How to Enter Your First International Salon: A Step-by-Step Walkthrough

From reading a FIAP prospectus to uploading your files on photocontestpro or myphotoclub — the plain-English guide to entering your first international salon without any of the usual first-timer mistakes.

International salons are where UK photographers step from being "someone who enters BPE" to being a genuinely international exhibitor. But the first entry is intimidating — different websites, different rules, jury judging, awards you've never heard of, and a mysterious "FIAP number" that has to be quoted correctly. This post walks you through your first entry, end-to-end.

What counts as an "international salon"?

An international salon is any photographic exhibition that accepts entries from photographers worldwide and is patronised by at least one international body — most commonly FIAP (the Fédération Internationale de l'Art Photographique), often alongside PSA (Photographic Society of America), GPU (Global Photographic Union), FIP, PSG, or your national body. Each patronising body's acceptance contributes towards its own distinction scheme (FIAP → EFIAP; PSA → PPSA/EPSA; etc.).

For most UK photographers, the goal is FIAP acceptances that count toward NFIAP, AFIAP, EFIAP and beyond — read our full FIAP distinctions guide for the ladder.

Where salon entries actually happen

Two entry platforms host the vast majority of international salons:

photocontestpro.com — the most widely used. One account holds all your details, images and entry history. Search for salons by date, browse the full open list, and enter with a few clicks.
myphotoclub.com.au — used by many Australian, Asian and European salons. Same idea: one account per photographer, a library of your entered images, and a running list of open salons.

A minority of salons run bespoke sites (usually from the salon-host's own club). If you find one, the workflow is broadly the same — register, upload, fill in the section entries, pay.

Step 1 — Pick a beginner-friendly salon

Not all international salons are equally welcoming to first-time entrants. Look for salons that:

Publish acceptance rates from previous years (30–40% is common; anything under 15% is a tougher panel).
Offer a broad mix of Open sections rather than only tightly-themed ones.
Accept PDI (digital projected image) rather than requiring physical prints for your first go.
Have a reasonable entry fee (US$15–US$25 for a full four-section entry is typical).

Country of origin doesn't matter — a Chinese salon and a Portuguese salon award identical FIAP points. Focus on section fit and welcoming judging first, geography second.

Step 2 — Read the prospectus carefully

Every international salon publishes a downloadable brochure (also called the "conditions of entry" or "prospectus"). Do not skip this. Look specifically for:

Patronage numbers — one per patronising body. The FIAP number is formatted yyyy/xxx (e.g. 2026/295). Log it in your tracker as soon as you enter — you'll need it later for FIAP applications.
Section definitions — an "Open Colour" section in one salon may exclude any monochrome, while another allows it. Nature sections vary the most in what they permit (hand-of-man rules, focus stacking, cloning etc.).
Entry limits — normally 4 images per section, sometimes 3.
Image specifications — the FIAP standard is 1920 pixels wide by 1080 pixels tall (or long-edge 1920), sRGB, JPEG, under 2MB. But always check — a few salons still ask for the old 1600px standard.
Closing date — international salons close weeks in advance of judging. Miss it by an hour and there's no late entry.
Awards structure — FIAP Gold Medal, PSA Gold, salon Gold, HMs, Ribbons and so on. Any of these count as an award for the FIAP Diamond ladder.

Step 3 — Prepare your images

Match the salon's technical spec exactly. A file that doesn't conform will be rejected before it even reaches the judges. Standard workflow:

Export from Lightroom / Photoshop at long-edge 1920px (or the salon's spec).
sRGB colour space, JPEG, quality 10–12.
File size under 2MB (compress further if the salon caps at 1MB).
No borders, no signature, no watermark — most salons prohibit these outright.

Give each image a simple, memorable title and stick with it forever. "Autumn Bridge" should never become "Autumn Bridge v2" in a later salon — FIAP's matching is literal, and renaming an image will fragment your acceptance history at application time.

Step 4 — Enter on the platform

Once you've picked your salon on photocontestpro or myphotoclub:

Log into your account. Both platforms hold your address, PSA/FIAP membership numbers etc. across all entries.
Click the salon and select the sections you want to enter.
Upload up to 4 images per section. Enter the exact image title (case-sensitive on some sites) and confirm the section.
Review the summary — every section, every image title. Errors here are the #1 cause of accidental disqualification.
Pay via PayPal / Stripe. Keep the confirmation email — it's your entry receipt.

Step 5 — Log the entry immediately in your tracker

This is the step 90% of first-time entrants skip. Open Exhibition Tracker and log the salon before you close the entry confirmation. Fill in:

Salon name, country, FIAP number.
Every image entered, per section.
Leave the "Acc." checkbox unticked for now — you'll tick it if/when the results arrive.

Better still: use the tracker's auto-fill lookup — type the FIAP patronage number and it pulls the salon name, country and full section list straight from myfiap.net. Two seconds per salon.

Step 6 — Wait for the results email

Judging usually takes 2–6 weeks after closing. You'll receive a results email listing which of your images were accepted in which sections. Award emails (Gold Medal, HM etc.) often arrive separately.

As soon as it lands: tick the accepted rows in your tracker and fill in any awards. This is your baseline for the FIAP distinction ladder. From here, every subsequent salon builds on the same ledger.

Common first-time mistakes

Not saving the salon catalogue. When a discrepancy comes up years later at FIAP application time, the catalogue PDF is your evidence. Download every one.
Renaming an image. Once "Autumn Bridge" is entered, that stays its title forever. Renaming even slightly ("Autumn Bridge (final)") fragments your FIAP history.
Ignoring the FIAP number. A salon result email doesn't always include the patronage number. Grab it from the brochure the day you enter.
Entering the same three big-name salons repeatedly. Country coverage matters for FIAP distinctions. Spread your entries across at least 5+ countries in your first two years.

Where next?

Now that you know the mechanics, the next question is which salons to enter — read Choosing your salons for FIAP for how to build a calendar of entries that grows your acceptances (and your country coverage) efficiently.

Ready to log your first international entry? Create a free Exhibition Tracker account — the FIAP dashboard has the myfiap.net auto-fill, country coverage stats and application-ready Excel exports built in.