Kissmefortytimes
Rules
Clear, public, immutable for the season.
© Xavier Martyn10 rules
Rules
Eligibility
Any professional or semi-professional photographer may enter. One account per person. Images must have been created by the entrant.
Image requirements
JPEG, PNG or WebP. Minimum 2000 px on the long edge. Maximum 50 MB. The site automatically optimises your file for the duels — nothing to prepare. Taken within the last 2 years.
Retouching
Classical retouching is permitted: colour grading, contrast, sharpening, cloning for minor distractions, cropping, exposure and light adjustments. Not permitted: heavy compositing, replacing sky or major elements, AI-generated or AI-altered content forming the subject.
Submission
Maximum 5 images per universe per session (a Duo plan therefore plays Wedding and Portrait separately). 1 credit per image played. Credits are non-transferable.
Categories as creative directions
Categories aren't scoring boxes: they're creative directions that guide the photographer when submitting. The competition plays out at the universe level (Wedding or Portrait) — within a city, two photos from different categories can face off. There are only the images.
Peer judging
No numeric score: you choose. Your images face off in duels — two photos, “which one wins?” — judged by fellow photographers. Three peers vote in secret, the majority decides. Everything is anonymous: the judge never knows your name. You must complete all your duels to see your results.
The strength score
No quotas, no thresholds. Within a city, photos are ranked by a “strength score” (Elo / tennis-style): beating a strong photo is worth more than beating a weak one. Everyone starts equal; the score is earned in the duels.
Fairness by design
Only one of your photos per city, and two of your photos never meet. Chance spreads the photos across cities — nobody picks their opponents or an easy city. The 5-images-per-universe limit applies regardless of plan.
Ranking & points
Your place in each city earns points (Champion 1000, 2nd 600, Top 4 360, Top 8 180, participation 10). They add up in your world's ranking, which moves after every session but is only final in December, then resets. Wedding and Portrait always stay separate.
No appeals
Results are final. They are locked at publication and cannot be contested. Admin corrections are only possible for a proven technical error, with a full audit trail.
Trust & Transparency
Trust & Transparency
Everything you need to know about how Kissmefortytimes works — and why it works that way.
Full anonymity
The judges — your peers — never see your name, profile, country or any identifying information. You never know who judged your images. Work is judged for what it is.
No pay-to-win
One subscription. 20 credits per universe. That's it. No way to buy extra credits, boost visibility or gain any advantage. The playing field is flat by design.
How judging works
Your images face off in duels: two photos, “which one wins?”. Three peers vote in secret, the majority decides (never a tie). Each photo plays several duels — no judge decides alone.
The strength score
Within a city, wins aren't counted bluntly: a “strength score” (Elo / tennis-style) ranks the photos — beating a strong photo is worth more. Everyone starts equal; the score is earned in the duels, never given in advance.
A fair draw
At close, photos are randomly spread across cities — only one of your photos per city, and two of your photos never meet. Nobody picks their opponents or an easy city. The draw is logged.
Immutable results
Results are locked at publication. Every credit spent, every vote, every published result is recorded in an audit trail. Admin corrections are only possible for a proven technical error, with full logging.
Recognising an image
The field is small: if you recognise an image, you flag it in one click and the duel goes to another judge, with no penalty. And the system measures whether a photo is over-scored by those who might know it, then recenters the score on neutral judges — everything is traceable.
Kissmefortytimes — Rules & Trust