Starting a Photography Clique

In the social sciences, a clique (CanE, UK /ˈkliːk/ or US /ˈklɪk/) is a group of people who interact with each other more regularly and intensely than others in the same setting.^[1] Interacting with cliques is part of normative social development regardless of gender, ethnicity, or popularity. Although cliques are most commonly studied during adolescence and middle childhood, they exist in all age groups. Wikipedia

If you really enjoy photography more than many of your fiends and can think of nothing better than to go on photo adventures, regardless of whether or not these are to a park, the streets, or nature, then perhaps it is time for you to start your own photographic clique.

As the meaning of the word itself denotes, this would be a "group" or club dedicated to the pursuit of that which you and the members of the clique find most appealing. In essence it is a photographic club but a bit more intense.

The clique does not necessary need a special social place to meet or many other special needs.

You really just need to get together and partake in the planning of activities, sharing and in the general talks involving everything about photography that draws the members into such an undertaking in the first place.

Remember that this is not an ordinary club where members discuss everything. It is a gathering of people that share similar tastes and all they want to do is to talk about what they like in regards to the art of photography.

In this sense it is more of a social gathering with very few formal rules and even fewer regulations.

This is not a new concept. There have been cliques in almost any activity that can bring people together.

The key is to remember that the group was formed to inspire others and give them free reigns to advocate and talk about any topic dealing with the group's interests and without regards to the members skill level.

Simply put it is a place to get together and enjoy what each person brings to the table;

Are you keen to indulge your passion for photography? Then come and join The Sydney Morning Herald Clique Photographers’ Association, a brand new photographic community launched this week by the Herald that’s designed to challenge, support and reward photographers of all ages and skill levels. http://www.accesspr.com.au/

What are some of the activities that your clique can involve itself in? Well besides talking about everything dealing with the art, there are many opportunities to plan photo shoots together like street photography, carnivals, nature tours and events.

The beauty of this is that at the end you will surely have a large array of pictures and can sit down in a group and talk about the differences from shot to shot, how to improve them and generally compare shots which in turn can give you ideas into how to make your photography better.

By far the best idea for a first meeting should not be more than a meet and greet where all the members can get to know one another and talk about their photographic interests followed by an outing with the purpose of capturing images to compare later.

This is usually where those from the club that like nature or street photography for example can plan separate outings thus smaller independent cliques can grow from the main group.

Although many cliques tend to focus on a single style, the majority accommodate all styles and the membership benefits even more from the exposure to other styles that they may otherwise not have considered before joining the clique in the first place.

If you still want a better idea of what forming a photographic clique feels like and some of the activities associated with one perhaps you should take a look at some of the Photo Walk clubs that can be found in almost any country where photography is popular.

These clubs mainly plan "walks" in certain parts of their cities and as a group simply walk and take pictures. They then get together and compare shots.

Photowalking is the act of walking with a camera for the main purpose of taking pictures of things that the photographer may find interesting.

It is often a communal activity organised by camera clubs, online forums or commercial organisations, sometimes in the form of a walking tour. Often the aim is to practice and improve one's own photography skills rather than a specific focus on documentary photography.

While the camera need not be a digital camera, in practice the low cost of digital photography and the ease of digital photo processing and online photo sharing allow a casual approach in photowalking.

While related to street photography, photowalking is differentiated by its impetus to photograph things of interest rather than people specifically. As with any walking that may go a few miles or kilometers, photowalking can also promote physical fitness. Wikipedia