Suggestions on how to improve photography cca


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Repty

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Aug 10, 2009
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Hi all! Would like some suggestions on how to improve my cca :)
Hmm. Okay, photography in my school is considered under infocomm.

Summary of my cca:
Most people see my cca as a slacky cca.
When i first joined the cca in sec one, everyone was using auto mode -.-
During sec two, had a senior who self taught so began learning about shutter speed, aperture, iso etc.
Now i'm sec three (as the head of my cca not because im pro but because there's so many slackers and im the 'best' choice) and have taught the juniors about manual mode etc.
Things like rule of the thirds and white balance etc have been gone through.
We have not won any competitions (beginning to join some this year).
Finally got a cca tshirt (i believe this is the first time in school that my cca has a tshirt).
Also, our notice board has been collecting dust and i am planning to design it.
Our school has (We are Nikon users) one D50, two D60s and two 55-200mm lens.
No tripods/external flash.
Neither do we have any instructors to teach us about the dslr.

I am just wondering if anyone has been in this kind of situation and has any good ideas on how to improve my cca.
How i got into photography was due to me choosing photography as my cca and my senior teaching me in sec two. That was when i bought myself a Nikon D60 with the 18-55mm lens which i have been using till date.
This would be my final year in the cca as i am taking O levels next year and have to step down.
However, before i step down, i wish to do as much as i can for my cca.
Like, i don't want my cca to go back down to the standards of using auto.

One of the lab techs who work in my school has been trying to promote my cca by talking to the principal about it (The principal used the photos we shot during school events for a project).
We have also been trying to take part in more competitions (hoping to win) to show the school that we are not slacking during cca time.
Recently, have been letting the juniors play around with light painting and planning to let them try things like panning etc.

Any suggestions at all are welcome. Thanks in advance all :)
 

There is one teacher who has a d300. However he is too busy to give us lessons. Sometimes during school events he gives tips and that's about it.
 

Instill interest by doing fun things, not always events or projects. That will hopefully get them to be passionate and start wanting to learn more. Get them to try new stuff like landscape photography (ask for a few tripods with school funds, cheap ones like fancier for example. S$88 and can buy maybe 3 or 4 with very limited funds).

In my sec school, and now in JC, I find that it's the freelancers (the ones who learn photog on their own and buy their own gear) that contribute a lot more than the actual members because of their own passion. I used to just be a freelancer in sec school, and now in JC, I'm helping to mentor the other photog cca members of my age or older in addition to my main CCA (concert band).

First thing to do is instill interest by doing different / new / creative things. Next is to buy new gear (doesn't have to be super good quality) like said Fancier tripods, flashes, etc. Have photoshop installed on at least one computer, and try asking for budget to buy Adobe Lightroom 2 cos it's a lot easier to use the sliders than numerical values in PS.
 

Omg may I know what school are you from?
That's is way too cool man I didn't know there is school which offer photography as a cca.
How I wished I have that back then.
Anyway TS, I agree with headshotzx advise. The instill.
Seriously you need more people who are same as you, in order to promote and bring up the cca.
It is ain't easy I know. :)
Other impt thing that you shld know by now I believe - the funds.
You need funds, especially this photography kind of thing, it spells EXPENSIVE.
Hahaha. You need to solidify the base before going anything near to competition.
I hope you enjoy the process of building up the cca and I am more than willing to listen to you or offer more advise/thoughts from me to you!

Work hard man! Omg! ;)
 

Omg may I know what school are you from?
That's is way too cool man I didn't know there is school which offer photography as a cca.
How I wished I have that back then.

Lots of schools have photographic societies nowadays. However, it's sad that they are basically "use a camera" societies, and not actually learning how to use and be creative.
 

Instill interest by doing fun things, not always events or projects. That will hopefully get them to be passionate and start wanting to learn more. Get them to try new stuff like landscape photography (ask for a few tripods with school funds, cheap ones like fancier for example. S$88 and can buy maybe 3 or 4 with very limited funds).

Hmm, that's a good point. Thanks. I think we'll try things like freezing water droplets and all too. What do you mean by landscape photography?

