You may not have heard of FIAP - la Federation Internationale de l’Art Photographique (the International Federation of Photographic Art). They are an international organisation of national associations of photography, whose major job is promoting photographic art through a variety of events: most importantly, exhibitions. (The full details of FIAP are in their official book but that is TLDR). They accredit competitive exhibitions around the world, which any photographer can enter. The term "competitive exhibition" in this sense means an exhibition where entries are judged by a panel of jurors, and only the best accepted, with fewer still being given awards. The rates of acceptance can be very, to extremely, low (less than 20% to less than 10% of entries accepted): just getting a picture accepted in one of these exhibitions is a real achievement. In recognition of the success of any individual photographer, FIAP has a system of distinctions that recognise sustained success in exhibitions in many countries around the world. As I mentioned in my previous post, I have just achieved one of these distinctions – AFIAP. 

I've not read a recent summary of how to go about getting a FIAP distinction, so here is a (rather too lengthy) description of my experience. If it sounds complicated, it is, but if you are interested, don't let that put you off: it is actually quite fun.

FIAP and its salons

In recognition of success in international exhibitions, photographers can apply to FIAP for various distinctions, via their national association (in my case the Photographic Alliance of Great Britain, the PAGB).

FIAP has various levels of distinctions, obtained by achieving acceptances (and awards) in international exhibitions. The entry-level distinction is Artiste FIAP (AFIAP), with Excellence FIAP (EFIAP) beyond that. EFIAP has various grades that can be achieved with more and more acceptances and awards.

FIAP recognises two different types of salons: individual salons and circuits. An individual salon is a single competitive exhibition where entries are judged by a panel of experienced photographers. A circuit is where a single entry is circulated through multiple (3–5) exhibitions, usually in one country or a small group of countries. Most salons are purely digital, so all you need to do is to upload a set of digital images in Jpeg format to the salon website, fill in various details and pay the fee.

AFIAP criteria

Working towards my AFIAP was a project that I intended to spread over the whole of 2019. To achieve AFIAP you need to satisfy a complicated set of regulations, and it is all very confusing. Before starting, I strongly recommend getting advice from somebody who has been through the process. I was very lucky to sit down with my friend Marie-Laure Stone from Folkestone beforehand. She's a real expert having now achieved a very high EFIAP distinction, Diamond level 2, so she knows her way around it. Honestly – find someone to talk you through the process before you start.

Here are the key criteria, from the latest rules.

Your first acceptance must be received at least 12 months before you can be awarded your AFIAP certificate. In this period you are required to gain:- 

a) At least 40 Acceptances with at least 15 different photographs. 

b) This success must have come from at least 15 different salons with FIAP Patronage, and those salons must be spread over at least 8 different countries. 

c) At least 4 of your 15 photographs must each have gained at least ONE acceptance as a PRINT as opposed to as a PDI 

You will be required to submit a CD Portfolio of 5 digital image files to FIAP. These must be of photographs that have each received at least 3 acceptances from FIAP Patronised Salons. 

For further details, the regulations can be found on the PAGB website. Confused? You will be!

As far as FIAP distinctions go, a circuit counts as a single salon, although each acceptance in the various exhibitions it contains counts towards the number of acceptances needed. So, suppose you enter a three-exhibition circuit based in one country, with, say, 12 different PDIs. You might get 3 accepted in all of the exhibitions, one more accepted in two, and one further in a third. So, this one salon would get you 5 individual images accepted, for a total of 12 acceptances, in one country. You should be able to see from this example how you can build up to the total of acceptances you need by entering various salons in different countries.

Entering salons

I aimed at the beginning to enter two different salons a month, which would spread the cost. It would also mean that I got some feedback in terms of which pictures were, or were not, likely to be accepted in a salon. To achieve the AFIAP, you need to get multiple acceptances for individual photographs, so it is helpful to know which ones are likely to be accepted, hence the need to get that level of feedback.

On the subject of cost, this can be a very expensive process. It might cost about the same as a bottle of Gordon's gin to enter a single salon, but a full entry into a large circuit might be equivalent to a bottle of Tanqueray No. Ten, a bottle of dry vermouth, plus a jar of green olives in brine. The number of dirty martinis obtainable from the same expenditure is undoubtedly much more personally satisfying and deeply pleasurable than the corresponding number of acceptances in FIAP salons!

After a bit of experimentation, I settled on a process where I would send new photographs to a circuit to try them out in front of multiple juries, and see whether they would be likely to be accepted; for the successful ones, I would then send them to individual salons, to increase the number of salons I had entered, as well as the number of countries in which I had acceptances. This is also less expensive than just entering circuits.

For the AFIAP, you need to get 4 prints (hard copy originals) accepted in total. I sent 8 prints, that had previously achieved high rates of acceptance as digital images, to the Edinburgh International salon, which has a print section. 4 of them were accepted, which I was delighted with, as their overall acceptance rate is less than 10%. The Edinburgh International forms part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and I went along to look at the exhibition: it was great to see my prints exhibited there. However, at that point, I had achieved the number of print acceptances that I needed for my AFIAP, so I went back to submitting digital images to achieve the required number of overall acceptances.

By last autumn, I had more than met the requirements for AFIAP and was well on the way to satisfying the next level up, EFIAP. At that point, I stopped submitting to the exhibitions, intending to take a few months break.

One other surprise was the number of awards that I received in the process. I achieved a number of medals, including some gold medals, as well as other commendations. Quite aside from the achievement this represents, this also counts towards the EFIAP award, where an additional criterion is a certain number of awards, as well as simply acceptances.

The importance of record-keeping and careful organisation

It is essential to keep a record of your submissions and results as you go along. In the end, you are going to have to submit a spreadsheet containing details of acceptances in various salons. Before you ever start on the FIAP track, make sure you get someone to talk you through this, because it will save a huge amount of grief in the long run. 

One more thing (yes, more). You will need a FIAP life card before you can apply for a distinction. There is an additional cost for this too. 

The PAGB holds details of requirements so have a good look through them. There is also a list of salons available, with links to each and their deadlines. You'll be amazed at the number of salons, as well as the sheer number of countries that host them. On their websites are results from previous years, so you can see the types of pictures that tend to get accepted.

If you use Lightroom, I suggest you start by choosing your very best 20 or 30 pictures and organising them into a collection, so that you know where to find them. That way it will be easy to export digital images of the right size for any particular salon. Different exhibitions have different size specifications for the images. I ended up with separate folders of JPEG images for submission, with each folder containing separate sized images to make it easier when uploading.

Choose a single title for each image at the very start, and make sure you stick with it without change every time you submit it. FIAP insist that you do not "retitle" any image, so make sure the title is simple, relevant and short. (See “A Word to the Wise” about FIAP Distinctions - Titles in PAGB e-news Issue 210 22 Jun 2018)

Finally

The AFIAP award is a very substantial achievement. It is also very rewarding to see your pictures in an exhibition catalogue from another country. 

I had planned to carry on with submitting pictures to exhibitions aiming at the EFIAP, which should be easily within reach. But from late January, I started following the scientific literature about the emergence of a new virus in Wuhan. The resulting pandemic has been so all-consuming that I never did get going on the EFIAP. I think that will probably have to wait until the virus has receded a lot further. 

(About the pictures shown here. I've selected these because they represent types that have done well for me. They have each had multiple acceptances in FIAP exhibitions.)