Exhibition of photography at RHS London Flower Shows - Regulations
Photographs of plants, flowers and gardens may be exhibited at the Society’s London Show in October. No charge is made for exhibiting at RHS shows.
Consideration will only be given to works which are primarily of horticultural or botanical interest. A minimum of eight pieces of work should be displayed. There is no upper limit on the number of pieces, but the display must fit into the allotted space, which will be a maximum of 6 metres of display panels. Particular credit is given for botanical accuracy, exact colour reproduction, and attention to detail. Higher awards tend to be given to larger, comprehensive exhibits illustrating a particular theme or plant family. Photographs are judged as a complete exhibit so that, if one or two works are of a lower standard than the others with which they are shown, the level of award will be affected. Gold medals are only awarded to exhibits of outstanding and consistent excellence.
As far as exhibits are concerned, choice of subject is left to the photographer, but since the main emphasis is on botanical or horticultural interest, an exhibit with a coherent theme is always appreciated more. Photographs can be of any dimension within reason, up to A2 in size (42x60cm or 17x24in). Images of different sizes will be accepted. Black and white or colour photographs are accepted but a mixture of both in an exhibit is discouraged. Whether the work is shown framed or unframed is again up to the exhibitor, but the exhibit must not be a mixture of both. It is quite in order for photographers sending work from abroad to arrange for someone in the UK to hang and take down the work on their behalf.
Photographers may only display work previously exhibited at an RHS show in exceptional circumstances and with prior permission from Secretary of the RHS Photographic Committee.
Selection - new exhibitors
Photographers who have not previously taken part in the RHS exhibitions before must submit a sample of four pieces of original work to the Photographic Committee for approval to exhibit, at its March meeting. For more information about the date and times of this meeting and the arrangements for delivering work for consideration please contact the Secretary of the Photographic Committee.
How to apply for space
Only exhibitors who have been accepted by the Photographic Committee are eligible to apply for space. Applications for space for exhibits of photography in October should be made on separate forms available from the RHS Shows Department. Exhibitors wishing to be included on the mailing list of those invited to apply for space for photographs should write to RHS Shows Department by the end of March. The closing date for applications to exhibit photographs is the middle of May for that year’s October show.
Awards for photographs
All awards will be based on the horticultural or botanical interest and accuracy of the exhibits. Awards for photographs are awarded in the GRENFELL medal range.
Awards for exhibits of special scientific or educational merit may be awarded in the LINDLEY medal range.
Exhibitors may display business cards and cards of their work for sale, in the holders provided by the Shows Department.
The following Royal Horticultural Society medals are available for award: Gold Medal; Silver-Gilt Medal; Silver Medal; Bronze Medal. If an exhibit is judged to below a Bronze standard, no award will be made.
It has been noted that some exhibitors refer to themselves as RHS Gold Medallists or RHS Medallists. These references should be qualified by the shows(s) and dates(s) of the award(s). If more than one medal is referred to, at least years in which the medals were won should be mentioned.
Medals
The first time an exhibitor is awarded a Gold Medal at an RHS Show, it is sent to the exhibitor free of charge. No second Gold Medal or first and subsequent medals of any other grade will be sent unless the exhibitor wishes to pay for them. Medals are never sent out un-engraved.
Please also refer to the Judging RHS Flower Shows general regulation on p.10 and Guidelines for judging group exhibits of photographs on p.14 of the Manual, 2006.