In my sec school, and now in JC, I find that it's the freelancers (the ones who learn photog on their own and buy their own gear) that contribute a lot more than the actual members because of their own passion. I used to just be a freelancer in sec school, and now in JC, I'm helping to mentor the other photog cca members of my age or older in addition to my main CCA (concert band).

Totally agree with you. Im thinking for next year maybe have to limit those people who join photography as either very passionate or have a dslr already.

First thing to do is instill interest by doing different / new / creative things. Next is to buy new gear (doesn't have to be super good quality) like said Fancier tripods, flashes, etc. Have photoshop installed on at least one computer, and try asking for budget to buy Adobe Lightroom 2 cos it's a lot easier to use the sliders than numerical values in PS.

Most of the school comps already have photoshop, but none of us know how to really use it (Only know basics like magic wand etc). Thanks for pointing that out. I'll try to find the IT teacher and see if he's willing to have extra classes. Is it important for the school to have more equipment for us to be able to practice more?
 

Omg may I know what school are you from?
That's is way too cool man I didn't know there is school which offer photography as a cca.
How I wished I have that back then.
I'm from hai sing catholic school. I don't know if you've heard of the school. We're in the east side in pasir ris :)

Anyway TS, I agree with headshotzx advise. The instill.
Seriously you need more people who are same as you, in order to promote and bring up the cca.
It is ain't easy I know. :)
Other impt thing that you shld know by now I believe - the funds.
You need funds, especially this photography kind of thing, it spells EXPENSIVE.
Hahaha. You need to solidify the base before going anything near to competition.
I hope you enjoy the process of building up the cca and I am more than willing to listen to you or offer more advise/thoughts from me to you!

Work hard man! Omg! ;)

Hmm yeah, im now trying to find more people in the school who already have dslrs. Trying to get them to join the cca :) One of them would be sonyboy in CS too.

Also, yeah i agree that this cca is like you said, expensive :( It's such a waste. I can't really blame the school for being unable to buy us more equipment as it's not cheap. But sometimes it's just so wasted cos even though our school has three cameras, they only allow us to use two at any one time. So you see like three or four people sharing one camera. Kinda hard for them to pratice. Thanks for your advice! I welcome any more ideas. I'm open to any kind of suggestions.
 

No munny no hunny... :)

First thing to do is instill interest by doing different / new / creative things. Next is to buy new gear (doesn't have to be super good quality) like said Fancier tripods, flashes, etc. Have photoshop installed on at least one computer, and try asking for budget to buy Adobe Lightroom 2 cos it's a lot easier to use the sliders than numerical values in PS.

[post edited]

You mentioned 55-250mm lenses only. Perhaps you could appeal to the school for a $800 allowance for the photography club. With this, you could get..

Fancier tripods(as mentioned). 2 should suffice.
SB400 flashes. Again, 2 should do the trick
2 18-55 VR kit lenses to supplement the 55-250s.

If it is possible, arrange a meetup within the CCA and share tips with the members. You could also get an external person whom you know(preferably), and have him/her give a crash course. If you're worried that it might degenerate, come back as an alumni helper?
 

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No munny no hunny... :)



[post edited]

You mentioned 55-250mm lenses only. Perhaps you could appeal to the school for a $800 allowance for the photography club. With this, you could get..

Fancier tripods(as mentioned). 2 should suffice.
SB400 flashes. Again, 2 should do the trick
2 18-55 VR kit lenses to supplement the 55-250s.

If it is possible, arrange a meetup within the CCA and share tips with the members. You could also get an external person whom you know(preferably), and have him/her give a crash course. If you're worried that it might degenerate, come back as an alumni helper?

Oops, forgot to mention we already have the two 18-55mm too. Hmm, idk $800 may be quite alot to the school. Cos the problem is that the cca dont win any competitions (give the school name) so i dont believe our appeal would be approved....

Is it important that we get better equipment to improve? So far we have been trying to self improve by reading up on all the modes, white balance, manual focusing, rule of thirds (and other rules like the lines going into the corner of the pic etc). I think the appeal for money would be more likely to be approved if we take better shots etc.
 

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Hmm, that's a good point. Thanks. I think we'll try things like freezing water droplets and all too. What do you mean by landscape photography?

