Advanced Editing

Advanced Editing allows the use of selections, layers and selective editing tools for touch-up and enhancement. You may combine up to ten captures of the same basic scene. The intent of allowing multiple captures is to enable such techniques as high dynamic range (HDR), noise reduction, time lapse, etc., but not to permit a subject from one scene to be inserted into a different scene, nor is it intended to allow a subject to appear in multiple, arranged places within a scene. You may not create new features during post-processing or obscure significant parts of your original capture(s).

All disqualifications are determined by majority vote of the Site Council. If you have any questions, you should err on the side of caution or contact the Site Council before submitting your entry. Please remember, when possible, to give the Site Council a minimum of 24 hours to discuss any questions you have regarding your entry. Entries that violate the letter or spirit of these rules will be disqualified.

Any of these rules may be overridden by the “Extra Rules” section of the Challenge Details.

• taken with a digital camera that records EXIF data.
• a JPEG (.jpg) file.
• no larger than 200 KB (204,800 bytes).
• at least 160 pixels, and no more than 720 pixels on each side.
• taken after the challenge is announced and before the deadline, based on the Current Server Time (US Eastern Standard/Daylight Time) displayed at the bottom of every page on this site.
• taken and post-processed by you. Someone else may press the shutter button if you set up the shot and the camera settings. No one else may post-process your entry for you. Exceptions must be approved by the Site Council in advance.

• create your entry from 1-10 captures of a single scene (defined as a composition whose framing does not change, with the exception of natural subject motion). All captures used must be shot within the challenge submission dates.
• retain your original, unedited file(s) (exactly as recorded by your camera), and provide them to the Site Council along with a description of your setup and list of your editing steps within 48 hours of any validation request. This notice will be sent, with instructions, to your listed email address, and will also appear on the left side of your DPChallenge home page when you are logged in. Files that have been saved or altered with any editing or transfer software are NOT originals.
• ensure that your camera date and time are correctly set to your home time zone before shooting your entry. If the date(s) recorded in your original image file(s) are not within the specified challenge dates, your entry will be disqualified - NO exceptions! If your entry was taken in a different location than indicated in your profile, please note the location in the submission form so that we can adjust accordingly.
• comply with the DPChallenge Terms of Use.

• combine up to the allowable number of captures either in-camera or in post-processing.
• use any feature of your camera while photographing your entry. In-camera features applied after the capture are subject to normal editing rules.
• crop, rotate and resize your entry.
• clone out incidental power lines, twigs, dust specks, stray hairs, and similar minor imperfections.
• apply filters, effects, dodge & burn, and other tools to all or part of your entry, but NO new shapes or features may be created in the process.
• saturate, desaturate or change the colors of your entry or any existing object within it.
• use layers, layer masks, and alternative layer modes.
• add a border to the outside edge of your entry. Your border must be distinct and clearly recognizable as a border.
• use RAW conversion software.
• use software to correct perspective, lens defects, or minor misalignments.
• request removal of your own entry during the voting period IF none of your last 25 entries were disqualified or removed, and no rules were violated.
• include existing images or artwork as part of your composition as long as the entry does not appear to consist entirely of a pre-existing photograph in order to circumvent date or editing rules or fool the voters into thinking you actually captured the original photograph.

• submit more than one entry per challenge.
• hold more than one DPChallenge account, ask anyone to vote on your behalf, or link to your entry's voting page.
• use the same original image in more than one challenge.
• combine captures of different scenes, or combine different subjects to create a new scene. The allowance for “natural subject motion” above is intended to permit time-lapse photography.
• use ANY editing tool to move, remove or duplicate any element of your photograph that would change a typical viewer's description of the photograph (aside from color or crop), even if the tool is otherwise legal, and regardless of whether you intended the change when the photograph was taken.
• use ANY editing technique to create new image area, objects or features (such as lens flare or motion) that didn't already exist in your original capture(s).
• add graphics, clip art, computer-rendered images or parts of other photographs to your entry or its border during editing (except for combining photos as allowed by the multiple capture rules above).
• add text to your entry or its border during editing. This includes copyright statements.
• use distortions to create new effects or radically alter objects.
• submit a photograph depicting male or female genitalia, or acts of sex deemed inappropriate by a majority of the Site Council.

An entry will be disqualified when a majority of the Site Council finds that any of the rules above were not followed.

In order to discourage repeated disqualifications and abuse of the disqualification system, the following penalties will apply for repeat disqualifications:

• 1st DQ in last 25 submissions: No penalty
• 2nd DQ in last 25 submissions: 1 week suspension of submission privileges
• 3rd DQ in last 25 submissions: 2 week suspension of submission privileges
• 4th DQ in last 25 submissions: 4 week suspension of submission privileges and 3 months of required “pre-submission” of proof file.

The above penalties will be assessed only after review by the Site Council. In exceptional circumstances, the Site Council may elect not to apply a penalty. If a user is found to have intentionally violated the Challenge Rules, the above penalties will be in addition to any assessed for the violation itself.