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Honours & Distinctions
For Photographic achievement through the exhibition & panel systems.


YOU MUST  register  before starting the online application. 
OPEN 17th March 2026  -  CLOSE 21st April 2026

Panel Applicants Introduction

APS Honours Panel System

General - The standards set for Licentiateship and Associateship are equivalent to those needed to gain the same Honour under the Exhibition System. FAPS requires the submission of work showing outstanding technique and originality and for MAPS not only outstanding technique but also creativity and personal style.

Images to be Distinctly Different – All images submitted in a Panel application must be distinctly different, in content, from all other images in the submission.


LICENTIATESHIP (LAPS)

  • Be an APS Member, with a joining date prior to the closing date for applications (31st March each year).
  • Submit 12 digital images.
  • Have obtained a minimum of two acceptances earned in a National or International exhibition (as detailed in AEA1). The image(s) used to gain these acceptances may be used in the panel submission.
  • Not fewer than 3 of the panel members must be satisfied that at least 10 of the images submitted are at least of National standard.


ASSOCIATESHIP (AAPS)

  • Be an APS Member, with a joining date prior to the closing date for applications.
  • Submit 25 digital images.
  • Have obtained a minimum of four acceptances earned in a National or International exhibition (as detailed in AEA1). The image(s) used to gain these acceptances may be used in the panel submission.
  • No fewer than three of the panel members must be satisfied that 20 or more of the images submitted are of National or International standard. 
  • At least three of the panel members must be satisfied that five, or more, of the images, are top pictures worthy of awards.
  • In cases where a member applies under the Panel system for AAPS and does not already hold LAPS, the Panel may offer the lower honour of LAPS if in the event that the submission is not considered to be of a sufficient standard to be awarded AAPS provided the requirements for LAPS are met. If the member is being considered for LAPS, in this context, only the first 12 images (AAPS 01 to 12) will be considered a part of the LAPS consideration.


FELLOWSHIP (FAPS)

  • Have been a financial member of APS continuously for a period of at least one year immediately prior to the closing date for applications and must hold AAPS at the time of applying for FAPS.
  • Submit 45 digital images.
  • Have obtained a minimum of eight acceptances earned in an International exhibition (as detailed in AEA1). The image(s) used to gain these acceptances may be used in the panel submission
  • No fewer than four of the panel members must be satisfied that 40 or more of the images submitted are of National or International standards.
  • Not fewer than 4 of the panel members must be satisfied that at least 40 of the images submitted are of International Standard.
  • At least four of the panel members must be satisfied that 10, or more, of the images, are top pictures worthy of awards.


MASTER (MAPS)

For a detailed explanation of requirements please read the APA1.pdf

Note: Before you think about this level read the articles located in the APS Panel Applicants Information area, especially the ones by Bronwen Casey and Phillipa Fredricksen both of whom have attained MAP by Panel.

Mentoring is strongly recommended not just to ensure that your images are of high technical standard with no obvious flaws but also your chosen theme is carefully thought out and your images fit that theme.

This honour is reserved for those photographers who are outstanding in their field. The images in the portfolio must be related and comprise a coherent set where the images harmonise with each other in respect of the contents and the vision of the author. The candidates, on their own initiative, may choose any idea for the portfolio. For example, it may be built on a theme, or a sequence, or can illustrate a story among other ideas. The result needs to be that the folio stands on its own as an expression of the author's ability to evoke emotion, moods, illusions, or any other message. The folio must be submitted in such a way that befits this Honour.

An artist statement that describes the subject and the creative conception of the photographer must accompany the submission together with an appropriate title for the portfolio. Both the cohesiveness and the quality of each individual image in the portfolio will be assessed.

A guideline to the construction of the Artist statement is provided in the APA1.pdf

For approval by the Assessment Panel, a submission must receive at least 4 votes for MAPS.

Applicants must be able to demonstrate their overall ability in either colour or monochrome media. Each submission is to consist of a folio of twenty digital images (all monochrome or all colour). 

Images should be of a high technical standard with no obvious flaws. Emphasis will be placed on the coherency of the theme as well as the aesthetic quality of the images.

RESOURCES:

In the Panel Applicants Information menu, you will find several resources that you can use to assist you.

Applying for Honours via the Panel System by Alfred Zommers GMAPS EFIAP/b

MAPS by Panel - the Challenge by Bronwen Casey. Bronwen Casey attained MAPS by Panel in 2008.

MAPS by Panel - the Journey by Phillipa Fredricksen - her personal MAPS by Panel application process in 2016.

Master of FIAP - an article about the Master of FIAP process by Bronwen Casey - FIAP Liaison Officer for APS.

Links to Portfolio Examples - RPS and PSNZ Honours only go as high as Fellowship but nevertheless will give you some good ideas. FIAP link takes you to Master of FIAP portfolios. MFIAP is of a similar standard to MAPS by Panel.

