The Importance of Photo Meets

 

One of the things I’ve come to love doing every year is getting out to shoot perfect strangers. By this, I don’t mean strangers that are perfect, but instead, folks whom I’ve never met and otherwise would never have met.

The way it works is you look online on sites such as Facebook, Instagram or Meetup and you do a local search for photography events or meetups. Once there, you’ll get info on the location and time of the event and, if it’s a good and established event, they’ll even suggest you bring things like a hat, water, and proper footwear depending on the weather and terrain. I really appreciate this because I’ve been known to neglect that sort of personal care and attention and come to regret the oversight. Every. Single. Time.

So, you got your info and the day arrives. You gotta make sure you have all the gear you’ll need. At the bare minimum, you’ll need your camera, a charged battery and whatever lens you’re planning on using. At the most, well, sky’s the limit. I’ve seen guys lug around large flash units with diffusers and/or umbrellas, or bring with them a group of friends each carrying some sort of equipment. To each his own.

Now, the reason I’m even writing this is because I’ve come to really appreciate the need and the importance of having photo events, or meets. Specially the ones that are set up for pretty much anyone to participate in or attend, at no cost. These events fulfill a need in every photographer’s journey by providing “subjects” to photograph. I suppose I should rephrase and say that they fulfill every portrait photographers journey. You see, unless you’re very crafty and resourceful (I am not!), most of us are too bashful or insecure to ask friends and family to pose for us for whatever “artistic” photo shoot we may have concocted in our heads. Let alone any kind of edgy or slightly sensual type of stuff.

There are three kind of people who show up to these events; photographers, participants, and watchers. I don’t need to tell you who the photographers are. They’re the ones with the umbilically connected cameras. The watchers are friends, family members or just general public who happen to be around when the event takes place. Most folks don’t gawk, they tend to look on with interest, of course, after someone gets swarmed with photographers. These events DO normally take place in public places, by the way. The most important folks, in my opinion at least, are the participants. I won’t call them models because not all of them are. Most are first timers, beginners or enthusiasts who are curious to give it a try. Bless their hearts. Most get it, some don’t. But that’s the beauty of it. As a photographer, you’ll find you’re given a plethora of choices when it comes to subject matter. You’ll find the pretty girl, the drama queen, the pensive one, the mysterious one, the shy one, so on and so forth. As a photographer, the beauty of the situation is that it really IS like shooting fish in the proverbial barrel.

Another thing that I discovered soon after I started attending these events a few years back is that not all participants are models per se. Some are performers or physical artists of some sort. I’ve had a chance to photograph fire breathers, fire dancers, gymnasts, aerialists, clowns and jugglers. Also, depending on the time of year, you’ll also find people like to dress up! Halloween and Cinco de Mayo tend to bring out creative looks in people. Again, most if not all of these events are FREE! When and where else are you going to have the opportunity to shoot this variety of people in one place, voluntarily, FREE of charge?!!

So, I hope I’ve been able to convey how important of an outlet and resource these types of photo meets are for us photographers. For me, it’s an invaluable opportunity to hone my skills in a variety of ways. And for beginners and enthusiasts, I can’t think of a better way to keep that desire and curiosity alive. I hope you get a chance to experience at least one of these at some point. Share some of your photos if you do.