Camera Clubs

cptnumpty

cptnumpty

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Liam
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Morning All,

I am currently the syllabus secretary of my local camera club, and we are looking at ways to improve attendance and bring in new members.

The club has gone from averaging 45 members to now having 23. Most club nights we are only getting about 15 members.

I'm looking for ideas of how to revamp the club, bring in and keep new members.

We have a small group of older members who are resistant to change, and another group who want to change the club for the better.

Have any of you guys got any ideas or experiences of camera clubs and how to make them better.

Cheers

Liam
 
I have just joined our local club which has a membership of eightyish, and the majority turn up each week. We have a very good programme of speakers including, this year, Danny Green, Will Cheung and Charlie Waite. Would getting a couple of big name speakers in help?
 
I would say self promotion is your main problem.

You could start by telling us where you are. That way anyone reading this local to you would be encouraged to come along and maybe stay a bit longer.
 
Wow, my camera clubs membership has gone up significantly in recent years, and we're not really doing much different.

Some quick ideas - do you have a website? If so is it updated regularly, with examples of members work etc? Is the club active in the community, e.g holding exhibitions etc in local libraries, galleries, etc? Have you got interesting speakers coming along?
 
Hmmmm

Sounds like you'd need more information than this to make a considered recommendation and trying to apply what works elsewhere might not just transplant....

- What does your programme of events currently look like ?

- Do you have a closed season ?

- What was the profile of the people who left, old/young, experienced/beginner, long-term member/just joined ?

- Are the 8 members difference between regular attendees and total membership regular or is it just a mixture due to availability or subject interest ?

- Does the club have a particular focus for the photography (eg mine is biased to wildlife) ?

- What have been the most enthusiastically attended meetings ?

- Where there any specific events that caused the drop off of the 22 membership numbers ?

Personally I think you need to work with your membership for 3 reasons:

1) Any changes you make will impact them and ideally you don't want to lose them because of it

2) They will have other photographers that they know that could be invited

3) They will know the club & the reasons for decline (and why they stay), and what it is would improve the club
 
I would ask the people who have left to be honest with you and say why they have left and ask them what would bring them back. The members you describe as being resistant to change - does this mean they have complained about different things? Sounds like it is time to start talking. I stopped going to a club a few years back and then went back - only went once. Still doing the same. A big name, might also get some new members. Good luck.
 
I tried our local club and didn't like it at all. It just didn't feel very welcoming and it felt very cliquey. I sat with the other newcomers for the first meeting of the season and clock watched until it was time to go home. Very little interaction.

"Resistant to change" is a worrying trait in today's world and as Mike said - working with your membership is the way forward. Perhaps set aside a meeting for/about it?

Ian.
 
Not sure what you can do - to be honest I avoid Camera Clubs like the Plague, too many equipment snobs for my liking

But good luck, moving the venue to a Pub seems like a good option

Les (y)
 
Lez325 said:
Not sure what you can do - to be honest I avoid Camera Clubs like the Plague, too many equipment snobs for my liking

But good luck, moving the venue to a Pub seems like a good option

Les (y)
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I have to say I have found exactly the opposite. I am a member of our local club, the quality of speakers is what is of interest to me, just last night we were treated to a most interesting talk by Nick Lockett http://www.nick-lockett.com/ who has been a professional for 40 years including photojournalist and head photographer at ITV, priceless.
 
If you want new members then, particular younger members, then they will want to feel they can go somewhere where they can learn and improve e.g. help and encouragement not force fed lectures

The internet is now full of advice and videos so ask yourself what can you give to new members. It may be as simple as suggesting to new people slight changes to help improve an image, e.g. depth of field, cropping, angle etc...all the basics. Workshops in the field / studio. Dont lecture people, instead give friendly advice and suggestion

Perhaps a surgery for the images taken by new people by various people. First rule of photography is the ability to be able to critique your image e.g. how can i make it better

How would a photographer newbie be made to feel welcome and not feel overawed and out of their depth...maybe the answer is how to get new people involved
 
I was told that my village has a good camera club and I attended one of the meetings last year - the reason I went was to see if I could add something to the itinerary, given that I'm a full-time pro and quite well-qualified. Although everybody was very nice I really didn't fit in. I'm middle-aged by definition but the membership was generally much older, there weren't any young people there as I recall. I offered to do a talk or two on portrait photography (so that they could gather some tips for photographing their families for example) and to offer critique to members who are hoping to improve. I made it clear I was not intending to charge for my time but disappointingly not one person in the room was interested.

