The world of international photography salons is full of three-letter acronyms — FIAP, AFIAP, EFIAP, PSA, RPS, BPE — and every one of them means something specific. If you're new to salon photography and you're not sure where to start, this post is for you. It's the guide I wish I'd had before entering my first FIAP-patronaged salon.
We'll answer ten of the questions photographers ask most often — in the order they usually come up.
What is FIAP?
FIAP — the Fédération Internationale de l'Art Photographique — is the International Federation of Photographic Art. Founded in 1946 and headquartered in Luxembourg, FIAP is the world body that recognises photographic exhibitions and awards individual photographic distinctions. National photographic federations from more than 90 countries are members (the UK is represented by the PAGB — Photographic Alliance of Great Britain).
Two things FIAP does that matter for you:
- Grants patronage to photographic exhibitions that meet its standards, so an acceptance at such an exhibition is internationally recognised.
- Awards distinctions to individual photographers based on their record across FIAP-patronaged exhibitions.
What is a FIAP Patronage?
A FIAP Patronage is official recognition granted by FIAP to a photographic exhibition (a "salon") that meets its regulations — rules around judging, jury composition, medal awards, cataloguing and reporting. Every patronaged salon receives a unique patronage number formatted yyyy/xxx (e.g. 2026/295) — the year the patronage was granted and a sequence number. That number appears on the salon's website, in its catalogue, and in the official FIAP registry at myfiap.net/patronages.
Why the patronage number matters: only acceptances at FIAP-patronaged salons count towards FIAP distinctions. When logging your entries — whether in a spreadsheet or in Exhibition Tracker — record the patronage number alongside the salon name. Retrospectively hunting for patronage numbers years later is one of the most miserable evenings you can inflict on yourself.
How do I enter a FIAP exhibition?
The process is remarkably consistent across salons:
- Find the salon's website. The FIAP directory at myfiap.net lists every current patronaged salon. Individual salon websites publish their conditions of entry (COE), opening and closing dates, and section list.
- Register an account with the salon organiser. Some use Photocontestpro, others use their own system.
- Upload your images at the specified size. Fill in the image titles exactly — these get printed in the catalogue and used to verify your acceptances later.
- Pay the entry fee. Fees vary from about €15 to €40 depending on the salon and the number of sections you enter.
- Wait for the judging report. A few weeks after the closing date, you'll receive an email listing which of your images were accepted, and any awards.
- Log the results. Salon name, patronage number, country, sections, accepted images, awards. Do it while the email is still open in your inbox.
What image sizes does FIAP allow?
Image size requirements vary by exhibition, and each salon publishes them in its Conditions of Entry. That said, FIAP recommends and most salons use:
- Maximum 1920 pixels wide for horizontal images.
- Maximum 1080 pixels tall for vertical images.
- JPEG format, sRGB colour space, quality 12 typically.
- File size cap usually 2–3 MB per image.
Always check the COE — a few salons still use older 1400×1050 limits. Prepare your images at the correct size before you start entering, and save them with clean filenames so you're not scrambling on the closing day.
How many images can I enter?
Most FIAP-patronaged salons allow up to four images per section, though the exact limit is set in each salon's approved regulations. Some salons run four sections (Colour, Monochrome, Nature, Travel) so you can submit up to 16 images total in one entry. Others have fewer sections or lower limits.
A word of caution: just because you can enter four images per section doesn't mean you should send four indifferent ones. Your acceptance rate — and, over time, your progress toward FIAP distinctions — is much better with two strong images than four mediocre ones. Judges see everything.
Can the same image be entered in multiple FIAP exhibitions?
Yes. The same photograph can be entered in many FIAP-patronaged salons and, if accepted at each, each acceptance counts. This is exactly how photographers reach the higher FIAP distinctions — a single strong image can rack up dozens of acceptances over its "career". However, the same image cannot be entered more than once in the same section of the same salon (or, typically, more than once in the same year of a circuit).
