PSI Distinctions - Photographic Society of India

The Photographic Society of India awards three distinctions — LPSI (Licentiateship), APSI (Associateship) and FPSI (Fellowship) — in recognition of photographic vision, discipline and excellence. They are open to members and non-members alike, judged on the merit, quality and consistency of a portfolio rather than on individual strong images.

At a glance · How to apply · Categories · Technical specs · Fees & membership · Rules & ethics · Keys to success · Full official rules

The three distinctions at a glance

Distinction	Portfolio	Qualifying marks	Open to	Application form
LPSI — Licentiateship demonstrates competence	10 images	Minimum 60%	Anyone 18 or above	Download LPSI form
APSI — Associateship demonstrates artistic maturity	15 images	Minimum 70%	Anyone 18 or above	Download APSI form
FPSI — Fellowship demonstrates mastery	20 images	Minimum 80%	APSI holders only	Download FPSI form

Applications open

1st September every year

Last date to submit

5th December form + images + fees

Results declared by

31st December the same year

How to apply

Choose your distinction and one category (see the categories below — every application is made in a single category).
Prepare your portfolio to the technical specifications — plus all images combined on a single portfolio sheet/file, a portfolio title (max 5 words) and a write-up (max 80 words).
Fill in the application form for your level — LPSI, APSI or FPSI — writing each image’s caption/title on the form.
Email the form, images and portfolio sheet to distinctions@photographicsocietyofindia.com and pay the application fee — everything must reach PSI on or before 5th December.

Category	LPSI	APSI	FPSI
Pictorial	✓	✓	✓
Nature	✓	✓	✓
Travel	✓	✓	✓
Creative Digital	—	✓	✓
Photojournalism	—	✓	✓

Technical specifications (mandatory)

File format: JPEG, up to 2 MB per image, at 300 dpi
Maximum dimensions: 1920 px horizontal × 1080 px vertical
Colour space: sRGB
All images must also be sent together on one combined portfolio sheet/file

File naming: number each file to match the entry form, with the image title — e.g. 01_Sunrise (serial no. + title). Your name must not appear in any file name, and your identity must not be visible in any image.

Fees & membership

Fee	Indian applicants	Foreign applicants (PayPal)
Application fee — all distinctions (also for reapplying)	₹500	US $7
Honours fee — LPSI (payable only after success)	₹3,000	US $40
Honours fee — APSI (payable only after success)	₹3,500	US $50
Honours fee — FPSI (payable only after success)	₹4,500	US $60
Honours fee for an additional category — LPSI	₹3,000	US $35
Honours fee for an additional category — APSI	₹2,000	US $27
Honours fee for an additional category — FPSI	₹2,500	US $34

Fees are payable by cash, bank draft, cheque, NEFT or RTGS (the FPSI rules also accept Google Pay). An unsuccessful applicant may reapply on payment of a fresh application fee.

Membership requirement: a successful applicant must become a Life or Patron member of PSI, and the distinction remains valid only while PSI membership is active.

Rules & ethics — the essentials

Images must be the original, unaided work of the applicant, who must hold full copyright — with model/property releases wherever applicable.
The portfolio must be sufficiently varied to reflect your competence, yet conform to the chosen category. For FPSI, it must show outstanding ability and a coherent programme of work marking a notable advance in its field.
Progression rule: images used for LPSI cannot be reused for APSI or FPSI — each higher portfolio must be entirely different from previous submissions.
Portfolios already awarded distinctions by other photography organisations must not be entered.
Judging is by a Panel of three or five Judges appointed by the Managing Committee, whose final approval governs every award.
Proof of age may be required. Entries are not returned; PSI takes all possible care but assumes no responsibility for loss or damage, and reserves the right to use submitted images for promotion and education without compensation.

Keys to success — how portfolios are judged

Meeting the rules gets you judged — these insights get you awarded. Our Vice President Prasad D Dalvi has prepared a five-part visual guide covering the qualifying marks, the six judging criteria, and how to build a portfolio that works as one strong body of work.

Open the guide →

The full official rules

The complete rules for each distinction, as approved by the Managing Committee. These are the authoritative text — expand the level you are applying for.

Rules for the award of the Licentiateship (LPSI)

The Licentiateship shall be open to any individual (member/non-member of the PSI) who satisfies the requirements of the same and adjudged by the Panel of Judges, appointed by the Managing Committee of the PSI, to have attained the necessary proficiency in the category for which the application is made, subject to the final approval of the Managing Committee of the PSI.

