Practical guides for
salon photographers.
How to earn BPE crowns, understand FIAP distinctions, get more from the salons you already enter, and stop losing track of your acceptances.
FIAP Explained: A Complete Beginner's Guide to International Photography Salons
What is FIAP? What's a patronage number? What actually counts as an 'acceptance'? A plain-English answer to every question new international salon photographers ask.
Do Awards Actually Matter for Crown-Chasing?
The short answer: for BPE crowns, no — a Gold Medal counts the same as any acceptance. The long answer is more interesting, and it changes how you should think about entering salons.
Choosing Your Salons for FIAP: A Photographer's Field Guide
Not every FIAP-patronaged salon is worth your entry fee. How to spot the good ones, plan for country diversity, and build an entry calendar that actually moves you towards AFIAP and EFIAP.
How FIAP Distinctions Really Work: AFIAP, EFIAP and Beyond
NFIAP, AFIAP, EFIAP, EFIAP Bronze through Platinum, EFIAP Diamond d1 to d8, MFIAP — a plain-English guide to what each FIAP distinction actually requires under the 2026 rules, and how to plan your way there.
How to Get Started with BPE Crowns: A Practical Guide for UK Photographers
New to the British Photographic Exhibitions circuit? Here's exactly how BPE crowns work — from your first acceptance to a BPE5, and on to ABPE / FBPE distinctions.