So now I know why photo clubs are useless

[Steven Ruttenberg]

I think clubs can be good and ours is sometimes with presentations. But they are extremely about competitions and do not require judges to explain why they voted the way they did fir the winning and losing images. No critique is ever given. So, if you want good scores you have to make image that fits a certain style. I don't make images that way. I don't typically follow rules like thirds, don't center subject, etc. I make images for me first, then others. For sure I make sucky images and I have posted some here, but I am an artist first. Competitions can be good if you also receive critique/feedback on your images from people who do not dogmatically adhere to a certain rule or standard.

I will keep with my club as I have been thete a long time, but I may not compete much. So frustrating to experience sometimes.

[Corran]

I suggest you ignore the local "photo club contests" but also not assume the judges don't know anything or that your work is necessarily of stand-out quality. Stay humble and work towards your personal vision for your photography, but be aware others' opinions on such are still valid, so don't be close-minded. Ultimately keep in mind your audience (who you are shooting for vs. who you are showing it to).

The LF group some of us started recently had a meeting where we shared and discussed prints, both technically and artistically. Long-term I have no interest in having "competitions" in such a group. Sharing and discussing, as one would do in a collegiate art class critique sessions, is much more conducive IMO. There is no "best of show" in the real world.

[Corran]

PS I have spent a lot of money sending in images and applications to local, regional, and national shows. Never have I ever gotten actual "critique" except the one or two times I've contacted a judge personally (in those situations, I knew the judge at least tangentially so I felt comfortable doing so). If you think your local club is bad, try getting into any major show anywhere unless you are following "the script." I have been in several national shows and had some smaller solo or group exhibitions but I'm still a "nobody" but suffice to say a local photo competition is not important whatsoever.

[Mark Sawyer]

It's not just the "photo clubs". The Tucson Museum of Art has selected real estate advertising photos and high school senior portraits for its Arizona Biennial exhibition/competition.

[Steven Ruttenberg]

It's not just the "photo clubs". The Tucson Museum of Art has selected real estate advertising photos and high school senior portraits for its Arizona Biennial exhibition/competition.

Really? Sounds like Phx area.

[Steven Ruttenberg]

I suggest you ignore the local "photo club contests" but also not assume the judges don't know anything or that your work is necessarily of stand-out quality. Stay humble and work towards your personal vision for your photography, but be aware others' opinions on such are still valid, so don't be close-minded. Ultimately keep in mind your audience (who you are shooting for vs. who you are showing it to).

The LF group some of us started recently had a meeting where we shared and discussed prints, both technically and artistically. Long-term I have no interest in having "competitions" in such a group. Sharing and discussing, as one would do in a collegiate art class critique sessions, is much more conducive IMO. There is no "best of show" in the real world.

I agree.

I don't assume mine are all that, but even the club members who win will complain about judges. The thing we used to do was have critiques of the winning and losing prints. They don't do that anymore. It is like they are afraid to hurt someone's feelings. They don't do critiques anymore which is a shame as that is where you learn.

[pepeguitarra]

There are clubs and there are clubs. A club at my work place has about 30 people, they range from the point and shoot novice with no idea of photography to the guy in charge of the graphic department, who thinks that Photoshop is the latest thing and the drones are one step above that. So, the Photoshop guys are the ones in charge and somehow have the control of meetings and subjects, etc. When they found out that I was doing Large Format, they showed some fake exciting face for few seconds. After that, they decided that the club was digital. It was hard for them to understand the real photo taking. Then another club was more about gadget owning. Some the guys changed equipment every two or three months. Then, I quit both. So, I am now dancing on my own.! This is the only place to find some conversation subject and sometimes an answer. ;(

[swmcl]

Any of the clubs I've visited are fixated on competition which is almost impossible to keep entering many times because of the nature of the subject doesn't suit LF. What made me quit them was when I entered a Black and White section only to be outdone by a digital photo of a chilled bottle of wine and an empty glass. OK the bottle had been shaded a lovely deep rose colour. Something that could never be achieved in any chemical B&W process I know.

I note also that the topics of conversation for the local group are getting more and more mundane. Digital photography is making people really, really lazy and dumb. (Sorry to be forthright ...)

The only way forward is a specialist group dedicated to film only but that wouldn't have too many members ...

[koraks]

Ask yourself: do you need external validation, and to what extent? Does the nature of validation that a contest may give suit your personal needs or preferences?
Personally, I don't see merit in taking part in contests. For me, it would not add anything to my enjoyment or learning in what I do.

[freecitizen]

Nowadays I only enter photos in Club competitions to show the others what I have been doing lately. It is my way of exhibiting my work.

I leave my ego at home on competition nights. And the judges comments have no real effect any more.

You can't be an artist in a camera club ....... they just won't let you.