The applicant for the Licentiateship shall not be under 18 years of age at the time of the application. (Adequate proof of age must be submitted, if required). The application for the Licentiateship should be made on or after 1st September every year. The last date for receipt of the application (in the prescribed form), evidence and fees shall be 5th December and the outcome of the application shall be declared by 31st December in the same year.
The application fee for Licentiateship shall be Rs.500/- (US $7.00 for foreign applicant payable through PayPal) and the Honors fee shall be Rs.3,000/- (US $40.00 for foreign applicant payable through PayPal). Honors fee shall be paid only by the successful applicant. Fees shall be paid by cash/bank draft/cheque/NEFT/RTGS only. The successful non-member will have to become the life/patron member of the PSI and his/her Licentiateship shall be valid only till he/she remains the member of the PSI.
The application for Licentiateship shall be made in any one of following categories: Pictorial (either Monochrome or Color), Nature (either Monochrome or Color), Travel (either Monochrome or Color).
Every application shall specify the category in which the applicant wishes to be admitted. The evidence required shall be a portfolio of 10 images sent by email — distinctions@photographicsocietyofindia.com. All the 10 images together on a single image/file should also be sent. The digital image file must be in JPEG format and file size should be up to 2 MB. Please submit images with 300 dpi resolution. The maximum dimension allowed shall be 1920 horizontal and 1080 vertical. The color space shall be sRGB. Digitally enhanced images or arranged/directed shots in Nature and Travel category shall not be eligible. Portfolios which have been awarded distinctions by other photography organizations should not be entered.
The evidence submitted in all cases shall be sufficiently varied to reflect the competence of the applicant in the field of photography. The evidence should be the unaided, original work of the applicant and should conform to the category in which the application is made. The applicant should own the copyright of the images and should also be in possession of model/property release wherever applicable.
The evidence should be accompanied by a write-up of no more than 80 words describing the portfolio. The portfolio should also contain a title of no more than 5 words.
A successful applicant shall be entitled to the use of the letters ‘LPSI’ (Licentiate of the Photographic Society of India), which shall be awarded only on the basis of the report submitted by a Panel of Judges. The Panel shall consist of either three or five members.
An unsuccessful applicant may reapply for the Licentiateship on payment of application fee of Rs.500/- (US $7.00 for foreign applicant payable through PayPal) provided he complies with all the other requirements.
The Licentiate of the PSI may, on payment of application fee, apply for Licentiateship in any other category. The Honors fee in this case shall be Rs.3,000/- (US $35.00 for foreign applicant payable through PayPal).
Captions or titles should be written on form. Digital image file must bear the title and must be numbered to correspond with the entry form e.g. 01_Winner (serial no. and title). The applicant’s name should neither be visible in the image, nor should it be included in the file name.
The application form (completed in all respects), evidence and fees should be sent to PSI on or before the last date, i.e. 5th December of the respective year.
All possible care will be taken of the evidence submitted but the PSI assumes no responsibility for loss or damage to the evidence.
Entries/images submitted shall not be returned and PSI reserves the right to use the images for promotion and education, without any compensation to the applicant.

Rules for the award of the Associateship (APSI)

The Associateship shall be open to any individual (member/non-member of the PSI) who satisfies the requirements of the same and adjudged by the Panel of Judges, appointed by the Managing Committee of the PSI, to have attained the necessary proficiency in the category for which the application is made, subject to the final approval of the Managing Committee of the PSI.

The applicant for the Associateship shall not be under 18 years of age at the time of the application. (Adequate proof of age must be submitted, if required). The application for the Associateship should be made on or after 1st September every year. The last date for receipt of the application (in the prescribed form), evidence and fees shall be 5th December and the outcome of the application shall be declared by 31st December in the same year.
The application fee for Associateship shall be Rs.500/- (US $7.00 for foreign applicant payable through PayPal) and the Honors fee shall be Rs.3,500/- (US $50.00 for foreign applicant payable through PayPal). Honors fee shall be paid only by the successful applicant. Fees shall be paid by cash/bank draft/cheque/NEFT/RTGS only. The successful applicant will have to become life/patron member of the PSI and his/her Associateship shall be valid only till he/she remains the member of the PSI.
The application for Associateship shall be made in any one of following categories: Pictorial (either Monochrome or Color), Creative Digital (either Monochrome or Color), Nature (either Monochrome or Color), Photojournalism (either Monochrome or Color), Travel (either Monochrome or Color).
Every application shall specify the category in which the applicant wishes to be admitted. The evidence required shall be a portfolio of 15 digital images sent by email — distinctions@photographicsocietyofindia.com. All the 15 images together on a single image/file should also be sent. The digital image file must be in JPEG format and file size should be up to 2 MB. Please submit images with 300 dpi resolution. The maximum dimension allowed shall be 1920 horizontal and 1080 vertical. The color space shall be sRGB. Digitally enhanced images or arranged/directed shots in Nature, Photojournalism and Travel categories shall not be eligible. Portfolios which have been awarded distinctions by other photography organizations should not be entered.
The evidence submitted in all cases shall be sufficiently varied to reflect the competence of the applicant in the field of photography. The evidence should be the unaided, original work of the applicant and should conform to the category in which the application is made. The applicant should own the copyright of the images and should also be in possession of model/property release wherever applicable.
The evidence used for obtaining Licentiateship cannot be used again for Associateship or Fellowship.
The evidence should be accompanied by a write-up of no more than 80 words describing the portfolio. The portfolio should also contain a title of not more than 5 words.
A successful applicant shall be entitled to the use of the letters ‘APSI’ (Associate of the Photographic Society of India), which shall be awarded only on the basis of the report submitted by a Panel of Judges. The Panel shall consist of three or five members.
An unsuccessful applicant may reapply for the Associateship on payment of application fee of Rs.500/- provided he complies with all the other requirements.
The Associate of the PSI may, on payment of application fee of Rs.500/- (US $7.00 for foreign applicant payable through PayPal), apply for Associateship in any other category. The Honors fee in this case shall be Rs.2,000/- (US $27.00 for foreign applicant payable through PayPal).
Captions or titles should be written on form. Digital image file must bear the title and must be numbered to correspond with the entry form, e.g. 01_Winner (serial no. and title). The applicant’s name should neither be visible in the image, nor should it be included in the file name.
The application form (completed in all respects), evidence and fees should be sent to the PSI on or before the last date, i.e. 5th December of the respective year.
All possible care will be taken of the evidence submitted but the PSI assumes no responsibility for loss or damage to the evidence.
Entries/images submitted shall not be returned and PSI reserves the right to use the images for promotion and education, without any compensation to the applicant.

