RPS - thoughts?

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davidc
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RPS - thoughts?

Postby davidc » Wed 12 Sep 2012, 15:22

I've chatted to Mike about this before (very briefly) and wondered what other people thought about the Royal Photographic Society? It looks to me like it offers two "benefits", membership of the society itself and the benefits that it brings and the ability to work towards their distinctions.

Taking them in reverse order - I like the idea of these in a similar way to how I like the competitions at the club. They motivate me to take photos, look at the world differently and consciously try to get better. I can see that having a project to work towards would be useful. Trouble is, if I achieved it, then what? Are there cheaper ways to achieve a project goal? I've always fancied a Fifty of Fifty project for instance, and I don't need the RPS for that :)

Then there's the society itself. I can't tell from the outside what benefits members get. It's rather opaque! Seems like a lot of money for not much at all, but the real issue is it's hard to tell if it's value for money at all - and that puts me off.

Any experiences or opinions appreciated.
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Mike Farley
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Re: RPS - thoughts?

Postby Mike Farley » Wed 12 Sep 2012, 17:41

This is a good question. I am fairly confident that many people join the RPS simply to hold one of its distinctions, which do confer a certain amount of prestige within the photographic community. A condition of using the xRPS letters after your name is that membership is maintained and I would not be surprised if the RPS' financial viability would suffer without this stipulation.

It is true that gaining a distinction acts as a motivation to improve one's photography. This does present a challenge, particularly at the ARPS and FRPS levels as the RPS is keen that the images a candidate submits should fit together as a panel. The pictures do not have to feature the same subject matter, but it does imply that some sort of photographic project is necessary especially for the higher levels. Images which are similar are discouraged, although a couple might be allowed for a successful LRPS or ARPS application. Funnily enough, this criterion does not always apply for the FRPS and I have seen some favoured panels where the images all seem to be pretty much the same. When asked, the RPS' stock response is that it is subjective. I do know of one person who required three attempts to gain the ARPS and then got the FRPS first time nine months later at the first try. Go figure.

The LRPS is a slightly different matter, as the emphasis is more on technical ability than aesthetic, although the images should have some appeal. Panelling is less important at this level, but still a consideration. Indeed, when I gained mine lack of cohesion was one of the criticisms levelled at my entry, although it is hardly surprising when at the time I barely had ten images of the required standard available! My panel, together with a brief overview of the experience, can be seen at my website, http://www.mikefarley.net.

You should also be aware that the RPS tinkers with the criteria and sometimes panelling is less important and sometimes it is more critical. One thing which is certain is that the benchmarks are going up year on year and it is becoming more difficult to attain a distinction at any level. Given that one of the RPS' aims is to improve standards, this is no bad thing.

If you are interested in taking it further, I would recommend attending one of the RPS Advisory days when potential candidates receive advice on their panels from people who sit on the assessment panels. Admission is open to anyone and you do not have to be a member either to attend or submit images for assessment. You will be surprised how many people are told that more work is required even for a LRPS and I have never seen anyone put forward an ARPS panel which has got the nod.

Members receive the RPS Journal ten times a year, although speaking for myself, I find this to be of limited interest. One of the reasons is the preoccupation which I perceive the RPS holds towards contemporary photography. I accept that advances in any art form often come about through challenges to to the norm, but I often wonder how much of the photography featured is a case of the "emperor's new clothes". Unfortunately, only time will tell who is right!

The same criticism also applies to the RPS' International Print Exhibition, where I am often left scratching my head about the merits of the images chosen to receive the top awards. It is interesting that the pictures selected for the various members' competitions are more typical of the sort of photography which is enjoyed at club level. I have raised this topic with various senior members of the organisation, but have never received a satisfactory response. It does seem that the RPS is promoting a style of photography almost to the exclusion of others and which is at odds with what the majority of its members are doing.

There are various sub groups available which members can join for a small additional fee, such as Visual Arts or Digital Imaging. I cannot speak as to whether these are worthwhile as I have no personal experience. There are also regions throughout the country which put on activities, but as with anything else these are dependent on people volunteering to organise them. The South East region used to have someone very active and I attended a number of enjoyable events, but these stopped when the person involved stood down. The London region has been dormant for years.

I know that some parts of this response are not wholly positive and perhaps others will provide a different viewpoint, although I have attempted to be fair in my assessment. You might ask why I have retained my membership thus far, to which I refer you to my first point above.
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Mike Farley
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