It was very much about landscapes, flowers, etc. They did say that generally the people who speak or critique are from the RPS and I'm not sure they wanted anybody who didn't fit a particular mould. I made it clear I would make myself available if any members would like some extra help, but I didn't hear from them again. I do think that, from what I've heard, most camera clubs are a bit like this.

So Liam first needs to determine what the problem is and then set out some objectives. This will depend on the kind of membership the club wishes to attract - whether to go with the retirement demographic or try and bring in younger members. That in turn will dictate the schedule of events.
 
When you lose half the membership, it's all very easy to go below the critical mass to sustain the club before those that remain give up and everything comes crashing down, I've seen it happen - without finding out what precipitated it - it was a harmonious club with little or no infighting.

I would examine what caused this drop, there could be reasons for this, there could be a common factor. Use this information to work with the remaining 23 to attract new members...
 
Thanks to all for your really good input.

It has certainly given me something to collate and then present to the committee and membership.

Liam
 
Steve-T said:
I have to say I have found exactly the opposite. I am a member of our local club, the quality of speakers is what is of interest to me, just last night we were treated to a most interesting talk by Nick Lockett http://www.nick-lockett.com/ who has been a professional for 40 years including photojournalist and head photographer at ITV, priceless.
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+1

I am currently the chair of my camera club and everyone works really hard to find a programme to draw in people and there are no 'camera snobs'
 
Sorry peeps.

It's a camera club in Blackburn.

The problem is that there are only a few people who get involved, and interact in discussing speakers etc.

Thanks for all your input.

Liam
 
Started going to the only camera club in the county about 3 years ago. Used to be 3 clubs but the other two have fallen by the wayside. First impressions were a bit cliquey but made to feel pretty welcome.

Since then the committee have worked quite hard to bring in new members. They have done this by running a beginners workgroup in the close season where several more experienced photographers passed on tips, advice etc. It included both field trips and sessions in a local village hall. It was really successful and encouraged a few new faces to join. It was certainly a massive help to the less experienced and they commented that they felt much more confident at the end of the workgroup.

We also sent a survey out to all members asking them for their views on the club, what they would like to see covered and what competitions they would like to see. From this there was a fairly significant change in the competition programme, which seemed to be geared towards the members who specialised in certain types of photography, and this has encouraged a significant increase in variety and entries from members who feel now that they have an outlet for their own photography.

We have guest speakers covering a variety of topics and last year had Danny Green down which was pretty inspirational. We also run several themed mini-comps which are digital projected images only, max of 4 images per member, marked by the members present on the night. These again have become quite popular as their is no comment made on the image just marked with a score.

Finally we have externally judged comps which are both print and projected on the same theme and these count towards the photographer of the year.

In my view the club is now much stronger than 18 months ago with a healthy membership and a wider variety of photographic interest.

Clubs can change and with a bit of effort and initiative can cater successfully for all it members and their interests.
 
I'm 26 I've had digital SLRs for about 2 years now, about 6 months ago I thought I'd look to joining a camera club. I went along to my local one. Now I will firstly state, they were very friendly and welcoming. However the next youngest person after me was about double my age. They had a contest on the day were people were entering their pictures printed to be critiqued and judged I did find the critiquing interesting, but I just could not see one of my photos on the wall. The majority of pictures were Landscape shots with the odd portrait thrown in. I like shooting action, bands, sports, motor racing etc. Had I put any of my pictures up they would have looked incredibly out of place and I don't think would have been well received. I would say the average age at that club qualifies for a free bus pass and I just think most younger people have different interests within photography. I don't mean to knock them I just didn't think the club was for me.
 
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Gaz J said:
Since then the committee have worked quite hard to bring in new members. They have done this by running a beginners workgroup in the close season where several more experienced photographers passed on tips, advice etc. It included both field trips and sessions in a local village hall. It was really successful and encouraged a few new faces to join. It was certainly a massive help to the less experienced and they commented that they felt much more confident at the end of the workgroup.
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We've done this at our club and it seems to have brought in plenty of new members, all of whom are really enthusiastic. We've also started a Facebook group where members can post their shots for critique, again it seems to be keeping the enthusiasm up.
 
I had a look at a couple of 'Photographic Societies' near me. Seemed like pretty much all members were retired. It was very clubby with regular meetings, exhibitions and talks etc. If I were retired, and therefore had more free time, I would have joined.

