The Photographic Society of South Africa would like to encourage young people to develop their photographic skills. The youth division of PSSA also provides the youth with a platform to measure their skills and compete against other children of their age nationally and internationally. These competitions also provide schools with a means to assess the skill levels of the children external to the school as a means of awarding school colors.
Here is some important information regarding the PSSA Youth Division and its activities and deadlines for 2022.
1. Annual PSSA Youth Division Salon
This salon (4th PSSA National Youth Salon) is open to all youth members of the Photographic Society of South Africa (PSSA) worldwide, as well as all photographers younger than 19 years old residing in South Africa.
Entrants need to be younger than 19 years old at the closing date.
The Salon will be conducted within the requirements and practices as prescribed by PSSA. There is no entry fee for this salon.
The salon will close 28 January 2023. Click here for the detailed salon brochure which will be available by the end of July 2022.
Click here for more information in the mean time.
2. Certificates of Excellence (COE’s)
This opportunity is open to youth members (under the age of 19) from any of the PSSA clubs and school photography clubs in South Africa. In order to recognize photographic skill in this division PSSA offers these COE awards – Certificate of Excellence.
Applications for COE’s take place twice a year. The dates for 2022 are as follows:
• Friday 6 May 2022
• Friday 2 September 2022
For more information on how the application process works, click here under the Youth Division menu on the PSSA website.
3. 21st PSSA National Up-and-Coming Photographic Competition
PSSA invites junior members of an affiliated PSSA Club (1 Star to 3 Star) and scholars, whether or not they are PSSA members, to enter.
The main purpose of this competition is to create an opportunity for club members and scholars, who do not yet feel ready for National Salons, to compete in a national competition with their peers.
The competition includes a separate section for scholars up to the age of 19 whether they are from a recognised scholastic institution or are home schooled.
There is no entry fee for this competition and the closing date is Saturday 18 June 2022.
For more information on this competition and the detailed competition brochure, please click here under the Salon Calendar menu. The detailed brochure will contain all the detail about this competition.
4. PSA Youth Showcase
The goal of the Photographic Society of America (PSA) Youth Showcase is to involve the Society and its Chapters, clubs, councils, and federations in the promotion and education of photography among young people by highlighting outstanding photographs from high school age students.
The Youth Showcase is open to all students worldwide, ages 14 through 19 and attending high school or its equivalent. The Showcase is an excellent opportunity for eligible students to share their work across all boundaries and receive recognition for their efforts.
The deadline for this competition is Friday 8 April 2022.
Entries are limited to eight projected images, from any one high school. The school can enter no more than two projected images from any one student.
There are six categories. The six categories for each section are:
1. ARCH - Architecture
2. PORA - People or Animals
3. SCAP - Scapes
4. PJOU - Photojournalism
5. CCHOI - Color Photographer’s Choice
6. MCHOI - Monochrome Photographer’s Choice
For more information on how the application process works, click here under the Youth menu or on the PSA Youth Showcase website www.psa-photo.org.. I will assist all schools with their entries and therefore I will need all images and entries by the 1st April 2022.
5. Culture @ Kearsney Photo Competition
Culture@Kearsney of the Kearsney College is their exciting annual programme designed to celebrate the arts and promote cultural appreciation among the youth in South Africa.
Part of this celebration is the annual photographic competition, open to all high school students. The final date for submission is 22 July 2022.
For more detail and categories of entry for this competition, please visit the website (culture@kearsney.com) and click on Photo Competition.
6. PSSA Youth Division Monthly Website Competition
There is a set subject announced each month on the PSSA website.
All individual youth members will be invited to enter 1 image into this competition with the following 2 categories - digital camera photograph and cell phone photograph.
The images will be judged and monthly winner will be announced.
The competition uses the PhotoVaultOnline.com online entry system. Type the address http://www.photovaultonline.com in your browser and log in or register if you are not already a user.
The competition closes on the 25th of each month and the set themes are as follows:
25 March 2022 – Monochrome (Open subject matter)
25 April 2022 – Landscapes
25 May 2022 – Macro and Close-up
25 June 2022 – Leaf or Leaves
25 July 2022 – Sport
25 August 2022 – Visual Art
25 September 2022 – Animal including birds (excluding domestic animals and birds)
25 October 2022 – Human Portraits
25 November 2022 – Street Photography
The monthly results will be available here on this page under the Youth menu on the PSSA website.
7. Certificates and awards
The PSSA board approved the issuing of certificates of participation to be awarded to each individual whose images are entered as part of a panel entry into an international competition.
Furthermore, the PSSA board also approved the issuing of certificates of achievement for the annual top achiever from each youth club/school club. The details on how this will be awarded will be communicated as soon as possible.
As more information becomes available regarding competition opportunities, it will be communicated.
I can be contacted at antonlagrange@gmail.com or on cell phone (0844424442)
Anton la Grange
FPSSA (Mono), APSSA(vers), DPSSA(vers), AFIAP
PSSA Director: Youth Division
