Portfolio Levels

There are four formal Portfolio Awards broken into two broad levels of Intermediate and Advanced.  There is also an informal level that describes the entry standard expected of members submitting their initial application for the Bronze Award.

The following outlines the key elements of each level.

Entry Standard

To enhance the likelihood of a Member being successful at the first level of the Portfolio Awards, the following are pre-requisites for application at Bronze level.

• Participation in at least two [2] APS Mini Theme activities prior to submitting for their Bronze level awards (participation can include any Mini Theme Activity since they commenced in late 2023) OR
  
  
• Achieved Portfolio Awards (any level) with another approved Association (PSA, PSNZ or FIAP) OR
  
  
• Direct Entry via a written submission (email) to the PSC outlining the applicants story-telling or portfolio experiences.
  For example:
  • Awarded results in APS Photobook Awards or AV Exhibitions (a minimum of four Awards at Highly Commended or higher would be needed)
  • Experience in Exhibiting images. If a collaborative Exhibition, then at minimum 6 images would be to have been displayed by the potential applicant.
  • The PSC will have the request evaluated by 2 Evaluators. The Evaluators decision to accept/not accept a direct entry is final. If direct entry is ‘unsuccessful’ members are encouraged to participate in the Mini Theme activities to develop their knowledge and skills in this area.
  • An email requesting Direct Entry can be made at any time to portfolioawards@a-p-s.org.au. If approved, the member can then submit a Bronze Application at the next or any future application period.

Intermediate Level

Awards

This level is designed for APS Members to investigate, explore and develop their creativity in this area.  Therefore, it is a semi-structured level where there is more support provided to participants than at the advanced level. There are two Awards at this level.

	Bronze Award Requirements You must have been an APS Member for a minimum of 18 months at time of formal application. You are required to submit 10 images that create a Portfolio plus one Integrated Portfolio Image. You must provide a Portfolio Title and a Statement of Intent to an Evaluation Panel For Bronze the Statement must be no less than 50 words but no more than 150 words.
	Silver Award Requirements You must have held Bronze for no less than 6 months at time of formal application. You are required to submit 15 images that create a Portfolio plus one Integrated Portfolio Image. You must provide a Portfolio Title and a Statement of Intent to an Evaluation Panel For Silver the Statement must be no less than 50 words but no more than 100 words.

Advanced Level

Rather than simply providing a linear pathway from the Intermediate level of more images, the advanced level will be designed to provide greater onus on the Member to develop and create their own portfolio in a manner that suits their needs, opportunities and sense of self as a photographer. The details of this level are being developed with an intent to release them in late 2026.