2025 American Rose Society Digital Photography Contest

**OFFICIAL RULES**

DOWNLOAD ENTRY FORM (new form – separate document)

Contest levels:

Novice contestants are permitted to enter a maximum of four digital photos per class in all Novice classes 12-1 through 12-11.

“Novice” is defined as ARS members who have not previously won an award (first through fourth place) in the ARS National Digital Photography Contest.

Experienced contestants are permitted to enter a maximum of three digital photographs per class in all classes 1 through 11.

Masters contestants are permitted to enter a maximum of six digital photographs in classes 13-1 through 13-7. Contestants may only have one entry in class 13-8 and there will be only one winner in this class (this is a Challenge Class).

“Masters” are defined as any contestant who has won a total of five or more first placements in previous ARS American Rose Digital Photo Contests (excluding Novice, and Junior classes)

Juniors who are under the age of 16 may submit a total of six digital photos in the Junior class 14. Junior contestants may enter the Junior class or the Novice or Experience classes, but not both.

Judges who judge this digital photography contest are permitted and encouraged to enter two photos in class 15.

Rules/Guidelines:

Advance your winning photographs. You are encouraged to enter your photos that have won in local or District competitions. Do not submit photos that have previously won in National print or digital contests.

Contestants may enter only one photo of a variety in ANY class EXCLUDING 13-8. Duplicate photos may NOT be entered in different classes.

Digital photographs must be .jpeg files and must be high resolution files. FILE SIZE should be no smaller than 1MB. The high resolution is necessary to ensure that winning entries will print properly in the American Rose magazine or newsletters. Any photos considered to be low resolution digital files will not be considered for awards.

The entrant must be a current ARS member at the time of the deadline for entries and must have taken all photographs entered. Any contestant whose membership has lapsed prior to the deadline date will be ineligible.

Photographs which have won any awards (1st – 4th place) in previous ARS National Digital Photography Contests, ARS National Print Contests or displayed in the ARS Calendar are not eligible. Photographs that have won in local or District Shows are encouraged.

While the same photo cannot be entered by more than one person, entries from the same garden may be exhibited by multiple members of the immediate family as Exhibitor Grown.

All roses photographed must be outdoor garden grown roses.

With the exception of seedlings, rose varieties photographed MUST be entered under ARS approved exhibition names (unless otherwise specified) as listed in any of the following official ARS publications: Modern Roses 12 (book and database), the Official List of Approved Exhibition Names for Judges & Exhibitors, the Handbook for Selecting Roses, or “Recent Registrations” on the ARS website. In cases where a variety is not listed in any of the above ARS publications, a listing in the Combined Rose List is acceptable.

Digital photographs shall be saved in the following format: class number with the letters a-c for multiple pictures in the same class, last name of the contestant and the approved exhibition name of the rose. An example would be 10c-Aumiller-Gemini. Only one entry would be 10a-Aumiller-Gemini.

If the rose(s) being photographed was/were also grown by the exhibitor, the designation “EG” should follow the name of the rose, garden, or arrangement. An example would be 10c-Powers-Gemini-EG. This will put the exhibit in the running for medal certificates.

Digital photographs may be enhanced using any graphic program, such as Photoshop, Elements or Photo Impact for the purposes of cropping, rotation, lightening, darkening, minor clean up corrections for camera sensor dirt or sharpening of the image ONLY. Classes which require or encourage the use of photo editing software for photo enhancement allow any other types of enhancements to be used.

The exhibitor may place nothing identifying the photographer on the front of the photograph. This means no watermarks, copyrights, or imprinted date/time stamps. Photographs with such identifiers will be disqualified.

The chair of the committee reserves the right to disqualify any entry that does not conform to the stated rules prior to the entries being judged.

Judges judging the photography section of the show and members of their immediate family should not exhibit except in classes specified for the judges.

ENTRIES MUST BE POSTMARKED BY NOVEMBER 5, 2025. 

How to submit? Entries may be submitted via 1) Dropbox or 2) mailed

1. Entries may be submitted via Dropbox.com. Dropbox enables organized sending and receiving of large files. Your files should be uploaded and the link sent to americanrosephoto@yahoo.com. Please make sure if you send the photos via Dropbox that you include a copy of the entry form. If you are not familiar with Dropbox, ask for a link at americanrosephoto@yahoo.com.

