Professional Photographers of America (PPA) announced that it will begin accepting entries for the International Photographic Competition (IPC) on May 26. Entries for the annual competition will be due by July 10, though you get a break on the entry fee if you enter by June 26.

The judging will take place at Gwinnett Technical College in Lawrenceville, Ga., August 4-7. Judging is open to the public and there is no RSVP or no cost to attend. Photographers are encouraged to attend since the judging is an excellent learning opportunity so you can find out how to maximize your chances of understanding and processing successfully the criteria evaluated during the competition.

At IPC photographers may submit individual prints or digital images, and/or physical or digital photo albums. The judging panels are made up of experienced and qualified experts who undergo a rigorous and methodical training. IPC offers participants the possibility to enter their work in up to four image categories: Portrait, Illustrative, Event Album and Non-Event Album.

Submissions are judged against PPA’s industry-wide recognized standard of excellence using the 12 Elements of a Merit Image. The 12 elements are: Impact, Technical Excellence, Creativity, Style, Composition, Presentation, Color Balance, Center of Interest, Lighting, Subject Matter Technique and Story Telling.

Images that score high in all 12 elements are declared merit-worthy and will move on to a second round of judging, for a chance to earn a place in the PPA Loan Collection. These images are published in the Loan Collection book published by Marathon Press and are also exhibited in print and on screen at Imaging USA, PPA’s annual photography convention and expo, which will be held Feb. 1-3, 2015, in Nashville.

The cost to enter is $95 for PPA members who register before midnight on June 26, and $160 for non-members. For PPA members who register through midnight on July 10, it’s $130 and $220 for non-members. No registrations will be accepted after July 10. For rules and complete details go to ppa.com/ipc.