In 2018 we decided as a club to try producing a zine* to showcase member’s work. We decided to theme this around the idea of narratives – using a short sequence of images to tell a story or convey an idea. This in contrast to many of the regular club competitions that focus on images in isolation. The zine proved a success and was popular with members so we’ve now added it as a regular part of the club’s annual programme.

A zine is a term for an independently produced, short-run magazine and is something that is popular way for photographers to showcase their work in a physical medium.

What is a ‘narrative’?

A narrative in this case is a sequence of images that tell a story or convey an idea, through a series of images. For example the images might show events unfolding chronologically such as the line up for a race, the runners in action and the winner holding the trophy. Or you might have a series of images that are all from different times and places but which share a common element, for example a solitary figure in different locations to convey the idea of loneliness. What the narrative should not be is a sequence of unrelated images with no obvious connection or images which are only connected by something incidental. Your work has a collective title for all the images which can help guide the viewers understanding the meaning behind your work.

Entry Guidelines

• One entry per member – each member gets the equivalent of 2 A4 sides in the printed Zine to show their work.
• You must choose one of the predetermined layouts. We require this as laying out the Zine is a lot of work and it would be too time consuming if everyone wanted to do their own thing. This is also important for giving the Zine a professional and consistent look. Let us know the layout code – you don’t need to worry about laying out the images yourself.

• Image aspect ratios are important! Our templates require images to be 3:2 ratio for landscape or portrait orientation shots or 1:1 (square). Most digital cameras will produce 3:2 ratio images by default but some may require cropping. Images supplied in the wrong sizes will be cropped to fit!
• When choosing images think about how they will appear when shown together – for example it may look better if the horizons line up in two landscape shots shown side by side as in the 4 and 2 image layouts. Similarly if you have a strong vertical element repeating in shots, you might want to try and line those up where images will appear one above the other.
• Images should be sized so the longest edge is 3000 pixels. This provides adequate resolution for a high quality print to be made.
• Image file names must be numbered to match their desired location in the template.
• The sequence needs a single title that encompassed the whole work.
• Entry is free – however as the Zine costs the club money to produce, if you want a physical copy expect to pay between £4 to 5 a copy to cover printing cost.