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PSA - HomeEducating and Connecting People through Photography

 

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PSA Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

During what hours and days can I reach PSA Headquarters?

PSA Headquarters is open Monday through Thursday, 7:00am to 4:00pm and Friday, 7:00am to 1:00pm (Central USA Time Zone).

The office will be closed for the official US holidays as follows: New Year's Day (January 1), President's Day (February), Good Friday (March or April), Memorial Day (May), Independence Day (July), Labor Day (September), Thanksgiving (fourth Thursday and Friday of November), and Christmas Day (December 25).

Can you define the acronyms used by PSA?

3D or 3DD – 3D Division – formerly called the Stereo Division

APSA - Associate - awarded for material contributions to the advancement of photography, whether resulting primarily from photography proficiency and achievement, or for service. Photographic achievement must be combined with elements of service. 

AW - Award Winner - distinction often given out in PSA photo competitions to images or photographers who are Award Winners or who earn 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place.

BOS - Best of Show - distinction often given out in PSA photo competitions to the overall winning image

CIC - Creative Interclub Competition - held by the PID

EPSA - Excellence - 700 or more exhibition acceptances supported by Star Rating certificates from one or more PSA Divisions.

FPSA - Fellow (awarded for outstanding contributions to the advancement of photography, involving a high degree of proficiency and achievement, combined with such elements of service as the dissemination of acquired knowledge through lecturing, judging, instructing, and publishing of articles or papers. Personal photography achievement alone does not qualify for this honor.) 

GMPSA - Grand Master - 3,000 or more exhibition acceptances supported by Star Rating certificates from one or more PSA Divisions.

HM - Honorary Mention - distinction often given out in PSA photo competitions to images or photographers who are not Award Winners.

HonFPSA - Honorary Fellow (this is the highest designation awarded by the Society. The recipient must be a PSA member, and the honor is awarded only for unique or outstanding contributions of major importance to photography.) 

HonPSA - Honorary Membership (the recipient of this honor need not be a member of PSA. It is awarded for outstanding service to photography, particularly through organizational or similar work. 

IC - Interclub Competition - a chart of all of PSA's Interclub Competitions will help you find the right competition for your PSA-member club.

ICC - Individual Creative Competition - held by the PID division.

IOY - Image of the Year. The PID, Nature, and Photo Travel divisions hold Image of the Year contests. See also: POY

MOM - Master Operations Manual – Many PSA positions have a MOM associated with them, which serve as job descriptions. These are helpful to read when applying for a volunteer position with PSA.

MPSA - Master - 1,500 or more exhibition acceptances supported by Star Rating certificates from one or more PSA Divisions.

PID - New division that replaced the CPID (Color Projected Image Division) and EID (Electronic Imagery Division) divisions after the 2012 PSA Annual Conference in San Francisco in September, 2012. It stands for Projected Image Division.

PJ or PJD - Photojournalism Division of PSA

POM - Picture of the Month (Pictorial Print Division Competition)

POY - Published Picture of the Year in the Photojournalism division, Print of the Year in the Pictorial Print division, and Photo of the Year in the 3D division. See also: IOY

PPD - Pictorial Print Division of PSA

PPSA - Proficiency - 288 or more exhibition acceptances supported by Star Rating certificates from one or more PSA Divisions.

PSA - Photographic Society of America

ROPA - Recognition of Photographic Achievement - a  recognition of a PSA Member's photographic achievements in PSA-recognized International Exhibitions. 

What is the difference between a PSA Honor and a PSA Distinction?

PSA Honors are given for service to the photography industry and/or PSA. A PSA Distinction is based on acceptances to PSA-recognized exhibitions.

How are Star Ratings Certificates related to ROPA Recognition?

Star Rating Certificates (which can only be earned by PSA members) are used to apply for ROPA recognition.

What changed regarding acceptances and star ratings after July 1, 2010?

As part of the new rules PSA instituted on July 1, 2010, a common set of required titles and acceptances was established for the Star and Galaxy ratings of all divisions. This affected some of the division rules that were in effect prior to that time; CPID had the greatest change as its 5-star level requirements went from 192 titles and 640 acceptances to the common 96 titles and 288 acceptances. Also, there was no limit on the number of acceptance that could be earned for each title at the Star level before the new rules were installed; this is applicable under the new rules, as well.

The new rules also include a conversion process so that all exhibitors’ rating could be adapted to the new system. Upon application by an exhibitor on a division-by-division basis, the appropriate division Star/Galaxy Ratings Director will evaluate the titles and acceptances to determine a revised rating, to include possibly going from a Star level to a Galaxy one. However, the rules change when reaching the Galaxy levels. Specifically, only 3 acceptances are permitted for each of to 25 required new titles necessary to advance to the next level for the first 5 levels; for levels 6 through 10, the requirements are 50 new titles and only 3 acceptances. For the higher Diamond ratings, the first 5 levels require 50 new titles and with only 6 acceptances each; levels 6 through 10 has requirement of 75 new titles and only 6 acceptances.

During the course of the Star/Galaxy Director’s evaluation, the applicant will be assigned the appropriate rating and sent a certificate to that effect. In addition, the “leftover” titles and acceptances will be identified. All the titles can be used for the next Star or Galaxy rating. But that may not be the case for some acceptances based on the limits that can be used for each title if the applicant is working toward a Galaxy rating. Should the applicant find that some titles have too many acceptances for any of the titles they plan to use for the next higher Galaxy rating, they have two options. The first option is to use the title for the next application and lose the excess acceptances. Alternatively, the titles and accompanying acceptances may be set aside until they can be applied to a Galaxy level where they can be better used.