1. Entries on a thumb drive may be submitted by US mail or Fed-ex to Pam Powers, 14106 Rock Canyon Dr., Centreville, VA 20121. The Thumb Drive will not be returned and should have the contestant’s name and e-mail address printed on the drive.

When submitting digital pictures, they must be placed on a Thumb Drive, or via Dropbox (NO CD’s ACCEPTED) in one directory. Make sure they can be read by a Windows compatible computer and mailed entries are properly packaged for safe delivery. Photos that are in a “program” to be viewed will be disqualified. Emailed photos will NOT be accepted.

All entries MUST be accompanied by the completed entry form. Entries received without the completed entry form will be disqualified.

With questions, contact E-mail: americanrosephoto@yahoo.com.

Photo Rights

All rights to the submitted photographs are retained by the owners of the photographs. However, by submitting a photograph to the contest, the exhibitor (1) warrants that he or she owns the copyright of the submitted photograph and is not legally prohibited from submitting it to the contest, and (2) agrees to allow the American Rose Society to publish the photograph in American Rose. Any individual that enters this contest also gives express permission for the American Rose Society to reproduce their photographs for educational and/or display purposes with a credit line to the photographer whenever possible. The American Rose Society may use the photograph in any publication or magazine but will not sell the photograph. Any inquiries about sale of the photograph will be referred to the photographer.

Classes

1: One bloom of Hybrid Tea, Grandiflora, Miniature, Miniflora, and Floribunda classifications of roses. Roses designated as “single” must be entered in class 5.

2: One bloom, fully open stamens must show. Hybrid Tea, Grandiflora, Miniature, Miniflora, and Floribunda classifications of roses are in this class. Roses designated as “single” must be entered in class 5.

3: One spray, two or more blooms, Hybrid Tea, Grandiflora, Miniature, Miniflora, and Floribunda classifications of roses are in this class. This class does NOT include collections or roses designated as “single”

4: One bloom or spray of an Old Garden Rose, Shrub, Species, Polyantha, Large Climber or Rambler. Spray photos do NOT include collections. Roses designated as “singles” must be entered in class 5.

5: One bloom or spray of any rose classified by the ARS as “singles” are permitted in this class.

6: A photo of a Traditional arrangement, miniature or standard, following the American Rose Society Guidelines for Judging Rose Arrangements. Roses do not need to be identified. The name of the arranger MUST be listed.

7: A photo of a Modern or Oriental arrangement, miniature or standard, following the American Rose Society Guidelines for Judging Rose Arrangements. Roses do not need to be identified. Style of arrangement should be listed. The name of the arranger MUST be listed.

8: Abstract or Impressionism: The photograph should evoke a sense of originality; a new and different way of imagining the rose or roses with the mind’s eye. This may include processes used to alter the original image such as colorizing, black & white, texturizing, dodging, burning, dithering, painting, shadowing, blurring, layering, cloning, filtering, merging, cropping, etc. The name of the rose is NOT required in this class but can be used.

9: Garden: A photo of any rose garden. Photographs should show the use of roses within the structure of a garden, which can be widely variable. Roses should dominate in the photograph, and some layout of the garden should be visible. Roses do not need to be identified. If a public garden is used, the name of the garden MUST be listed.

10: Blooms with Critters: A photograph of any blooms with a critter such as a bee, butterfly, pet or other friendly creature. Roses MUST be identified.

11: Macro Photography: Photographs should be EXTREME closeup photo of any part of the rose or rose plant. This would include prickles, leaves, etc. Color, Black & White, Sepia, or combinations of these are permitted in this class. Roses MUST be identified.

Novice Class 12: Open only to those ARS members who have not previously won an award (first through fourth place) in the ARS American Rose Digital Photo Contest. Eligible contestants may enter either the novice or the regular classes, but not both. Those entering the novice class may enter any class, 1-11 by preceding the class number with the number 12 (Class 12-1, 12-2, 12-3, etc.). There will be four winners (first place through fourth place), and the first-place winners will be eligible for the Best in Show Award.

