after-school photo club

[indiephoto]

I want to start an after-school photography club but if you want to get them (clubs) approved you have to go through the principal by writing a a short paper mentioning the events and stuff members would do, any suggestions? (I'm in high school if that helps) any advice would be apriciated.


p.s sorry about the spelling the school computers don't have iespell on them

 

[JESWAW]

write the letter, duh! seems logical if thats the only way to get a club. Im pretty for sure the Principal wont mind if there's a photography club...So just tell him why you want the club, and where/what you'll be taking pictures of

 

[indiephoto]

yeah I kinda figured out that its necessary to write the letter but thats not the problem. I just thought it would be nice for other students interested in photography to meet after school and give each other advice & answer each others questions but if I want to get it approved by the principal it needs to sound more official then that.

 

[JESWAW]

Just make it sound legit and official

 

[indiephoto]

umm yeah thats what I just said it needs to sound official but what exactly is the official term for loitering after school and chattering about photos? and if anybody else has any ideas on how to make it more productive then sitting around chit chating please let me know thanks in advance

 

[Peanuts]

You could propose monthly assignments and at teh end of the school year if you could have each club member place two photos in a competition that could be displayed in the school autotorium/hallway/gym to be judged by half a dozen teachers or so. Something like that.

Personally I would ask for a face to face meeting.

 

[indiephoto]

peanuts thank you that was the first useful post in the thread so far
​

 

[JESWAW]

peanuts thank you that was the first useful post in the thread so far​

HAHA

you could also get a petetion going for everybody that wants to be in it...thats evidence that he knows people would be enthused

 

[kundalini]

p.s sorry about the spelling the school computers don't have iespell on them

You can usually find a book in the library called a dictionary. They can also be purchased for home use. If all else fails, there are several on-line sites that ways to find correct spelling and definitions for the English or preferred language. I have also found a thesaurus quite handy.

 

[JESWAW]

You can usually find a book in the library called a dictionary. They can also be purchased for home use. If all else fails, there are several on-line sites that ways to find correct spelling and definitions for the English or preferred language. I have also found a thesaurus quite handy.

Harsh...

 

[kundalini]

Ok, maybe the first response was curt. I just don’t find excuses as you offered acceptable with all the tools available.

So to be constructive, may I offer this possible solution to your aspiration?

First, you should put down on paper any ideas, goals, services, activities, etc., the overall vision you would like to see become of this club. Brainstorm with a couple of your friends that are already interested in photography. Approach the president of another club in your school and query him/her of the processes they go through to keep the club running and supported by the administration. This will give you some idea of the hurdles you will likely face.

Next, I would take a poll of your school mates and get a general idea of how attractive your idea of a club would be to begin with before you approach the principal. He’s an administrator and numbers are likely to be an important factor for his decision making. With this poll, make yourself a list of general questions that would not take more than a minute or two to ask and respond. You’re attempting to get just a general idea. You can make it as simple as going up to a student and ask “Hey, Joe. I’m trying to find out if we can get a photog club started here at school. Do you think that would be something you’d be interested in?”. If he says No, say thanks and move on. If he says Yes, whip out your clipboard and jot down his name. Then I’d ask a few questions such as 1) would you be an active participant? 2) do you have a camera? 3) how much experience do you have? 4) what type of shooting do you like to do? If you make it in a grid table form where you can quickly check a box or write in a code, so much the better. You don’t want to drag this out into a discussion or debate.

With the raw data you’ve collected, compress it down to usable information that you can put in your letter to the principal. I would also try to find a student that excels in English and composition to assist in drafting the letter. If you do the leg work, propose a reasonable intent and provide benefits that this club will bring to the school as a whole, I think you have a better than average chance to pull this off.

That's my nickel's worth. Good luck.

 

[indiephoto]

thank you that post was exactly the type of information I was looking for

 

[JESWAW]

thank you that post was exactly the type of information I was looking for

But merely common sense...he wrote a way longer version of what i said. But if all else fails...maybe the people interested could just hang-out after school, not at school. You dont have to be in a club to get some people together to C&C and have fun with photography

 

[DSLR noob]

Also don't just say "talk about photos" say things like "discussing techniques". You could also throw in the concept of a "for beginners meeting" somewhere in the first 4 or 5 weeks. Telling the less informed members that they should bring their cameras, and telling the people who know the tech stuff to be ready to teach. you'd be surprised how many people who love photography never leave auto mode, but would love to be taught. Of course if you get everything going, ask the group how much they know, no need to insult their intelligence if they know all the stuff already, chances are, quite a few people will say that they've never adjusted settings before. Point being, if you bring up this idea to the principle, an education factor is brought up.

 

[Jessicaa_rockss]

I'm in high school and I was going to take a course in photography but I didn't take the high school credit art class so I wasn't able to. Anyway, I talked to the photography teacher and she was going to let me into the photography club that she has after-school and she would count it as my high school credit bearing art class so I can take photography in 10th grade. so my advice is to talk to your/the photography teacher and see if there's already a club or i she can administer one for you so that you don't have to go through so much trouble.