There's also a subtle rule around image titles: the title you use is part of the image's identity for FIAP purposes. If you rename "Autumn Bridge" to "Autumn Bridge (edit v2)" in a later entry, FIAP treats them as two different images. Pick a title once and stick with it for the photograph's life.
What is an Acceptance?
An acceptance means that one of your images has been selected by the salon's judges for inclusion in the exhibition — for hanging on the wall, appearing in the projected slideshow, and being printed in the catalogue. It's the base currency of the salon world. Not every entered image gets accepted — a typical FIAP salon has an acceptance rate of 15–30%. Consistent 30%+ acceptance rates are the mark of a strong salon photographer.
Every acceptance you accumulate at a FIAP-patronaged salon counts one point toward FIAP distinctions. It also counts toward your national federation's distinctions if you're a PAGB member — the UK's equivalent CPAGB/DPAGB/MPAGB structure uses "credit points" that map from salon acceptances.
What is a FIAP Medal?
A FIAP Medal is an award given to the highest-scoring or best images in each section of a salon. FIAP-patronaged exhibitions must issue at least one FIAP Gold Medal per section, and may issue additional FIAP Silver, Bronze, HM (Honourable Mention) or Ribbons. There are also non-FIAP awards — PSA (Photographic Society of America), the salon's own medals, and sponsor awards — often given alongside the FIAP one.
For BPE crown accounting, a medal counts as one acceptance — the same as any other. For FIAP distinctions, the medal itself doesn't add to your score, but medal-winning images tend to be the images that consistently accumulate lots of acceptances over time — so they matter indirectly. Read our dedicated post on whether awards actually matter for crown-chasing for the fuller picture.
What is a FIAP Distinction?
A FIAP Distinction is a formal recognition of a photographer's achievements across FIAP-patronaged exhibitions. Under the 2026 rules there are two tracks:
- Volume-and-diversity distinctions — earned by accumulating acceptances across many salons in many countries. NFIAP is the entry level (25 acceptances / 5 countries); AFIAP is the first "letters after your name" recognition (75 acceptances / 15 countries); EFIAP the mid-career distinction (200 / 20); and EFIAP/b, /s, /g, /p climb from there. From EFIAP/d1 onward the ladder switches currency and is measured in awards, not acceptances — d1 through d8 form the Diamond tier.
- Portfolio distinctions — MFIAP (Master FIAP) is judged not on quantity but on a submitted body of work.
Once earned, you may write your distinction after your name — "Firstname Lastname AFIAP", "Firstname Lastname EFIAP/g" — and use it in artist statements, print marketing, and camera club biographies. It's a genuine, portable, international credential.
For the full ladder of thresholds, see our post on how FIAP distinctions really work.
How do I apply for a FIAP distinction?
Applications go through your national FIAP federation liaison — in the UK, that's the PAGB. You submit:
- A completed application form for the specific distinction (AFIAP, EFIAP, EFIAP/b etc.).
- A spreadsheet listing every relevant acceptance with image title, salon name, FIAP patronage number, country, section and any award.
- Digital copies of every accepted image at the resolution the current FIAP rules specify.
- Any application fee (typically small — this is a volunteer-run scheme, not a commercial one).
FIAP verifies your acceptance list against the salons' own records. Any discrepancy — a mistyped patronage number, an inconsistent image title — will hold your application up until you resolve it. This is where meticulous record-keeping stops being a nice-to-have and starts being essential.
Exhibition Tracker's FIAP dashboard exists specifically to keep this data application-ready. Every row you log carries salon, patronage number, country and section; its Apply Excel export produces the exact spreadsheet format FIAP wants — paste-and-submit.
Where next?
If you've read this far, the natural next steps are:
- Read How FIAP Distinctions Really Work for the numbers behind each level.
- Read Choosing Your Salons for FIAP to build a smart entry calendar.
- Start logging. Create a free Exhibition Tracker account — patronage-number lookup, country coverage stats and application-ready Excel export built in.
Every EFIAP photographer you'll meet at a print exhibition started with a single acceptance at a single salon. Yours is one entry form away.