For anyone not familiar with photographic distinctions, they are awards and recognitions given to photographers for their skill, creativity, and achievements. They enable the recipient to use various letters after their name denoting the distinctions held.

The most common photographic distinctions are from:

The Photographic Alliance of Great Britain (PAGB)
To qualify for PAGB distinctions one must submit a series of images (either prints, projected digital images or moving images set to music) which are judged before a panel.

Federation Internationale De L’Art Photographique (FIAP)
FIAP distinctions are awarded to photographers through participation in FIAP accredited exhibitions (known as Salons). Each level of distinction denotes the number of images which have been accepted into Salons.

Photographic Society of America (PSA)
PSA distinctions are awarded to photographers through participation in PSA accredited Salons. Each level of distinction denotes the number of images which have been accepted into Salons.

Royal Photographic Society (RPS)
RPS distinctions are awarded by submitting a body of images which are judged before a panel.

British Photographic Distinctions (BPE)
BPE distinctions are awarded to photographers through participation in BPE accredited Salons. Each level of distinction denotes the number of images which have been accepted into Salons.

I currently hold distinctions from the PAGB, FIAP, PSA and BPE. My BPE1 distinction was obtained in 2019 and achieved by having 25 images accepted into BPE accredited Salons. I was only 8 images short of achieving my BPE2 distinction when Covid struck and all Salon activity ceased.

By the time the Salons re-opened my Mum had become seriously ill and caring duties meant I did virtually no photography for over a year, then after my Mum’s death I moved house and have been renovating ever since. However, a friend gently but firmly twisted my arm this year to start re-entering Salons in search of my final 8 BPE acceptances which I achieved last month.

I then spent an evening putting together my application and learned this week that I have been successful in obtaining my BPE2 distinction through having 50 images accepted into BPE accredited salons 😊.

Within each Salon entered, as well as the possibility of being accepted and exhibited (either in print or online) one also has the chance of an image being awarded a gold, silver, bronze, judges or salon medal or a Highly Commended or Commended ribbon. I now have several of these and it’s a lovely lasting reminder of the effort, skill and graft which goes into the production of each picture because believe me when I say that achieving a distinction such as EFIAP, which involves having at least 250 Salon acceptances with at least 50 different images in at least 20 different countries, involves a lot of hard work.

I’m not going to lie, when I first started entering Salons I found the entire process utterly bewildering. The Photographic Society of America in particular seems to like bamboozling their applicants and, even now, I find the process of their distinction system stressful. So for anyone thinking of applying for a photographic distinction I’d suggest going for either a PAGB or a RPS, which involves submitting a panel of images for judging. The process is much more straight forward, not to mention less expensive.

I’m off to celebrate my new distinction with a brew and a jaffa cake 😉.