AV HONOURS

1. GENERAL

  1. APS Honours are managed by the APS Honours Subcommittee (HSC) and awarded by the APS Management Committee on the recommendation of the HSC. A Panel of experienced national andinternational AV authors, as required, will be convened by the HSC in consultation with the Chair of the APS AV Group Council and will include a member of that Council.
  2. The AV Panel System operates in parallel with the AV Exhibition System (see document AEA1_AV_2021), providing an alternative pathway to APS AV Honours. The AV Panel System does not require that any submitted AV has previously gained an Acceptance or Award at any Exhibition. The standards set for AV Panel Honours are intended to be equivalent to those needed to gain the same honour under the AV Exhibition System.
  3. The Panel assesses a folio of AVs that is unambiguously representative of the individual’s work. As such, jointly authored AVs are not permitted in an AV Panel Application, but are permitted in an AV Exhibition Application.
  4. The definitions for National and International Exhibitions in AEA1_AV_2021 are used in this
    document.

2. REQUIREMENTS

Applicants are advised to study the entry requirements for AVs in National and International AV Exhibitions and the training materials available via the APS website. The minimum mandatory requirements for all AVs in an AV Honours Panel application are:

  1. The duration of an individual AV must not exceed 12 minutes. Shorter sequences are encouraged.
  2. AVs must be in the MP4 file format with a maximum resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels.
  3. Whilst there are no restrictions on subject matter, an AV must be suitable for public display and cannot be a slideshow sequence of unrelated images.
  4. All credits must be at the end of the AV. All contributing material must be credited appropriately. The name of the AV author must NOT appear in the credits or anywhere else in
    the AV. The Panel should not be able to directly identify the author from any material in the AV.
  5. Third-party images should be used only where they are important to the story and where it was not possible for the author to have captured those images. e.g. historical material.
  6. Video clip inserts are allowed in AVs if they add significantly to the story but must not exceed 20% of the total duration of the AV. This limit excludes simulated motion, time lapse photography, computer-generated transitions or other similar mechanisms designed to simulate movement, which are all acceptable AV components. Australian Photographic Society APA1_AV_2022 Audio Visual Honours by Panel 22/8/22.
  7. Authors should own the copyright of all material in their AV, or have permission to use such material from the copyright owners of that material.
  8. Applicants may optionally submit a list of approved-exhibition acceptances and awards achieved from AVs used in their application. This list must be verified by an APS Verifying Officer (VO) and sent by the VO to the Panel Coordinator by the closing date for applications. This list may be used in support of the application at the discretion of the Panel Coordinator where he or she felt that was relevant to the Panel’s decision.

3. LICENTIATESHIP (AV-LAPS) - BLUE Badge

  1. The Applicant must be an APS Member when applying for AV-LAPS.
  2. The Applicant must submit from 3 to 5 AVs, with an aggregate running time between 12 and 40 minutes.
  3. Each Panel member votes on whether they consider that all the AVs are of National Acceptance standard.
  4. For Panel support, the application must receive at least 3 of the possible 5 panel votes.

4. ASSOCIATESHIP (AV-AAPS) - GREEN Badge

  1. The Applicant must be an APS Member when applying for AV-AAPS.
  2. The Applicant must submit either 4 or 5 AVs, with an aggregate running time between 16 and 40 minutes.
  3. AVs used in a prior successful APS AV Honours application may be included in this application.
  4. Each Panel member votes on whether they consider that any 3 of the AVs are at least of National Award standard, with the remaining AVs at least of National Acceptance standard.
  5. or Panel support, the application must receive at least 3 of the possible 5 panel votes.

5. FELLOWSHIP (AV-FAPS) - RED Badge

  1. At least one of the five-member Panel will be an internationally distinguished AV creator.
  2. The Applicant must have been a financial member of APS for at least one year immediately prior to the closing date for applications and must hold AV-AAPS at the time of applying for AV-FAPS.
  3. AVs used in prior successful APS AV Honours applications may be included in this application.
  4. The Applicant must submit either 4 or 5 AVs, with an aggregate running time between 16 and 40 minutes.
  5. Each Panel member votes on whether they consider that at least 3 of the AVs are of International Award standard, with the remaining AVs at least of International Acceptance standard.
  6. For Panel support, the application must receive at least 4 of the possible 5 panel votes.

6. MASTER (AV-MAPS) - ORANGE Badge

  1. At least three of the five-member Panel will be internationally distinguished AV creators based overseas.
  2. The Applicant must have been a financial member of APS for at least one year immediately prior to the closing date for applications and must hold AV-FAPS at the time of applying for AV-MAPS. Australian Photographic Society APA1_AV_2022 Audio Visual Honours by Panel 22/8/22.
  3. No AVs used by the Applicant in prior successful AV Panel or Exhibition Honours may be included in this application.
  4. The Applicant must submit between 6 and 9 AVs. No aggregate running time is specified.
  5. A 'Retired AV Titles' list of all AVs used in all prior successful APS AV Honours applications must be submitted with the application.
  6. Each Panel member votes on whether they consider that at least 6 of the AVs are of International Award standard.
  7. For Panel support, the application must receive at least 4 of the possible 5 panel votes.