13: Master Class: Eligible contestants may have six entries each in the following classes by preceding the class with the number 13 (Class 13-1, 13-2, 13-3 etc.). There will be six winners (first through sixth place) in each class (13-1 through 13-7) and the first-place winners will be eligible for Best in Show award. Contestants who qualify for this class are ineligible to compete in other classes. Only one photo per variety permitted in each class. Contestants may only have one entry in class 13-8 and there will be only ONE winner in this class (this is Challenge Class).

13-1: One bloom, any classification.

13-2: A spray of roses (2 or more blooms) of any classification. This class does NOT include collections.

13-3: An arrangement, either standard or miniature, following the American Rose Society Guidelines for Judging Rose Arrangements. Style of arrangement must be listed. Roses do not need to be identified. The name of the arranger MUST be listed.

13-4: Abstract or Impressionism: The photograph should evoke a sense of originality; a new and different way of imagining the rose or roses with the mind’s eye. This may include processes used to alter the original image such as colorizing, black & white, texturizing, dodging, burning, dithering, painting, shadowing, blurring, layering, cloning, filtering, merging, cropping, etc. The name of the rose is NOT required in this class but can be used.

13-5: A photo of any rose garden. Photographs should show the use of roses within the structure of a garden, which can be widely variable. Roses should dominate in the photograph, and some layout of the garden should be visible. Roses do not need to be identified. If a public garden is photographed, the name of the garden MUST be listed.

13-6: Macro Photography: Photographs should be EXTREME close-up photo of any part of the rose or rose plant. Color, Black & White, Sepia, or combinations of these are permitted in this class.

13-7: Rose Potpourri: A photo of a rose related subject or subjects that do not fit the criteria of Masters 13-1 through 13-6. For example, roses with critters, seedlings, rosebush with companion plants, an informal bouquet, multiple rose sprays, etc. Photos can not include people. Roses MUST be identified.

13-8: Portfolio: Contestants may use five photos that are eligible for entry in classes 1-11 in the experienced classes. Entries should be listed as 13-8-1a, 13-8-1b, etc. Contestants can have multiple photos from the same class or single photos from multiple classes but each must be a different variety. The entire body of work will be judged as one entry. This class is NOT eligible for the Best in Show award.

14: Junior Class: A photo of one bloom, any classification or a spray of roses (2 or more blooms) of any classification. For all entrants under the age of 16. Exhibitor must list their age on the entry form.

15: Judges Class: This class is open to judges of the American Rose Society Digital Photo Contest each year. Judges can enter 2 photos that could be entered in the Master Classes 13-1 through 13-7. This class is NOT eligible for the Best in Show award.

Judging

Judging shall be in accordance with the current ARS Guidelines & Rules for Judging Rose Photography. Judges may bestow or withhold any award as they see fit. Judging for ARS awards and major show awards should be shared by all the judges judging the show. The decision of the judges is final.

The following scale of points will be used for judging entries:

1. CONFORMANCE ……………………………………………….. 5
2. HORTICULTURAL EXCELLENCE ……………………..50
3. COMPOSITION …………………………………………………..15
4. TECHNIQUE ………………………………………………………15
5. DISTINCTION …………………………………………………….15

TOTAL 100

Results

Results will be announced via a January webinar. The date and time of the webinar will be announced ahead of time to all those who entered. Contestants will not be individually notified of any winning photos except via the webinar. The webinar will be recorded so that others can view it later if they wish. Additionally, winning photos will appear on ARS social media sites throughout the year.

There will be four winning placements; first, second, third and fourth place in each class, IF warranted. The judges reserve the right to not award a placement, if the entries do not merit such. The first-place winners in each class will be eligible for ‘best in class”. Medal certificates will also be awarded for those individuals who have photographed roses in which the photographer was also the individual who grew the rose, designated as EG or exhibitor grown.

The best-in-class winners, along with the names of all winners, will be published in various issues of American Rose throughout the year. All best-in-class winners will be eligible for the Best of Show Award unless otherwise stated above.

Best of success in this year’s contest to all American Rose Society members!

Photographing Floral Arrangements

Creative Interpretation compressed

Fully Open Stamens Showing compress

HOW TO MOUNT AND MAT AN 8X10 PHOTO

OGRs Shrubs compressed

Photographing Roses Some changes

Photographing Sprays-compressed