Beginner Joining the RPS, is it worth it please?

LouiseTopp

LouiseTopp

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sorry to ask but do you think it's worth me joining the The Royal Photographic Society?

Also I would like to volunteer with them.

Many thanks.
 
Membership in itself is of little benefit, if you want to get some 'approval' of your work by LRPS/ARPS/FRPS then it's necessary and I guess if you want to volunteer with them it would also be necessary. I was a member for a while but saw no particular benefit over using my membership fees for some photographic products to be honest. :)
 
For me it's useful as it gives me something to work towards (currently ARPS) as a hobbyist and non-camera-clubber. A professional already has that (clients who pay) so may find it less useful - as well as the fact that there are more specific bodies suited to their work.

On a purely financial assessment - if you use none of the accreditation stuff there's a free monthly mag which I find is excellent and of almost-but-not-quite the same standard as the BJP which has a £10 cover price - so there's £120 in magazines. It's important for me to focus on projects and themes rather than random shooting, so working towards accreditation is more for my personal development than "approval".

£120 isn't peanuts though, so it's worth thinking about.
 
If you join Google RPS discount codes. You should manage to find one that gets you your first year for £88 or so. You also get free membership of one of the special interest groups for the first year along with their magazines too.

Is it worth it? That's an individual value call. Much like a club you probably get as much out as you put in. I joined the Visual Art group, only because they are active in the SW and Landscape isn't. I'm not interested in the distinctions. The magazines are good, in fact I offset my cost by cancelling subscriptions to Outdoor Photographer and EOS Magazine. I see it as an augmentation/natural extension of some clubs. If you don't like clubs then I'm not sure that the RPS is massively different.
 
It has less than 12,000 members, which tells you all you need to know about its relevance. I sometimes visited the gallery when it was based in Bath's Milsom Street. Rows of "technically perfect" 20x16 prints each more boring than the previous one. The only good thing was the basement cafe. Still, it might suit you perfectly. Depends on the sort of person you are.
 
Sejanus Aelianus said:
It has less than 12,000 members, which tells you all you need to know about its relevance. I sometimes visited the gallery when it was based in Bath's Milsom Street. Rows of "technically perfect" 20x16 prints each more boring than the previous one. The only good thing was the basement cafe. Still, it might suit you perfectly. Depends on the sort of person you are.
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12,000's relevance? Doesn't tell me anything I'm afraid other than there are approaching 12,000 members who must be at least reasonably happy with what they are getting

And I agree, who wants to see technically perfect photos, tish the thought of it

Never been to the cafe, but if it does a good sausage sarnie it'd get my vote too :)


@LouiseTopp - as a member of the RPS for a few years now I'd say it's probably not that suited to a real beginner, but it does help in pointing you in the direction of help elsewhere too; there are regional events that you may find shooting pals at, and the LRPS is something good to aim for as the journey rather than necessarily the distinction itself. The online forum is informative if rather infrequently used I found

If you're a real Beginner you're probably better off on here to find your way and meet up with fellow snappers who will help you progress, but the few photos I've seen of yours suggest you can drop the Beginner title :)

Dave
 
Wayne Els said:
I'm guessing Sejanus isn't a member.
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Might not even be a photographer?

There's no TP info on camera gear, no links to photos or a website, flickr etc., no photos posted on TP

All we do know is that he visited the RPS HQ despite seemingly not liking anything about them or their members' photos on display - that cafe must be AWESOME :)

Dave
 
Thanks to Woof and Mark for those kind words; they provide an accurate indicator of quality in a poster. :cool:

As to my posting pictures on TP, if you look hard enough you'll find a few scattered around, though they probably won't reach your high standards.
 
For me it's value for money. I would need more than a magazine to justify joining. Living in the far west of Wales the opportunity to attend events organised by the RPS are few and far between. In 2017 there are 3 events in South Wales, all walks. Compare this to 35 events in the South West part of the country i.e. Devon and Cornwall.
 
You could go the pagb route but you would have join a photo club
 
Gaz J said:
For me it's value for money. I would need more than a magazine to justify joining. Living in the far west of Wales the opportunity to attend events organised by the RPS are few and far between. In 2017 there are 3 events in South Wales, all walks. Compare this to 35 events in the South West part of the country i.e. Devon and Cornwall.
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It's probably because it's so photogenic down here. ;) (or the members retire this way).

wave01 said:
You could go the pagb route but you would have join a photo club
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PAGB doesn't actually offer any sort of membership/magazine/meets though does it? Isn't it just another form of accreditation if you want it like the RPS distinctions?
 
The PAGB does on line magazines. There is no membership as such and individuals can only apply for a CPAGB, DPAGB, MPAGB by being a member of a Camera Club affiliated to a regional federation, in my case the Welsh Photograph Federation.

My main reason to join the RPS would be to try to obtain their distinctions and I object to having to pay £120 a year to be allowed to continue to use them. i don't see that as good value and getting a monthly magazine doesn't make it any better. If they had a broader spread of activities etc in Wales then perhaps my opinion would change.

