Do you love photography and want to share your passion with others? Would you like to learn more about your craft and improve your photography skills, no matter what type of subject you are shooting?
Well, a camera club or photography group might be something you’ll want to consider joining. In this article, we’ll take a look at some of the top advantages of joining a local camera club and just how it’ll enhance your hobby and love of photography overall.
#1 – Try Different Styles Of Photography
Most photographers, whether professionals or enthusiasts, tend to stick to one or two types of photography. When you join a camera club, you’ll be mixing with photographers who indulge in just about every photography medium imaginable. Unless it’s a group specifically designed for a particular photography niche, such as landscape photography, for example, there will be a diverse range of interests.
When you’re part of an eclectic group, you’ll get to experience a wider range of photography, which in turn will improve your skills and open the doors to other types of photography that you perhaps hadn’t considered before.
#2 – Learn New Skills From Other Members
In addition to the point above, you’ll naturally learn from other members in the group, either a new form of photography, or simply learning new tricks of the trade so you can improve your photography craft.
Every single member will likely have something unique to offer the group so you can all learn from one another. It’s one of the fastest ways to hone your craft and discover just what you and your camera are capable of.
#3 – Take Part In Photography Courses Offered By the Club
Many photography clubs offer training and photography courses. Taking advantage of these courses can really take your skills behind the camera and in post-processing to the next level. There’s nothing quite like some hands-on help and advice from an expert to fast track your learning.
Most locations in Australia will have photography groups that offer courses. One of the quickest ways to find where they are is to search in Google.
For example, if you’re located in Sydney, try searching for terms like:
- Camera club Sydney
- photography class Sydney
- Sydney photography clubs
- And more…
#4 – Get Out and Explore Cool New Locations
This is potentially one of the greatest benefits of being part of a camera club, is that you can get together and go out and explore exciting and fun new locations. It’ll be like an adventure and a trip away every single time your photography group has an excursion.
While the organisers will likely organise where the excursions are going to take place, everyone in the group generally gets to offer suggestions, and this is a good thing. All members will be able to come up with some unique locations for a group photoshoot and this adds a lot of variety to your photography and your outings.
Chances are, you’ll never get bored when there are so many cool new places to explore and improve your camera craft.
#5 – Make Some Awesome New Friends
One of the easiest ways to make new friends is by being a regular member of some type of club. When you combine that with sharing a common interest, in this case photography, you’re bound to make many new friends that you can share good times with.
Your new-found friendships won’t necessarily be restricted to the camera club either, as you’ll likely discover other common ground where you can get together for occasions and fun times.
#6 – Learn About New Camera Gear
Just as every member will have their own unique photography skills, each member will also know about different camera gear as well; whether that be cameras and lenses, accessories, camera bags, tripods and more.
There is so much photography gear on the market made by different brands that it can sometimes be confusing to know what you need and which model to buy. Being part of a camera club can help simplify this process, as well as teaching you how certain equipment works.
In Conclusion
There are many positives to joining a photography club, so search for one near you and improve your craft today while having fun at the same time.