However many people work full time and have little enough time for photography as it is. So some friends and I formed our own 'club'. We do not have 'formal' meetings as such. Our idea is to plan days out to take photographs, maybe one Sunday or Saturday per month. We then upload our best shots onto the club website. Most discourse takes place by email. As we only meet one day a month it is easier to find the time and commit to the arrangements, the informality also helps as it is all fun and no responsibility. We are all busy working people and it works for us.
I have had quite a few years experience of belonging to a formal 'club' with treasurers, chairman etc I found that for many 'the club' becomes an end in itself and the original cause can get forgotten, plus the responsibilty you take on as 'speaker secretary' or 'chairman' etc just eats up valuable personal time and eventually becomes a chore.

So FWIW my suggestion would be more actual photography and less 'formal club stuff'.
 
I think that the formality of having a committee can be a burden on the success of a club. Fine if you have a healthy number of members who will step up to fill the positions as they become vacant. In the one I belong to we don't have that and we are relying on the goodwill of the existing committee to continue, when they have expressed a desire to stand down, for the good of the club.

Whilst I would like to contribute more and would be willing to stand on the committee the fact that I work away presents problems with doing so. I know that at the end of the year we will be faced with the problem again and it's unfair to try and coax officers to continue.

I am hoping that there could be an opportunity to job share some of the positions to bring new blood to the committee. Whether its practical I don't know but better two willing volunteers than an empty committee position.
 
I agree, committees great for a healthy club, but when you're low on numbers, sometimes you need to get stuff done. If you do have a committee, you need to make sure it turns over fairly regularly (every couple of years) to keep things fresh and new ideas flowing in.
 
Harlequin565 said:
I tried our local club and didn't like it at all. It just didn't feel very welcoming and it felt very cliquey. I sat with the other newcomers for the first meeting of the season and clock watched until it was time to go home. Very little interaction.

"Resistant to change" is a worrying trait in today's world and as Mike said - working with your membership is the way forward. Perhaps set aside a meeting for/about it?

Ian.
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Exactly the same thing happened to me at two different camera clubs. It seems that you have two different cliques in your club already.
You could start by bringing those two groups together. Perhaps by having a club competition and one of the rules could be that you have to work with a partner from the other 'group' say one takes the picture and one does the pp, or they both take a picture and the other does the pp.
Then once you have some sort of agreement within the club you could look to recruit new members.
 
I helped start a new club this year and due to Facebook we had 20 join on the initial evening, and its grown to 36 members now - we use a 'Secret' group on Facebook for members only to communicate and show images and its working very well :)

We meet fortnightly and oddly for clubs we DO NOT do Competitions (my idea that :D), but we do encourage anyone to bring in a few images for a friendly crit at the start of each evening's session

We've also appeared in the local newspaper and today will be on local radio too spreading the word

Its very much about shooting & learning rather than discussing someone else's work with often boring guest speakers, and there's quite a lot of ability in-house to do some presentations anyway (tonight I'm doing an intro into workflow in ACR/Lightroom for example)

And so far there's been a whole series of mini-meets organised, up to 4 per month - so again, more about shooting & learning from each other

As a result of Facebook too - the average age must be 20 years younger than other clubs I know

HTH

Dave
 
Has the club got a facebook page? Great, free way of promoting the club!
 
cptnumpty said:
We have a small group of older members who are resistant to change, and another group who want to change the club for the better.
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Having been an amateur photographer for more years than I care to remember, I had until very recently, never bothered with camera clubs.

One of the reasons being that many portray the 'stereo typical' image of old men in cardigans, a committee that has been stuck in the same rut for years, and is resistant to change.

Nothing against old people (lol), I'm 71, but don't wear cardigans yet. :LOL: Slippers yes, but pipe no :LOL:

The other thing that put me off, is that the fact that many clubs are obsessed with competitions, and little else about photography.

This is the case with the three main clubs in my local area. In fact one actually states the members are EXPECTED to enter the competitions.

Fine for those that see competitions as the 'be all, and end all' of amateur photography, but not all of us do.

I eventually found a club that was a reasonable distance away, and looked at their website. The programme for this season (Sep13 to May14) showed a nice balance, between 'talks', 'practical evenings', 'competitions', and 'social evenings'. In fact a 'breath of fresh air' to me, and so I joined.

Have been to three meeting so far, not one of them has been a competition, and found them thoroughly enjoyable, in the company of like minded friendly people.

So, I think its time that those members of your club, that want to move it into the 21st century, and make it more attractive to 'new blood', stood together and nudged the 'stick in the mud' brigade to one side.

Good luck :)

Dave
 
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