The Camera Club to which I belong is due a visit from two of the senior members of the RPS later this year. It will be an opportunity to ask them why they make so little effort to hold events in Wales and why, if someone's work in good enough to obtain one of their distinctions, it has to be paid for each year.

The visit has been arranged by the sole member of the RPS in our club whose opinion of the other associations such as the WPF and PAGB is pretty scathing to the point of saying the standard in them is inferior to the RPS. From my perspective from looking at work displayed online, which I accept doesn't always tell the whole story, that is not the case.
 
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Gaz J said:
The PAGB does on line magazines. There is no membership as such and individuals can only apply for a CPAGB, DPAGB, MPAGB by being a member of a Camera Club affiliated to a regional federation, in my case the Welsh Photograph Federation.

My main reason to join the RPS would be to try to obtain their distinctions and I object to having to pay £120 a year to be allowed to continue to use them. i don't see that as good value and getting a monthly magazine doesn't make it any better. If they had a broader spread of activities etc in Wales then perhaps my opinion would change.

The Camera Club to which I belong is due a visit from two of the senior members of the RPS later this year. It will be an opportunity to ask them why they make so little effort to hold events in Wales and why, if someone's work in good enough to obtain one of their distinctions, it has to be paid for each year.

The visit has been arranged by the sole member of the RPS in our club whose opinion of the other associations such as the WPF and PAGB is pretty scathing to the point of saying the standard in them is inferior to the RPS. From my perspective from looking at work displayed online, which I accept doesn't always tell the whole story, that is not the case.
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I'd like to know the outcome of your Q&A session with the RPS :)

And I've seen some outstanding work through the PAGB that's easily on a par with the RPS, so I agree with you on that one too

Dave
 
Gaz J said:
The PAGB does on line magazines. There is no membership as such and individuals can only apply for a CPAGB, DPAGB, MPAGB by being a member of a Camera Club affiliated to a regional federation, in my case the Welsh Photograph Federation.

My main reason to join the RPS would be to try to obtain their distinctions and I object to having to pay £120 a year to be allowed to continue to use them. i don't see that as good value and getting a monthly magazine doesn't make it any better. If they had a broader spread of activities etc in Wales then perhaps my opinion would change.

The Camera Club to which I belong is due a visit from two of the senior members of the RPS later this year. It will be an opportunity to ask them why they make so little effort to hold events in Wales and why, if someone's work in good enough to obtain one of their distinctions, it has to be paid for each year.

The visit has been arranged by the sole member of the RPS in our club whose opinion of the other associations such as the WPF and PAGB is pretty scathing to the point of saying the standard in them is inferior to the RPS. From my perspective from looking at work displayed online, which I accept doesn't always tell the whole story, that is not the case.
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Yeah I don't see so much point if they don't have much on where you live unless you wanted the distinctions. I can also see the annoyance about not keeping the distinction if your membership lapses. Whilst it's the same with professional bodies the RPS seems to me to be predominantly retired amateurs in its membership so other than for personal achievement it's not necessary to keep it.

As to the not holding more regional events I think it's really down to how many active members you have in an area. As I say, I joined a particular SIG purely because it's active in the SW, as is the RPS in general.

With regards the quality of the PAGB vs the RPS I don't see any difference to tell you the truth. Many seem to hold awards from both. Having seen the Western Counties travelling exhibition a couple of times there's a mixed bag, not all subjects are going to work for everyone, not that the images are necessarily bad. One of my clubs has a LOT of RPS members, many of whom have the different awards including at least two with fellowships, both of whom hold DPAGB. So I don't get the PAGB/RPS rivalry thing and wouldn't go by the opinion of just one person. Likewise, whilst someone doesn't want to continue to pay to hold a distinction gained doesn't make the PAGB system more valid. As to the awards themselves the RPS are based on panels which, particularly at A & F need to be a set of coherent images working together. They don't all need to be striking individually and it seems that a lot of consideration has to go into this. The PAGB is more about club photography and your submitted images are standalone shots that are mixed up with everyone else's and shown for a relatively short exposure. I'm not saying one is better than the other, just trying to highlight similarities and differences. FWIW whilst I'm a member of the RPS and expect to stay one I think I'm much more likely to look at doing a PAGB award rather than a RPS one. It's all horses for courses.
 
Wayne Els said:
If you join Google RPS discount codes
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Where do I find these please? I am disabled so I should get a discount shouldn't I?

Wayne Els said:
I joined the Visual Art group, only because they are active in the SW and Landscape isn't
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What is that please?

DG Phototraining said:
and the LRPS is something good to aim for as the journey rather than necessarily the distinction itself. The online forum is informative if rather infrequently used I found
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What is the LRPS please?

I did want to volunteer for the RPS in Bath, but I have to be a member. I might approach Laycock instead, only problem is getting there as I don't drive.
 
Louise I have no idea about discounts available for disabled people - they seem to have one see links. I just knew that they occasionally do discounts so googled for a code.

http://rps.org/Home/Membership/Concessions

There are a number of special Interest groups with in the RPS, they seem to have a fair bit of overlap. I just picked that one because I knew it was active locally to me in the Southwest.

http://rps.org/special-interest-groups

LRPS Licentiate is the first of their 3 awards.

http://rps.org/distinctions
 
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