I am a member of a Camera Club, and I am thrilled that I joined one, as my photographic knowledge has improved dramatically, due to the proximity of people with the same interest in photography. Most clubs have a number of guest speakers over the course of the year, who will explain their specialist field, as well as giving you their workflows and inspiration. There are also competitions in the Club to enter, which is great for receiving constructive criticism from an expert in the field featured in the competition, I love seeing how people interpret the competition title. It is also great fun to go out with a group of Photographers and bounce ideas off each other and to see how different people approach taking photos. The style of photos that a group of people take are always diverse, even if they are looking at the same thing, simply because people see in their own way. The opportunity to learn about things that you may not have known had any relation to photography is huge too. Membership of a Camera Club has opened doors for me to go and photograph things and events that would not have been available to me as an individual. Our Club will be holding it’s annual Exhibition starting next week, which I will post about at the time.
If you are interested in joining one in Ireland, here is a list of Irish Photographic Federation affiliated Camera Clubs for 2017: http://irishphoto.ie/membership/member-clubs/, All other countries will have a similar list of Camera Clubs.
Gallagher Photography 