Frequently Asked Questions

Shutter League is a photography evaluation and skill assessment platform. Every image you upload is evaluated by the Apex Engine — a scientific, AI-powered system that evaluates your photography across 5 dimensions. No human judges, no bias, consistent feedback every time.

The evaluation is built from five dimensions. It's a composite evaluation from 0–10 based on five dimensions: Depth of Difficulty, Wonder, Disruption, whether the timing was right, and the emotion it creates. Each dimension is weighted differently per interest area.

10 free photographs evaluated — no credit card required. After that, subscribe to continue uploading and building your standing.

Both are welcome. Camera and Mobile photographers participate in separate leagues with their own galleries, Annual Excellence Award tracks, and recognition programmes — same evaluation engine, no gear bias.

Most images are evaluated within 30–60 seconds of upload. During peak periods it may take a few minutes. You'll see your evaluation appear on your dashboard automatically.

No. Each image is evaluated once. This protects the integrity of the gallery and programme results. If you upload a better version of an image, it is treated as a new upload and uses one of your monthly photograph evaluated credits.

The evaluation engine assesses against interest-specific criteria. The evaluation breakdown on your image detail page shows exactly which dimensions evaluated lower and includes an Apex Byline — a specific improvement recommendation. Use that as your guide.

Rookie — 0.0 to 3.9  |  Shooter — 4.0 to 4.9  |  Contender — 5.0 to 5.9  |  Craftsman — 6.0 to 6.9  |  Maverick — 7.0 to 7.9  |  Master — 8.0 to 8.9  |  Grandmaster — 9.0 to 9.6  |  Legend — 9.7 and above

Free — 10 photographs evaluated, full evaluation across 5 dimensions, shareable evaluation card. No credit card required.

Basic — ₹100 for 100 photographs evaluated. One-time. No subscription. Full evaluation, shareable card, Official Standing eligibility.

Camera League — ₹4,000/year. Unlimited uploads, full programme access, peer rating, Annual Excellence Award eligibility, Mentor Review access.

Mobile League — ₹2,000/year. Same as Camera League with a dedicated Mobile League standing track.

For the Basic plan (100 evaluations), unused evaluations do not expire — they remain on your account until used. League subscribers have unlimited uploads for the duration of their subscription.

Go to your Dashboard and select Manage Subscription, or visit the cancellation page directly. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period. No cancellation fee.

Yes — cancel your current subscription and subscribe to the other league. Your photographs evaluated, evaluations, and history are retained.

See our full Refund & Cancellation Policy. In brief: refunds are considered for technical failures, duplicate charges, or unauthorised charges. Requests must be submitted within 14 days.

Shutter League is open to photographers worldwide, but we currently accept Indian payment methods only — UPI, Indian debit and credit cards, and Net Banking. International card support is coming soon. If you are outside India and want to be notified when international payments go live, contact us and we will notify you first.

Every photograph evaluated automatically enters the monthly programme for its interest area and league. No separate action needed. Recipients are determined by your evaluation at the end of each month.

The Annual Excellence Award (AEA) is Shutter League's year-round photography excellence programme. Your AEA standing is the average of your top-6 evaluations in your strongest interest area — you participate in one interest track, the one where your evaluations are highest. A wildlife-only photographer qualifies on wildlife alone. In 2026 you need at least 3 active months with 1 or more photographs evaluated, and a minimum of 6 photographs evaluated in your qualifying interest area. From 2027: 6 active months and 6 photographs evaluated in your qualifying interest area. Camera League and Mobile League participate in separate tracks. Recognition and awards announced to qualifying participants.

An annual programme where Camera and Mobile photographers participate together in the same pool. One recipient per interest area, plus a Grand Open Recipient selected by jury. Participation fee: ₹50 per image per interest area. Requires an active subscription.

A new photography prompt is released every Monday. Submit your best image by Sunday 23:59 UTC. Free to participate. Top performers qualify for Annual Excellence Award tracking.

You do. Uploading to Shutter League does not transfer copyright. We store your images to provide the evaluation and portfolio service. See our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions for full details.

Your original uploaded images are stored on our platform. Contact us at support@shutterleague.com if you need access to your original files.

The platform checks for AI-generated images as part of the upload process. If your image is flagged, it will not appear on the public gallery and your evaluation will be held. You can appeal via the platform — all appeals are reviewed by the admin team.

For high-performing images and top-placed finalists, we may request your original RAW file to verify authenticity. This protects the integrity of the programme. When requested, you will receive an email with a direct link to submit your file. You have 7 days to submit. Failure to do so within the window will result in the evaluation being withheld from programme standings.

No — editing is fully acceptable. Our verification checks only that the uploaded JPEG and your RAW file show the same photograph. The following are all fine and will not trigger a flag:

• Exposure, shadows, highlights, contrast adjustments
• Colour grading and white balance changes
• Sharpening, noise reduction, lens corrections
• Cropping — including significant crops from high-resolution cameras

What will trigger a flag:

• Uploading a RAW file from a different photograph
• Objects added or removed using compositing or generative AI
• The scene or subject is materially different between the JPEG and RAW
• A file that cannot be opened or decoded (corrupt or wrong format)

No. Cropping a high-resolution RAW file to meet upload requirements — or as a creative compositional choice — is completely legitimate and will not flag your image. Our verification engine does not penalise photographers for camera resolution or crop factor. The only question it answers is: is this the same photograph?

No. EXIF metadata is not used as a verification criterion. Some software (Lightroom, Photoshop, certain mobile editors) strips or modifies EXIF on export — this is common and expected. Verification is based entirely on visual content comparison, not metadata.

Subscribers can rate other photographers' images anonymously. Rating others earns credits, which can be used to enter your own images into the peer rating pool. Peer ratings are shown alongside your evaluation but do not change it.

No. Your evaluation is set by the Apex Engine and is protected. If peer ratings diverge significantly from your evaluation, a jury review is triggered automatically. Your evaluation is never reduced by peer ratings.