iJourneys

John Gough Photography

LRPS Examples

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LRPS Examples
An image from my LRPS panel / John Gough

LRPS Examples lists winning submissions from RPS members who have successfully passed the LRPS qualification.

The LRPS is a qualification from the Royal Photographic Society, which confirms that you are a competent photographer. How though do you know if you are a competent enough photographer? One way is to take a look at other winning portfolios.

The RPS require ten images, which must work together as a panel. The RPS show some successful LRPS example submissions on the qualifications pages of their website.

The better you can judge whether your work meets the standard. The more confidence you can have in submitting your own work.

Examples of Successful LRPS Panels

We have curated panels from RPS members who have shared their success on their own or others websites or social media.

LRPS Assessments

Now that the RPS has resumed assessments at their HQ in Bristol and other locations around the country, now is a good time to think about your LRPS journey. If your photography is as good as the thirty LRPS example panels above then you are on your way.

My LRPS

It was the first real photography project that I ever undertook, and achieving the LRPS felt like a big deal. Joining a camera club was a good move for me because it taught me what the judges would be looking for in terms of technical excellence, and I hope I have helped others with this one big tip.

How to Achieve an LRPS

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Marilyn / John Gough / Canon EOS M3

I recently gave a presentation about How to Achieve an LRPS.

It pulls to together some of the advice on these pages i.e 5 Tips for Passing an LRPS and LRPS One Big Tip. However, I included more about how the LRPS is assessed in this presentation. Using the criteria:

Technical Quality: depth of field / exposure / sharpness / colour rendition / processing faults

Visual Awareness: use of light / composition / viewpoint / post processing / use of colour

Communication: point of interest / creativity / decisive moment

Overall Impression: cohesive panel / printing and mounting / avoiding repetition / panel layout

RPS distinctions are too often seen as stuffy and unobtainable. However, if you are a good photographer the LRPS is achievable. It is hard work, and you will need the skill, but it is worthwhile.

It is also a great project, and projects are important in photography. Pursuing a project can push your boundaries, and get you out of your photography comfort zone. It will also develop your own creative persona and style.

The LRPS can be the start of an enlightening personal journey.

You are welcome to download How to Achieve an LRPS.

LRPS One Big Tip

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ARPS Panel / John Gough

You may have some time on your hands at the moment and be thinking that now is the time to put that panel together to gain a Royal Photographic Society distinction like the LRPS.

If so, I have one big tip for you. I cannot guarantee this tip will get you that distinction. However, this has worked for me and for many others.

Although I gained my LRPS at the first attempt, it took me three tries to get my ARPS. It wasn’t until I the third time that I realised I was approaching the RPS Assessment Day blind. I was putting my work in front of those judges with the odds stacked against me. The judging panel was demanding perfection, but I could not be certain that my images were perfect. I was not fully in control, I was leaving too much to chance.

For the RPS distinction the LRPS, you are required to create 10 images. Mount them and create a hanging plan which will show the RPS how to present the pictures to the RPS judges. The ten images are referred to as a panel.

For the ARPS a panel of fifteen images is required.

What is the Tip?

The tip will sound simple, but I want to explain why it is smart and why it will give you the edge.

I am assuming here that you have been on an RPS Advisory Day, and that you are fairly confident that you have a selection of images that will make the grade.

Do you have pictures that are well composed, and are technically excellent? Are you sure? This article may help you ensure you have the basics covered.

The advice below is about that last few percent, that tiny difference between a pass and failure.

So what is it?

My one big tip:

Print your images and stick them on your wall.

Yes. I know it sounds simple, but it is KISS.

Keep It Simple Stupid.

This is one simple tip with big implications. Small input, big outcome. Let me explain.

Why Print Your Images Before the LRPS Assessment?

Screen or Print

Looking at your images on screen does not always give a good representation of how your pictures will look when printed.

An image can look sharp on screen, but not quite as sharp in print.

Shadows and highlights that look perfectly controlled on the screen may print differently.

You may have cropped the image but failed to notice something at the edge of the image that is distracting. Holding the print and examining it in close detail will throw up those errors.

Colour casts are not easy to see on screen, but easier to see on the print.

There may also be artefacts, odd squiggles that are not apparent on the screen but appear on the print.

If you go along to an LRPS Assessment, you will notice the judges picking up each print and almost putting the print to their noses to try to spot mistakes. If you have printed your images and corrected faults and reprinted. Then you increase your chances that the judges will find no faults.

Consistency

Consistency is important for the LRPS, and even more important for the ARPS. Where the judges are looking for a common look and feel, and photographer input. So it is important not to, for example, have one image over saturated and another pale and washed out. One painterly and the others tack sharp

It is not always easy to spot these differences on a screen. If however they are printed and presented in front of you, the inconsistencies will jump out.

