LANCASHIRE AND CHESHIRE PHOTOGRAPHIC UNION
Affiliated to the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain
L&CPU Print Portfolio Awards
March 2026
The Print Portfolio Award scheme is available through the Federation. Its purpose is to provide its affiliated members (individual photographers) with a credible yet achievable photographic award.
Although you submit your work as a portfolio, it is our intention to make the award scheme unique, challenging and interesting. Although the portfolio is submitted as a cohesive portfolio of work, the images are scored individually. Cohesion does not form part of the score but is an important prerequisite.
Although you may personally have a target, as an entrant, you do not pick the level of award you wish to obtain. You just pick the number of prints you wish to enter as your print portfolio. The level of award you achieve is dependent on the number of prints in your portfolio, and the total average score achieved by the portfolio. Certain levels can only be achieved with a higher number of prints in your portfolio.
The award assessment may seem a little convoluted, but it enables a very simple scoring and administrative process, which means we can offer the scheme at a lower cost than anything else currently available. It also means that it is very difficult to fail, although you may not always achieve the level you want.
Photographic Print Portfolio Award Scheme Requirements
- A submission must consist of a cohesive portfolio of prints, with a main title, and if required, a brief statement of intent (of not more than 100 words).
- The award scheme is based on you attending, as it will be necessary to deliver and collect your print portfolio on the assessment day.
- The assessment day will be an open event with spectator tickets available.
- A portfolio submission can be between 4 and 20 prints.
- Print portfolios don’t have to be specifically arranged or ordered, but all prints should sit together and have a similar style in content and presentation. This style, for example, could be, but not limited to, all birds, all flowers, all landscapes, all portraits, all monochrome. The use of the same coloured mounts and similar processing styles is essential to maintain good cohesion.
- Individual prints can be any size up to 400x500mm, but have to be mounted on a 400x500mm mount board no thicker than 4mm.
- Prints can be presented either mounted ‘Landscape’ or ‘Portrait’, but it is recommended that they are all presented in the same aspect and ratio, to help cohesion.
- You are not required to specify the level you are aiming for. The level achieved is based on the number of prints in the submission and your total average score.
- The individual image score is derived by the five assessors scoring each image at a pre-defined standard, with all the assessor scores then added together to give an individual Image score between 10 and 25.
- The total average score for the portfolio is derived by adding up all the individual image scores and dividing by the number of images in the portfolio.
- The proposed portfolio of prints have to be initially submitted online, as individual digital images, sized at 1600×1200 pixels as a jpeg image with a sRGB colour profile.
- On initial application, your portfolio is assessed, by the administration team, for cohesion and theme, using your digital submission.
- A portfolio can be rejected before the assessment and before payment, if no cohesion is witnessed. The entrant will have a small window of opportunity to address highlighted issues, and re-submit, to still be assessed on the target assessment day.
Online Application is currently open.
Application for the 15th November 2026 assessment in Chorley closes 25th October 2026.
Online Application Guidance
If you are interested in the award scheme, application and payment can be made through the L&CPU’s online Portal (https://lcpu-portal.org.uk). You will be required to create a user account, if you do not already have one.
Once you have logged in through your account, you choose the following menu option: ‘Registrations’ → ‘Photographic Award Application’.
If you have not already made an application, you will get a description of the Award Scheme, and at the bottom of the screen you will see a button to make the application. You do not have to fill in any forms, only press the button. Once you have pressed the button, you can return to this menu option at any time, to see the status of your application.
Once your application has been accepted and allocated to the Assessment Day Event, a new option will appear on the status screen which will say ‘Enter Images’. Pressing ‘Enter Images’ will take you to the main entry and upload screen. You can then enter your individual image titles, and upload the digital versions. You can also add your title and statement of intent (if required).
Once you have entered all your images (between 4 and 20 Images) you can then create labels to attach to the back of the prints, by pressing the button ‘Labels (2×8)’. These labels will fit on standard self adhesive Avery L7165, printed at 100%, or can be printed onto plain A4 and cut up and attached to the back of the print. The label should be attached to the top right hand corner on the back of the print. It is essential that they are printed clearly as the barcode is used to identify the print on the day.
IMPORTANT: If you change any of your entries you will have to re-print the label as changed images are allocated a new barcode. Please also click the button ‘Prints Included’ to generate a report (on A4) to include with your prints when handing in on the day.
Once your entry has been assessed for cohesion and accepted by the administration team, they will change the status of your application, which will then allow you to make payment through the entry screen. A payment (PayPal) button will become active. Payment can be made using your PayPal account, or by entering a valid debit or credit card number. Note: We do not store your payment card details. Once you have made payment, you will not be able to change your entry.
Award Assessment Day
On the assessment day, prints will need to be handed in, at the start of the day, to the sorting room. All the portfolio prints are mixed and judged at the same standard, by using judging keypads and bespoke software.
The assessors will be instructed to score to the standard detailed below:
- Score 2 – Poor: Has technical issues that overly detract from the subject matter.
- Score 3 – Average: Average club print – no major faults.
- Score 4 – Good: Good club print. Could get placed in a club competition.
- Score 5 – Excellent: A very good club print. Could win a club competition.
Each individual print will achieve a total score between 10 and 25 dependent on the sum of all the assessors marks.
Minimum points and Average Score required for a pass for each fixed portfolio size
| Award Level | Avg. Score | 4 Prints | 6 Prints | 8 Prints | 10 Prints | 12 Prints | 14 Prints | 16 Prints | 18 Prints | 20 Prints | Min No. Prints |
| Level 1 | 15 | 60 | 90 | 4 | |||||||
| Level 2 | 16 | 128 | 160 | 8 | |||||||
| Level 3 | 17 | 204 | 238 | 12 | |||||||
| Level 4 | 18 | 288 | 324 | 16 | |||||||
| Level 5 | 19 | 380 | 20 | ||||||||
| Level 6 | 20 | 400 | 20 | ||||||||
| Level 7 | 21 | 420 | 20 | ||||||||
| Cost | £3.75 per print | £15 | £30 | £45 | £60 | £75 |
The level awarded is dependent on your average score and your total number of prints.
- e.g. If an applicant enters 8 Images and only achieves an average of 120 they would still get the ‘Level 1’ award. If they get an average of 128, they would get the ‘Level 2’ award, but with 8 images they cannot achieve anything higher than level 2.
If you do not achieve the level you want, or you want to try and improve the level obtained, you can make another submission, using both new and prints previously used. Your award can be displayed as a post-nominal after your name in the following format: pp3LCPU for Level 3, pp1LCPU for Level 1 etc.
Adrian Lines MPAGB FBPE EFIAP SPSA
Print Portfolio Awards Team