RPS or not ?

When I was at 'Focus' I finally decided to become a member of RPS but am still wondering if this is a worthwhile idea.

it seems to me they are relying rather a lot on the 'Royal'tag without backing it up with much substance and I wonder what other forum members think?

Yes, there are awards that they offer to give you some letters after your name which is something people might aspire to, but I'm not sure just how worthwhile these are - if someone is thinking of employing a photographer the first thing the will (should!) do is look at that person's work.

Have other members who have joined subsequently cancelled membership - or are there benefits I need to search out a bit more?

I've considered it, in fact I actually sent a potential panel to them to gain some feedback on its suitability for LRPS - haven't taken it any further so far though, I think I might though.

I did used to visit their website forum but found it quite an unfriendly place, wasn't much going on there either so don't bother with it now.

I do think that for an organisation which seemingly has a high standing in the photography world it doesn't seem adept at promoting itself

Simon

From the outside looking in, I look upon the RPS as being an "elitist club", and my personal view on anybody that promotes themselves as Joe Bloggs with an acronym have issues with themselves. IMO, if your photographic portfolio stands up, then this would be the reason why I would personally hire that person for whatever reasons - not because they like to be be known as Mr/Mrs PhD, FRPS, etc.

There are some people who revel in showing off qualifications, but don't forget that they have to pass muster to get them. There are equally well those who look upon gaing distinctions as a target to help them improve their photography.

It can be a positive thing, so I wouldn't be at all dismissive of someone who wants to make the, sometimes considerable, effort.

I think some people also enjoy the challenge of putting together a panel good enough to qualify.

Sometimes it is just good to have recognition in this way for your body of work.


There are few members with letters after their names here on PU. I wouldn't call any of them elitist for going for the qualification.

John - I take on board your very valid point about having to pass muster to gain those qualifications, however I can buy a diploma online for just about any qualification, thus I could pretend to have taught Prof. Stephen Hawking everything he knows because I have a piece of paper to prove it. It then comes back to the ability to prove you are indeed qualified, thus I'd be more likely to ask yourself to take (for example) baby photos, christening photos, etc since I "know" you through this forum, rather than taking some FRPS guy on trust.

Gwyn - What I was trying to say was that it's fine to call yourself Joe Bloggs, FRPS. It's just the "blow-hards" who preen themselves on it that I dislike.

Slightly different though, in that you can't buy RPS distinctions. Of course it doesn't mean someone is any good at taking baby pictures, but that really applies to everything. We have to have some qualifications though, don't we, otherwise everyone could be a doctor or a vet....or anything else they wanted to lay claim to.

Should be appealing to a Pentax user then....

I wasn't sure which button to press, 'yes' or 'no-cancelled'.

By which I mean I'm probably going to resign.

£100 a year is quite a lot to pay for a quite good journal. The problem for me is one of geography, they don't do much here in Scotland but if you live in the South then there is a lot of interesting events and lectures and so on going on.

If I was in London or Bath then I would say it was well worth the money providing you take an active part.

My advice would be to see what they do in your area and decide if it is worth the money.

RPS elitist? Never. They are a friendly and helpful group of people who generally know a helluva lot about photography. You can't buy the letters after your name as someone has just implied, you have to earn them by satisfying experts that your work is up to quite high standards.
But I agree that their website leaves a lot to be desired. I find it difficult to negotiate and doesn't seem to get updated very often. It isn't in the same league as the website at my camera club, Durham Photographic Society.
The RPS Journal, which is published every couple of months, is first class.
David
PPG: http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/davidtrout

I've often though about joining the RPS but membership fees put me off, they do some concessions but perhaps they should also have different rates for amateurs and pro's, after all pro's can offset the cost on their tax returns

Do the unemployed get any kind of discount for joining the Royal Photographic Society then??

On top of 50 free hours a week practise.

Membership now cancelled