Learning archive

Photography: composition and evaluation

Explore material preserved from an earlier CKSTEM programme: its ideas, learning resources and original context.

This is a historical archive. Dates, awards, fees and registration instructions below describe that edition; its entry period has closed. See the current contest programme and calendar.

Original edition poster

Original historical rubric. Each criterion uses the published bands: 18–20 Excellent, 13–17 Good, 8–12 Fair and 0–7 Poor.

Adherence to the theme and shows intent

18–20 · Excellent: Presents compelling ideas showing complex awareness of the theme
13–17 · Good: Presents distinct ideas showing strong awareness of the theme
8–12 · Fair: Presents recognizable ideas showing some or vague awareness of the theme
0–7 · Poor: Presents vague ideas showing little or no awareness of the theme

Original, fresh, Visual impact, emotional reaction, mood, etc.

18–20 · Excellent: WOW Factor and unique indicating significant effort in creation
13–17 · Good: Caught attention, shows merit indicating significant effort in creation
8–12 · Fair: Acceptable and common, indicating some effort in creation
0–7 · Poor: Not remarkable and lacks imagination indicating little or no effort in creation

Eye movement, space usage, organization, etc. strong points of emphasis. uses line, shape, pattern, etc., to strengthen the composition

18–20 · Excellent: Effective use of compositional techniques. Demonstrates exceptional visual interest.
13–17 · Good: Good use of compositional techniques. Demonstrates Good visual interest.
8–12 · Fair: Image composition has potential. Subject positioning & use of compositional techniques could be improved. Shows some visual interest.
0–7 · Poor: Little to no consideration of basic photographic composition techniques and distracting backgrounds. Does not demonstrate visual interest.

Exposure, focus, color, depth of field

18–20 · Excellent: Perfectly in focus, with no shakiness or blur. Correct exposure and accurate white balance and range of tones
13–17 · Good: Mostly in focus with some shakiness or blur. Mostly correct exposure/ white balance/ range of tones.
8–12 · Fair: Somewhat in focus with lots of shakiness or blur. Somewhat correct exposure/ white balance/ range of tones.
0–7 · Poor: Barely in focus and mostly shaky and blurry. Exposure white balance/ range of tones are mostly off.

The image's or collage's ability to evoke imagination and show impact on humanity

18–20 · Excellent: Clearly shows the impact of selected innovation on a community
13–17 · Good: Clearly shows the impact of selected innovation on a group of people
8–12 · Fair: Clearly shows the impact of selected innovation on an individual
0–7 · Poor: Vaguely shows the impact of selected innovation on humanity