Updated AI Requirements on CAPA Competitions

Updated AI Requirements on CAPA Competitions

UPDATED – December 17, 2025

To help photographers understand which AI features are acceptable for our competition submissions, we’ve developed a “List of Approved AI Tools” webpage.

Understanding How These Standards Apply

We want to help you prepare for our new AI Authentication Standards, which take effect January 1, 2026.

Here’s what you need to know: These standards apply to any image you submit to CAPA competitions after January 1, 2026, regardless of when you originally captured or edited the photograph.

We recognize that many of you have wonderful images in your archives from years past, and you’re absolutely welcome to enter them! The key is ensuring those images can meet our current submission requirements.

What this means in practice:

  • Planning to enter a favourite image from 2018? Great! Just make sure you still have the original file and can provide the required metadata
  • Recently edited an older photograph? Perfect! As long as you worked from the original and retained the editing files, you’re all set
  • Concerned about images edited before these standards were announced? We understand—just verify you have the necessary files before submitting

Our goal is to maintain competition integrity while supporting your participation. If you’re unsure whether a particular image meets these requirements, we encourage you to check your files now rather than after submission. This gives you time to organize your workflow or choose alternative images if needed.

Original Files and Metadata Protection

For all CAPA competition entries, you must:

  • Retain your original captured images
  • Perform all editing on copies, never the originals
  • Keep originals accessible for quick retrieval if verification is needed

Metadata Requirements

Every submitted image must contain complete metadata from your post-processing workflow, including:

  • Camera settings (ISO, aperture, shutter speed, focal length)
  • Software and version information (e.g., Lightroom 13.1, Photoshop 2024)
  • Editing history and applied operations
  • Date and time stamps

Images lacking complete metadata will not advance to judging. Screenshots are not accepted as they strip essential metadata.

Verification Requirements for Award Candidates

For potential winning entries, the Director of Competitions MAY request:

  1. Original Files: Un-retouched JPEG or RAW files from your camera.  For in-camera merged images: The camera-generated merged file (HDR, focus-stacked, multiple exposure, or panorama) is your original file. Individual source frames are not required.
  1. Working Files (choose based on your workflow):
    • Photoshop users: Layered PSD file with all editing layers intact. Users who require the flattening of their image file for functionality integrity and/or storage reasons must retain a PSD file or a set of PSD files prior to each flattening so that all editing history is retained.
    • Lightroom users:

Preferred: Original RAW file + XMP sidecar file, OR DNG file with embedded edits

Acceptable: Layered TIFF if you didn’t use RAW/XMP/DNG workflow

    • For other applications:

Original RAW file + any proprietary sidecar/settings files that preserve editing history

These files provide a complete audit trail demonstrating compliance with competition specifications.

Compliance

Failure to provide requested verification files within the specified timeframe will result in entry withdrawal and recalculation of competition results.