Society girl

One of the things when people are looking for a photographer, is to check their credentials. This means different things to different people. It could be what courses they've undertaken - checking whether its a part-time, full time college or university course; whether they've had a class as part of a wider study; whether they've attended weekend classes run by professional photographers  - and if so, who they are. It can also be their reputation- whether previous couples had a positive experience; it can be their photographic background; but it can also be whether they're a member of a group, society, or organisation, and that's what I'm going to write about today.

Truth is, I'm not a member of any photography organisation. I'm currently weighing up the value of each, as there are a few, and each offer different memberships and conditions of membership. I often see a chain of letters after photographers names, and in some cases this indicates a membership of an organisation. As a photographer, I am trying to work out a number of things, which I'm going to write about today:

• what are the benefits to me as a photographer for joining;
• what is the entrance requirement to join;
• what are the qualifications or distinctions within the organisation, and what's required for these;
• how well respected is the organisation perceived to be by members and members of the public;
• what's the quality of members work like.

The societies and organisations I've been looking at are:
The Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers (SWPP)
The Royal Photographic Society (RPS)
The British Institute of Professional Photography (BIPP)
Master Photographers Association (MPA)


Benefits
First of all, the benefits. This is particularly important. Photography organisations need to offer something to me, as a photographer, more than just having my name listed alongside a hundred other photographers for the cost of membership. Photography organisations can cost upward of £100; and they don't guarantee any client that their experience will be somehow better than a non-organisation member. Lots of great photographers aren't members of photography organisations. It's certainly not compulsory. I was formerly a member of an organisation (although I won't name it), and I personally felt the benefits were very poor, so I let my membership lapse. Year on year, they began withdrawing the benefits but the cost stayed the same. To me, it was a bit like having a gym membership but watching as they removed the equipment and classes and still expect to pay the same. So don't expect every photographer to be a member of an organisation when you speak to them. Not all of them will feel that the benefits of any of the organisations matches their individual needs as photographers. The benefit for the photographer has to be more than giving a client peace of mind (which you shouldn't take purely on the basis of the photographer being an organisation member). For the same amount of money, a photographer could pay for flyers, an advert on a reputable wedding website, or in a magazine.

Entrance Requirements
After assessing the value to the photographer, next comes the requirement to join the organisation.
To make it a little easier, I've basically listed from the various websites of the organisations listed as I understand it. There are also page links to where I have sourced this information. The organisations listed all have different levels of entry. I'd advise reading through these (and read the websites) and familiarising yourself with what the entry requirements are, and the qualification options. In some cases there are also student membership options, however I have not included these in this list.

Some photographers may have joined an organisation purely by making a payment; others will have filled out an extensive application form and submitted photographic work for review by a panel to attain membership. You should be aware that not all organisations have the same entry requirement.

The Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers (SWPP) - no formal entrance requirement to join, to become a member, you pay the membership fee. http://www.swpp.co.uk/join.htm

There are however qualifications that members can apply for after they have joined. To attain a qualification, the member must submit prints of their work to be judged by a panel. The levels of qualification are: Licentiate; Associate; Craftsman (wedding only); and Fellowship. More information on the criteria required for members to attain these qualifications can be found here: http://www.swpp.co.uk/qualify.htm

The Royal Photographic Society There is no entry requirement to join the RPS. This is open to anyone with an interest in photography to join, more information can be found here: http://www.rps.org/membership-introduction/Join-The-Royal-Photographic-Society

 The RPS has three level of qualification (or distinction, to use their word). These are Licentiateship, Associateship and Fellowship, and the portfolio is judged by a voluntary members panel. More information can be found here: http://www.rps.org/distinctions-introduction

The British Institute of Professional Photography (BIPP) - This organisation has various levels for people to join. The first level is as a "friend", and requires no formal entrance requirement. However members at friend level aren't allowed to promote themselves as BIPP members or use the BIPP logo. Secondly, there's qualifying membership and qualified membership. Qualifying membership allows photographers to work towards a qualification (although they can't advertise themselves as a member or use the logo until after they have qualified). Qualified membership is for more experienced photographers, for example those who require less assistance with attaining a qualification; or people who have previously been members and are rejoining. More information can be found here: http://www.bipp.com/Default.aspx?tabid=105