Totally agree with you. Im thinking for next year maybe have to limit those people who join photography as either very passionate or have a dslr already.

Most of the school comps already have photoshop, but none of us know how to really use it (Only know basics like magic wand etc). Thanks for pointing that out. I'll try to find the IT teacher and see if he's willing to have extra classes. Is it important for the school to have more equipment for us to be able to practice more?

Hmm yeah, im now trying to find more people in the school who already have dslrs. Trying to get them to join the cca :) One of them would be sonyboy in CS too.

Also, yeah i agree that this cca is like you said, expensive :( It's such a waste. I can't really blame the school for being unable to buy us more equipment as it's not cheap. But sometimes it's just so wasted cos even though our school has three cameras, they only allow us to use two at any one time. So you see like three or four people sharing one camera. Kinda hard for them to pratice. Thanks for your advice! I welcome any more ideas. I'm open to any kind of suggestions.


@ Landscape photography. I meant getting the members split up into groups of 3 or 4 or 5 or whatever, and getting them up early one day, collect equipment, and go shoot sunrise @ changi or something since you are in Pasir Ris, should be convenient.

@ Limiting, that's the worst thing to do. You can't judge interest from a person's look. You can give them specific challenges to test their interest once they join and then speak to those who slack.

@ Equipment to practise more, definitely la. You already said that you guys only have 3 cameras and dunno how many more members. Obviously more cameras would help, right? My school (SAJC) has 4 x D80, 1 x D70, kit normal / tele lenses, 2 x SB800 and two cheap tripods. Two members are passionate enough to own their own D90, and me & another friend use Canon with good lenses of our own. However, we have 12 other active members without their own cameras.

We just got granted 2k budget and a new teacher in charge who is the first teacher dslr photographer guy. With that, we're trying to increase the budget to 3k or possibly 4k excluding software cost (Lightroom2), and thinking of buying more stuff. With a 4k budget, we can provide two more D90 kits, get a fun lens like a UWA or fisheye, and purchase some strobist equipment to use with our two flashes.

Of course, 4k is a lot. Most sec schools only give 1k at max per 6 months or sometimes a year.
 

Is it important that we get better equipment to improve? So far we have been trying to self improve by reading up on all the modes, white balance, manual focusing, rule of thirds (and other rules like the lines going into the corner of the pic etc). I think the appeal for money would be more likely to be approved if we take better shots etc.

Of course the best way to get funds is to win in a competition. Even exhibitions by the photography club might not have that much of an effect as the principal would not increase the funds to be allocated to the Photog club anyway since the benefit to school isn't substantial enough.
 

@ Landscape photography. I meant getting the members split up into groups of 3 or 4 or 5 or whatever, and getting them up early one day, collect equipment, and go shoot sunrise @ changi or something since you are in Pasir Ris, should be convenient.

@ Limiting, that's the worst thing to do. You can't judge interest from a person's look. You can give them specific challenges to test their interest once they join and then speak to those who slack.

@ Equipment to practise more, definitely la. You already said that you guys only have 3 cameras and dunno how many more members. Obviously more cameras would help, right? My school (SAJC) has 4 x D80, 1 x D70, kit normal / tele lenses, 2 x SB800 and two cheap tripods. Two members are passionate enough to own their own D90, and me & another friend use Canon with good lenses of our own. However, we have 12 other active members without their own cameras.

We just got granted 2k budget and a new teacher in charge who is the first teacher dslr photographer guy. With that, we're trying to increase the budget to 3k or possibly 4k excluding software cost (Lightroom2), and thinking of buying more stuff. With a 4k budget, we can provide two more D90 kits, get a fun lens like a UWA or fisheye, and purchase some strobist equipment to use with our two flashes.

Of course, 4k is a lot. Most sec schools only give 1k at max per 6 months or sometimes a year.

Hmm, okay. I'll talk to the teacher in charge and try to organise outing. On a side note, I dont think the teacher in charge really knows alot about cameras... Just like abit. I think he may not even know about shutter speed and aperture.

Okay, no limits. Do you have any suggestions on how to 'test' their interest? Is interviewing them and asking about their interest etc good?

