If your going to show and show in APA sanctioned shows I would highly recommend get a APA Standard of Perfection book. The breed descriptions are fairly precise on all factors and it has illustrations of the breeds. Its not really a clean cut, exactly as they should be kinda thing. It actually serves as a guideline for judges... and breeders. When ultimately it is up to the judge and every judge looks at different things in a bird. And some will pick a bird to win that another judge would not.
Confirmation and color are about a 50/50 split in the points. I would say a little off confirmation is better than a little off color. But either will loose you points. Major defects however will be huge deductions or disqualifications. Such as a gray feather in an Embden or a less than vertical stance in a Runner.
A little off topic but I'll add..........
If your just getting started in showing I would recommend starting with a solid colored breed. They tend to be much easier due to not having to concentrate on getting a pattern right. Like Pekins or Cayugas over Swedish or Magpies. And in the geese I'd recommend starting with a smaller, easier to handle breed. Such as Chinese or Romans over Embdens or Toulouse.