Rules for the award of the Fellowship (FPSI)

The Fellowship shall be open only to the Associate of the PSI (APSI), who satisfies the requirements of the same and adjudged by the Panel of Judges, appointed by the Managing Committee of the PSI, to have attained the necessary proficiency in the category for which the application is made, subject to the final approval of the Managing Committee of the PSI.

The applicant for the Fellowship shall not be under 18 years of age at the time of the application. (Adequate proof of age must be submitted, if required). The application for the Fellowship should be made on or after 1st September every year. The last date for receipt of the application (in the prescribed form), evidence and fees shall be 5th December and the outcome of the application shall be declared by 31st December in the same year.
The application fee for the Fellowship shall be Rs.500/- (US $7.00 for foreign applicant payable through PayPal) and the Honors fee shall be Rs.4,500/- (US $60.00 for foreign applicant payable through PayPal). Honors fee shall be paid only by the successful applicant. Fees shall be paid by cash/bank draft/cheque/NEFT/RTGS/Google Pay only. The successful applicant will have to become the life/patron member of the PSI and his/her Fellowship shall be valid only till he/she remains the member of the PSI.
The application for Fellowship shall be made in any one of following categories: Pictorial (either Monochrome or Color), Creative Digital (either Monochrome or Color), Nature (either Monochrome or Color), Photojournalism (either Monochrome or Color), Travel (either Monochrome or Color).
Every application shall specify the category in which the applicant wishes to be admitted. The evidence required shall be a portfolio of 20 images sent by email to distinctions@photographicsocietyofindia.com. All the 20 images together on a single image/file should also be sent. The digital image file must be in JPEG format and file size should be up to 2 MB. Please submit images with 300 dpi resolution. The maximum dimension allowed shall be 1920 horizontal and 1080 vertical. The color space shall be sRGB. Digitally enhanced images or arranged/directed shots in Nature, Photojournalism and Travel categories shall not be eligible. Portfolios which have been awarded distinctions by other photography organizations should not be entered.
The evidence submitted in all cases shall be sufficiently varied to reflect the competence of the applicant in the field of photography. The evidence should be the unaided, original work of the applicant and should conform to the category in which the application is made. The standard of evidence submitted shall show outstanding ability and shall illustrate a coherent program of work resulting in notable advance in the particular field of photography. The applicant should own the copyright of the images and should also be in possession of model/property release wherever applicable.
The evidence should be entirely different from the one submitted for Licentiateship/Associateship of the PSI.
The evidence submitted should be accompanied by a write-up of not more than 80 words describing the portfolio. The portfolio should also contain a title of not more than 5 words.
A successful applicant shall be entitled to the use of the letters ‘FPSI’ (Fellow of the Photographic Society of India), which shall be awarded only on the basis of the report submitted by a Panel of Judges. The Panel shall consist of three or five members.
An unsuccessful applicant may reapply for the Fellowship on payment of application fee of Rs.500/- provided he complies with all the other requirements.
The Fellow of the PSI may, on payment of application fee of Rs.500/- (US $7.00 for foreign applicant payable through PayPal), apply for Fellowship in any other category. The Honors fee in this case shall be Rs.2,500/- (US $34.00 for foreign applicant payable through PayPal).
Captions or titles should be written on form. Digital image must bear the title and section of the entrant and must be numbered to correspond with the entry form, e.g. 01_Winner (serial no. and title). The applicant’s name should neither be visible in the image, nor should it be included in the file name.
The application form (completed in all respects), evidence and fees should be sent to the PSI on or before the last date, i.e. 5th December of the respective year.
All possible care will be taken of the evidence submitted but the PSI assumes no responsibility for loss or damage to the evidence.
Entries/images submitted shall not be returned and PSI reserves the right to use the images for promotion and education, without any compensation to the applicant.

Questions about distinctions? Write to distinctions@photographicsocietyofindia.com.