There are three levels of qualification: Licentiateship, Associateship and Fellowship. Members need to complete an application form and submit work to a judging panel to attain their qualifications. More information on qualifications can be read here: http://www.bipp.com/Default.aspx?tabid=95

Master Photographers Association - Membership to the MPA is restricted to full time professional photographers. To join, the photographer needs to submit references, which after approval the membership is accepted at probationary status. Candidates only receive full membership after completing their Licentiate and Diploma in Photographic Practice, and only after that can they advertise themselves as members and use the logos. More information is available here:
http://www.thempa.com/joining-the-master-photographers-association.php

The qualifications available are Licentiate, Associate, and Fellow. These are attained through submission of a portfolio of work, although the type of portfolio required depends on the type of category (e.g. wedding, portrait, fashion).  More information can be found here: http://www.thempa.com/master-photographers-association-qualification-grades.php

Is the organisation well respected?
On a personal level, I assess this by talking to people who are currently members. I like to get a feel from them from the inside as to how they view the value of their membership. Whether joining it has been a regret, or whether they recommend it. Sometimes, it's not until you join that you get an honest feel for all those benefits offered originally.

Everyone has their own opinion, their own idea and own story to tell. How compelling the story is though influences my opinion of the respectability of the organisation, and adds to how I'm presently trying to assess which organisation, if any, I want to join.

Ask around, speak to people who've hired photographers previously who were members of an organisation. Did they feel it made a difference? Were they satisfied with the quality of work they received from that photographer?  Remember, portfolios can consist of a small selection of images from a wide range of photographic shoots, sometimes over a number of years.

Quality of members work
Now this is something I definitely can't answer. My best advice here, is to look at the portfolios, exhibitions and galleries of members work. Do you feel overall, that the members galleries are consistent with what you like? Do you look through them and spot fantastic images constantly, or is it more sporadic?

What should you be looking for in a photographer's work? Again, that's an individual taste thing. Ultimately: can you see yourself in that photo; do you want to be that person in the photo; is that a photograph you would want to have on your wall or in your wedding album for the rest of your life?

Work out how much you like the photos, whether the styles appeal to you; whether they cover work which fits with the sort of photography service you're after. Don't necessarily expect someone who specialises in landscapes to be as strong, or as interested in wedding photography. A studio-based high fashion photographer might make a model look great for five photos in a half-day session in a studio filled with professional lighting equipment and careful post processing, but may lack the skill for timing, posing, and fast acting required for a reception filled with normal people and no fancy lighting set ups. Don't assume all photographers can do any type of photography. We all have strengths and weaknesses and we all have specialist interests. Think of it like a shop - some shops sell shoes, others sell clothes, others sell food, some sell cosmetics, others specialise in electrical equipment, some sell pet care. Ultimately, they all sell a product from fixed retail premises, but their specialism and individual knowledge can be quite different.

Look at the portfolio, see what they do, what they excel at, what interests them. Critique them honestly, be totally brutal about the worst things in their photos. Are those worst things really something that would destroy that image if it was yours? Is that worst thing a deal breaker? Or is it something that's so minute, so tiny, so small, it barely dents your overall opinion of the image? Remember, that image represents the highest standard the photographer has to offer.

Hopefully, this entry today will have given you some things to think about when you're selecting a photographer and the importance you place on organisation membership. Personally speaking, I'm hoping to make a decision soon - I'll let you know soon enough which organisation I apply for pending any necessary approval.

All of the text is based on information I've attained through research; as I'm yet to reach a personal decision I'm not sharing any personal opinion on the value of any of the organisations I discuss. However, if after reading this entry, you've got something you want to clarify (or if you know I've said something that's completely wrong and you wish to correct me), please feel free to do so via the comments or by email. Equally, I'd love to hear from people and their personal experiences, or opinions. Feel free to email me directly to tell me what you think and how you perceive photography organisations.

Coming soon, I'm going to write a piece about what I look at in photography, how I see a photograph that I wish I'd taken or I dislike totally. I'll also write about my own process of creating a portfolio and what it means to me.