can submit to are shown below. You may submit a total of three images, and they can be in any category or categories:

Category 1: Color

Photos in this category may have undergone changes that are part of basic, normal darkroom workflow. That includes cropping and adjustments to exposure, contrast, color balance, and saturation. The camera used for image capture, whether film or digital, is immaterial.

Category 2: Black and White

Photos in this category may have undergone changes that are part of basic, normal darkroom workflow. That includes cropping and adjustments to exposure, shadow, contrast, and tone. Black and white photos have no color, so monochromatic photos that have a color, tint, or tone should not be submitted in this category. The camera used for image capture, whether film or digital, immaterial.

Category 3: Alternative Process

Photos in this category are any unique handmade prints, including but not limited to cyanotype, lumens, Van Dyke, salt, chemigram, tintype, bromoil, gum bichromate, platinum/palladium, photogravure, albumen, liquid emulsion, ziatype, image transfers, kallitypes, lith prints, hand colored silver gelatin prints, encaustic and mordoncage, and handcolored photos. Unique prints made from digital negatives are eligible. The camera used for image capture, whether film or digital, is immaterial. 

NOTE: Any photo from this category that is selected for the exhibit must be the original photo created in the printing process. 

Category 4: Manipulation (digital and film)

A manipulated photo has been altered in a way that is beyond the changes that are part of basic, normal darkroom workflow. That includes adding or eliminating elements, collaging, composite images, excessive color saturation, inverting the photo, combining negatives during development, or using software processes outside the normal workflow of the digital darkroom. For example, use of the various filters or art tools available in digital editing programs will qualify as digital manipulation. This category description applies to both digital and film work. The camera used for image capture, whether film or digital, is immaterial. When deciding if your photograph belongs in this category, consider this: Does your final photo look quite different from what came out of your camera? If yes, it probably is a manipulation.

There are numerous methods for manipulation, and all are welcome in this category. 

Diptychs, triptychs, or the like will not be accepted into this competition.

Images previously displayed in-gallery at any of the previous three Society of Arts & Crafts/Stonehenge Gallery photo competitions are not eligible for this competition and should not be submitted to this call. 

There is no age limitation for the photographer. There is no time limit for when a photo was taken. There is no theme for this exhibit. Show us your best work!

You may enter no more than three photos. Your submissions do not need to be in the same category. For example, you may submit three different images to three different categories. The entry fee is $25, regardless of whether you submit one, two, or three images. No refunds of entry fee will be given after you enter the competition.

All images must be submitted to ArtCall in jpeg format, 72 ppi, 960 pixels minimum length on the longest side, 4800 pixels maximum length on the longest side. Maximum file size must be under 4 MB. If your image is too small or too large ArtCall won't let you upload the image. 

The maximum physical dimension for framed images as they will be displayed in the gallery is 24 inches on the longest side. This is the measurement of the longest side of the wood, metal, or other frame, not the photo size. If a photo juried into the exhibit arrives at the gallery larger than 24 inches on its longest side, it will not be permitted in the show. You will not receive a refund of your entry fee.

All images may be listed for sale. All proceeds go to the photographer. The Montgomery Photo Festival will not collect any commission on sales. 

Photographers shipping their work are strongly encouraged to use plexiglass, which is less likely to break in shipping than glass. If you use glass in framing your photo, and your shipped photo arrives at the gallery with broken glass, we will return it to you immediately. No entry fee refund will be issued. If you hand deliver photos to the gallery, you may use glass.

In the shipment of work to and from the Montgomery Photo Festival, and during the exhibit, the photographer bears the cost and responsibility of insuring the work. SAC's and the Montgomery Photo Festival will exercise all reasonable care in handling entries but will not assume any liability for loss or damage while in their possession. Submission of work automatically waives any claim for damage or loss against SAC’s, the Montgomery Photo Festival, or the ownership/management of the Kress on Dexter building, including the officers, members, employees, and volunteer staff.

Photographers are encouraged to use white or off-white mats.

All photos must be framed in a way that complements the work and is appropriate in a gallery setting. You may submit borderless unframed aluminum prints that are wired to hang on the back of the work. The Montgomery Photo Festival reserves the right to decide what presentation is appropriate for this exhibit. If your accepted photo is deemed unacceptable due to presentation issues, it will be returned without a refund of your entry fee.

All photographs, including those on canvas, metal, wood, or other non-paper substrates, must be ready to hang with wire hangers. Sawtooth hangers will not be accepted. 

Please add a title card affixed to the wire on the back of your image with your name, contact information, title of the piece, which category you submitted it to, and the sale price.

Delivery and pick-up of images to and from the Montgomery Photo Festival are the photographer’s responsibility, including insurance. If photographs are to be shipped back (not picked up), a prepaid shipping label must be provided by the photographer when the work is submitted to the gallery. The event organizers will not ship photos back to the artist without a prepaid shipping label. Any images shipped to the exhibition without a prepaid return shipping label will not be accepted into the show until the label is in the event organizers' possession. No refund will be issued for the entry fee if a return label is missing and it does not arrive by the reception date for the exhibit.

Images remaining with the Montgomery Photo Festival 30 days after the exhibit closes become the property of Montgomery Photo Festival unless other arrangements have been made with the event organizers.

Shipping and hand delivery instructions will be provided to accepted entrants with the acceptance notice. 

If you have any questions or have any trouble using the ArtCall website, contact the Montgomery Photo Festival via the “Contact” tab in the menu bar. We will do our best to reply to you within 48 hours.

To meet our sponsors see the "Sponsors" tab. This program/project has been made possible by grants from the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. A sincere thank you to all our sponsors for their support! Please help support our sponsors by visiting their websites!