How to hold a photo show -- Before Judging

How to hold a photo show - Before Judging

OK, you've got the show set up and are waiting for entries to arrive and judging.

Organization

Keeping track of each shower's photos and making sure they are returned is important.

As entries arrive

As each entry arrives, note the following:

Number of photos submitted; the shower should indicate how many photos they think they sent. But each entry needs to be counted to confirm that number (and if there's a discrepancy, counting multiple times may be required).
Entry fee -- not only for the appropriate amount, but that check/MO is made out correctly (some organizations require checks to be made out to the judge who cashes them and then writes one check combining the entry fees, less allowed expenses).
Return SASE (with enough postage to not only cover the return of the photos, but also any awards/results).
Protective packaging. Some showers place photos in cardboard or plastic containers to protect photos during transit.
If time permits, check each photo to ensure the required information is present and consistent. (With many showers changing their name after marriage, not always are photo backs updated and consistent throughout an entry stack, so noting variations on names are important for proper identification in results.)
Store all items for return together by shower.

Pre-sorting for first classes

After checking in each entry, the photos should be "pre-sorted" into their first classes.

A shoe box or say the top of a ten-ream box of paper make good containers to store photos before they are laid out and judged.

Between each class, a divider is needed. Ideally, there are enough dividers so that all the classes in a whole show have space, but as "halter" judging usually has breed, finish, color and gender sections, only dividers for the largest two sections are needed.

Other organizational tools needed

A scale is important to know the correct weight of packages/envelopes so the proper postage can be determined.

And don't forget to find time to clear the judging table of anything that may be there otherwise.

Preparation for a show train

If you are starting a show train, all of the items not related to show entries should be set aside for use at the end of the train. A list of entrants and number of photographs, etc., should be generated for the next judge in the train.

If receiving photos "pre-sorted" for a train, often the order for the even numbered judges will be "reversed" (i.e.,. the "last" class, not the first is ready for judging).

Notification

As entries arrive, letting showers know their entry has been received is very helpful. Email is an easy (no cost) way of notifying. If a shower does not have email, hopefully they have included a postcard to allow you to notify them of their entry.

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