How did you guys manage to convince to be given a budget? Since you guys think it's a good idea to get more eqs, i'll talk to the teacher in charge and see how it goes. I believe the school may not agree as the purchase of the two D60s with kit lens and 55-200mm lens was just made last year. Aka we had ONE d50 for a whole two years (the time in which i came into the school, no idea about before that).
 

Of course the best way to get funds is to win in a competition. Even exhibitions by the photography club might not have that much of an effect as the principal would not increase the funds to be allocated to the Photog club anyway since the benefit to school isn't substantial enough.

lol. Care to state which school? :p Hehe. Yeah man. We got granted 2k on paper, which is the projection for the profit from our JC1 photoshoot. Sian hor? Need to ask for school funding, not student funding.

But hey, at least you're contributing S$3 to 5 when you purchase our photos ^^
 

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My former school, Anglican High lol. Members shoot exclusively on P, and I have never seen them using flashes EVER. It was so stagnant that it eventually got internalised by the Computer Club.
But hey, at least you're contributing S$3 to 5 when you purchase our photos ^^

Cool... moar lens caps:)
 

Of course the best way to get funds is to win in a competition. Even exhibitions by the photography club might not have that much of an effect as the principal would not increase the funds to be allocated to the Photog club anyway since the benefit to school isn't substantial enough.

Yeah, that's a good point. But exhibitions. If maybe my cca get enough good pics, we could have a mini exhibt to 'raise awareness' about the cca. Thanks for the idea :)
 

Hmm, okay. I'll talk to the teacher in charge and try to organise outing. On a side note, I dont think the teacher in charge really knows alot about cameras... Just like abit. I think he may not even know about shutter speed and aperture.

Okay, no limits. Do you have any suggestions on how to 'test' their interest? Is interviewing them and asking about their interest etc good?

How did you guys manage to convince to be given a budget? Since you guys think it's a good idea to get more eqs, i'll talk to the teacher in charge and see how it goes. I believe the school may not agree as the purchase of the two D60s with kit lens and 55-200mm lens was just made last year. Aka we had ONE d50 for a whole two years (the time in which i came into the school, no idea about before that).

You should not expect an academic teacher in school to really coach students on rugby, piano playing or photography. They are teachers of academic subjects. Try to hook up with a trainer (either by asking on Clubsnap by giving a budget determined by the school).

As for ways to test interest, don't expect spoonfeeding. You'll have to find a need and meet the need through your own efforts.

We have a higher budget per year because we actually shoot our own class photos for the JC1 batch, profiting by S$1 to 3 per photo. Multiply that with our cohort strength of 800+, and we get S$1k to 2k on average a year. So you can say that our CCA is an autarky of sorts. We're asking for a higher budget through school funding, not student funding.
 

lol. Care to state which school? :p Hehe. Yeah man. We got granted 2k on paper, which is the projection for the profit from our JC1 photoshoot. Sian hor? Need to ask for school funding, not student funding.

But hey, at least you're contributing S$3 to 5 when you purchase our photos ^^

You mean you guys sell photos to the student?
 

You should not expect an academic teacher in school to really coach students on rugby, piano playing or photography. They are teachers of academic subjects. Try to hook up with a trainer (either by asking on Clubsnap by giving a budget determined by the school).

Have tried asking the school to get us a trainer for the past three years. They finally decided to get us a trainer for next year.... For photoshop. Which i actually believe that they should get a trainer to train us on photography first before teaching us to edit the photos.

As for ways to test interest, don't expect spoonfeeding. You'll have to find a need and meet the need through your own efforts.[?QUOTE]

Hmmm, will do. Thanks for advice.

We have a higher budget per year because we actually shoot our own class photos for the JC1 batch, profiting by S$1 to 3 per photo. Multiply that with our cohort strength of 800+, and we get S$1k to 2k on average a year. So you can say that our CCA is an autarky of sorts. We're asking for a higher budget through school funding, not student funding.

Wow. Shoot your own class photos. I dont think the school trusts us enough to shoot those photos. In fact, i found out that sometimes when teachers use the photos we shoot during events, they think that it's teachers who shot it and not students. Like it never occured to them that the students actually know how to shoot. Might follow your footsteps and try to fund raise for the cca.
 

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