Photo Groups, The Good, The Bad (And No Ugly)

Recently I left two photo groups I belonged to for extended periods (one for around 20 years). Groups are great for companionship, socializing and like. They are also a great resource for learning from others and helping friends. The big negative with groups is the group thought thing that can occur if your not careful. Peer pressure to conform and fit in is a very real danger in the group dynamic. Years ago I read a quote referring to Japanese society and how individuals are forced to join group thought.

"In Japan the nail that stands up gets hammered down."

I think that can be a problem when your part of any group, you are often expected to fit in and if you do something different or act differently than others in the group your peers often want (need?) to hammer you down. If your to enthusiastic or dedicated, if your to gung ho or hold strong opinions your often not accepted (assuming the majority in the group do not have those characteristics). Subject matter is very subjective and in amateur group settings most people shoot the same type of stuff the same way, there is very little stepping outside the hobbyist box. You could take photos from 10 different photo groups across the country, mix and match all of those photos and it would not really matter, most everyone is shooting mostly the same subjects in mostly the same ways. People in a group generally feel more comfortable surrounded by those exactly like themselves, this is a real danger to creativity. What can happen is that those that shoot photographs of different subjects or shoot in different ways are ridiculed, subtle pressure is applied to conform to the group dynamic. The subliminal message is. "Why are you shooting this? When everyone else is shooting mountains, old buildings and flowers. Fit in, conform, be like us."

If I was going to give advice to young-new photographers about joining photo groups I would tell them to go for it, you can learn a lot but later on once you find your way leave the group so that your not polluted by their conformity. It is important all artists try to  find their own way, their own unique paths. It is easy to sit in a room quietly with everyone else and conform but if you want to make strong work I think you need to step away from the crowd. Do not do what group thought tells you to do, do not follow the majority, do not make pictures that have been done countless times. Have strong opinions and do not be afraid to voice and defend them. Most importantly have the courage to leave a group and be on your own.

I hope that this is what will happen with me. I became more independent and opinionated and decided (with some help) to leave these groups and try and find my own path. For me it has been the best of both worlds. I met and interacted with some great people and got what I could out of the groups but now it's time to step away and move forward, hopefully in new and exciting directions. I will try to take the road less travelled (R. Frost).

Note* I am still involved with one advanced photo group made up of pros and high end fine art and documentary photographers, that work extremely hard at their craft. These guys are advanced artists and play by different rules. Being part of their group has been very beneficial, I guess these dudes would fit into the "good" in the title.

Anyway here is the famous Robert Frost poem:

The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost

 

TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.