You and your camera are best buddies. Your camera never complains about how long your shot is taking and it never eats your snacks while you’re not looking. You make a great pair. But if your camera is your only shooting partner, you’re missing out.
Shooting with other people has tons of advantages. It’s nice to have at least one other person watching your back while your eye is glued to a viewfinder. You know, safety in numbers. It’s also great to have another photographer’s perspective on a shot. Keeps things from getting stale. And it’s priceless to have an assistant to hold up reflectors and do other dirty work while you man the camera. So quit thinking of photography as a solitary hobby and get out there with some other photographers. Finding them is easier than you’d think.
Take a class
Lots of colleges have photography departments and you don’t have to be a photography major to take a beginning photography class. Some even offer weekend short courses (not for credit) for folks who just want to brush up on their skills or learn how to use a digital camera.
Community centers and local art galleries are good places to look for classes too. And of course, there’s Craigslist.org. Taking any photography class is a great way to meet other people who want to go out shooting.
Meetup.com
This website lets you find people in your area who are interested in the same things you are. Let’s say you join a Meetup group for local landscape photography. Members of the group will suggest times, places, and goals for a Meetup. This is a great way of meeting people without a big commitment. People join groups for everything from street photography to boudoir photography. And if you can’t find just what you’re looking for, you can always start your own group. Sign up for Meetup.com (it’s free) to find out what’s going on in your area.
Facebook
If you already know some people who want to shoot with you, but you’re having trouble getting everyone on the same page, try using a Facebook group. Members of a group can message each other and create events. Getting group members to RSVP to Facebook group events is a really convenient way of getting busy people together. It’s a lot easier than playing phone tag and explaining schedules and conflicts to one person at a time.
The bottom line…
…shooting with other photographers is a really valuable experience. If you’re going solo 100% of the time, you’re missing out. But finding other photo taking types is easy. You don’t have to go it alone if you don’t want to.