Why Stick Your Images On your Wall? 

The judges will be looking at your panel in it’s entirety. You will notice at the start of the assessment the judges will sit for a minute or two before they get up to look at individual photographs. They are at this point assessing the whole panel. 

A LRPS panel is often referred to as the eleventh print, and is judged along with the other ten.

You could arrange your hanging plan on the computer, print your images and arrange them on the floor or on a table top, but nothing beats sticking them on the wall and seeing them as the judges will see them.

If it works?

If this one big tip works with either the LRPS or ARPS why not share how it worked for you. You can contact me here.



Camera Wrist Strap

I have avoided dropping my camera so many times using a simple inexpensive wrist strap like this one. Cameras and expensive lenses do not bounce!

UK

USA



John Gough ARPS

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I am delighted to report that I have been awarded an Associate distinction by the Royal Photographic Society. I am now an ARPS!

My submission was in the travel category, which required me to submit a panel of fifteen photographs on a travel theme. I chose to do mine about Cambridge.

The panel is judged by five experts, who are usually Fellows of the society. They assess the panel based on a statement of intent.

Statement of Intent

My statement of intent was:

Cambridge is an easy city to cover on foot. Most sights are within easy walking distance, and much of the central area is traffic-free. The footpaths and pavements provide the best view of the universities, the river and the Backs. It is also possible to access many of the famous colleges and landmarks, such as Kings College Chapel.

My panel is a meander in and around the colleges of Cambridge, capturing some of the architecture, heritage and atmosphere of this famous seat of learning.

Cambridge Travel Panel

The panel is shown above. The images are available here.



Camera Wrist Strap

I have avoided dropping my camera so many times using a simple inexpensive wrist strap like this one. Cameras and expensive lenses do not bounce!

UK

USA



Five Tips for the LRPS

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The LRPS or Licentiate of The Royal Photographic Society is an internationally recognised photography qualification. The RPS has three levels of distinction: Licentiate, Associate and Fellow, and although the LRPS is the entry level qualification it is not easy to achieve and to quote the RPS, “requires images of a high standard of photographic execution”.

You will need to put ten images together, which are different and technically excellent. Different not necessarily in subject matter but in approach, showing different techniques e.g landscape, macro, movement, shallow depth of field etc.

When the ten images are ready, send or take them either as PDIs or prints to an assessment day, where they will be judged by a panel of top photographers. All the details are on the RPS site

Here are five top tips for success:

1 LRPS Advisory Day

Go to a LRPS Advisory Day where the ten images can be critiqued by the judges that actually do the assessments. It may be daunting to have your work discussed in front of an audience, but what is blindingly obvious to them, you may not have noticed or thought it important. Whether it be sharpness, blown highlights, lack of detail in shadows etc they will spot it. You will get good advice on whether your panel of images is ready for submission to be assessed, or what work you have to do to achieve that.

2 Technical Excellence is the LRPS Secret

The judges are not looking for beautiful outstanding photographs, they are looking for technically perfect images. Yes, the composition must be reasonable, and there should be no lamp posts growing out of people’s heads. Have a look at the LRPS distinction successes online for the level of technical competence required.

3 Print or PDI

I am told on good authority that more people pass with prints than with PDI’s (screen images). This is because the judging panel can view the images as a whole rather than individually. When the images are judged, the prints will usually be arranged in two rows of five prints. It is up to you to number your prints and provide a hanging plan showing how the prints are to be arranged.

4 Hanging Plan Tricks

Put your best images in the centre of the rows at positions 3 and 8. Then try to balance 2&4 and 7&9. At the end of the row the image should stop the eye and bring the gaze back to the panel of images. Judges maintain that the images hung together like this make up the 11th image. See my effort here. 

5 Your Favourite Pics

You may have a fantastic image of New York at night, but unless it is flawless technically try to resist the urge to include your favourite images in the panel. Try to avoid any technical issue, a picture of a bike shed that is in focus and processed correctly is going to tick the box better than a fuzzy but stunning shot of crocodiles attacking wildebeest on the Masai Mara. My advice is to setup a project to take technically supreme pictures. They must be interesting, show a varied approach and have no technical flaws. When you have twenty try to arrange into a hanging plan. If it looks right then it probably is right, and time to book that advisory day.

Where to Buy Your Equipment

I buy my equipment from Wex because of their exceptional customer service. I once returned a camera after 30 days, and the next day they called to return my money to my account. Their prices are always competitive and they offer good prices on the trade in of your used gear