Is it Advantageous to Join Professional Organizations?
Sunday, May 25, 2008 @ 20:55
There has long been debate among professional and amateur photographers alike about the relative advantages of joining professional organizations. With the cost of membership, many feel that unless they are really established in the field, their money would be better spent elsewhere, like on acquiring new and better equipment, training and things such as that.
However, before you disregard joining a professional photographers association completely, think about the benefits such membership provides.
Many of them, such as the
Professional Photographers of America, offer you the priceless opportunity for continuing education and networking with your peers. They offer a variety of membership programs, such as access to reasonably priced liability insurance so the cost of membership (about $250 per year) can actually be a great deal. In fact, if you take advantage of the many opportunities membership in these type organizations can provide, you will find that it is actually saves you money by joining.
For example, membership in an organization like the Professional Photographers of America gives individual access to job listings that they would not ordinarily have through other mediums. Not only can they find themselves working more by having such a membership, but they find that the clients they do work for are usually more high profile and more lucrative clients than they would otherwise get.
Additionally, professional organizations usually provide their members with various discount programs with major equipment manufacturers; access to special continuing education benefits at very low, or even no cost and even various group insurance plans. Maintaining membership in a professional organization also says a lot about your serious approach to photography as a career and your status as a professional. This will go a long way in helping you form professional relationships with new clients.
Since there are a variety of membership organizations out there for photographers, just make sure you are joining the right one. While the Professional Photographers of America is one of the best known, there are also a host of specialty groups as well, such as those for wedding photographers. If you specialize, see if there is a reputable professional organization that your peers in the specialty belong to and seek to join that one first, especially if money is tight and you cannot afford too many memberships. Then, as your business increases as a result of your membership in that one organization, you may wish to investigate membership with some of the others that can offer you added benefits.
