Use of Ai in Competitions
The following Guidance on Artificial Intelligence and the Remove tool were issued by the PAGB:
below is a summary of the PAGB’s position on the use of Artificial Intelligence tools, and the Remove tool in particular, when editing images. (Mar 2026)
This refers to Lightroom and Photoshop, but the same argument will apply to other editing software such as Affinity. Please see our SSPS Blog on the risks associated with each programme.
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The PAGB (Photographic Alliance of Great Britain) allows the use of the Remove tool in editing software, provided it functions as a content-aware removal tool using only pixels from the original image.
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Generative AI features that create new, non-photographic, or imported elements however, are generally forbidden.
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The key rule is that the final image must be entirely derived from the photographe's own work.
Key Considerations for PAGB and club Competitions:
Remove Tool vs. Generative AI:
When using the Remove tool, ensure "Generative AI" is turned off to avoid adding content not present in the original scene. There is a separate tick box to do this in Photoshop/Lightroom
Content-Aware is Okay:
Tools that use surrounding pixels to fill in a removed object (similar to cloning/healing) are generally acceptable.
(Spot healing tool probably safer if not sure.)
Edit & Generative Fill or Generate Image
must not be used.
No New Elements: You cannot use AI to add, replace, or heavily alter pictorial elements (e.g., adding a sky, birds, or new objects).
Responsibility:
It is the photographer's responsibility to ensure all adjustments are derived from their own source photos.
In summary:
Standard, non-generative, content-aware removal for cleaning up an image is allowed.
AI-generated, "imagined" content is not.
Please be aware of these rules when editing your images.
Note to SSPS members:
Most generative Ai 'sharpening' software actually uses photographic snippets from online databases to replace badly blurred areas of your image with tiny pin sharp replacements, from millions of very similar images. These snippets are actually taken from other photographers' images and therefore breaking the PAGB rules. (Editor-GL)
These PAGB guidelines were received by the club on the 12th March 2026
The following email Notice was issued by the NCPF to accompany these guidelines:
"The NCPF has recently been contacted by a member club concerning the use of
Artificial Intelligence (AI) within an image submitted to one of their internal club
competitions. The use of AI was inadvertent, and the result of using a "generative
remove tool"; within a popular software application. This tool generated new artificial
content which was not the original work of the author.
The NCPF thought it would be helpful to clubs to restate our position on the use of
generative AI content.
It’s important to state that the NCPF are not involved, nor should be, with competition
rules for clubs’ internal competitions. These are a matter for individual clubs to
decide for themselves.
Where the NCPF do become involved is in setting the rules for the NCPF Club
Championships and Annual competitions. The NCPF rules have been carefully
drawn up to ensure compliance and consistency with PAGB rules and those of
international organisations such as FIAP. This is why NCPF rules specifically
prohibit the use of generative AI in any image entered into our competitions.
This rule also applies to PAGB and FIAP competitions. It is important that clubs,
their competition secretaries, and members are aware of the generative AI
prohibition when submitting entries to NCPF competitions. If an image containing
generative AI content is entered into an NCPF competition and is chosen to
represent the NCPF, there is a risk of serious reputational damage and sanction to
the NCPF, club, and individual if the use of generative AI is detected - whether its
use was deliberate or not.
To help clubs and competition secretaries, we will continue to highlight the
prohibition of generative AI in the rules which we issue as part of every entry
invitation pack for our competitions.
Some additional guidance on the use of generative AI is shown below and we will
also include this on the NCPF website.
Permitted AI enhanced editing includes editing tools that perform
transformations, enhancements, or corrections based exclusively on the
existing pixel data captured in the author’s original photograph without
introducing externally sourced content.
Prohibited AI editing includes any AI assisted processes for synthetic image
generation that incorporate external image data, visual elements, textures,
objects, or scenes not originally present in the author’s photograph are
prohibited.
The use of generative AI is often not easy to detect and we appreciate the difficult
job competition secretaries have in this area, but we hope this note is helpful to clubs
and their members when submitting entries to NCPF competitions.