Why I Like Photo Meetup Groups

Today’s Post by Mark Toal

I think one of the best things that I’ve done is to join a Meetup.com Photo group a few years ago. I originally joined to meet new people when Jasmine and I first moved to Portland and now I just became the Organizer of the group.

If you haven’t looked into Meetup groups go to Meetup.com type in your interest and zip code and up will pop all the photo groups in your area. Most of them are free or have very low yearly dues. I look for groups that have a lot of outings and active members. You can go to the photos tab of a group that you are looking at and see what kind of photos members take. If the group doesn’t fit your style just check out another one.

My group, the Portland/Vancouver Photogaphy Meetup Group has about 135 members. In the winter we have indoor meetings featuring guest speakers and then in the warmer months we try to get out for shoots around the area. After each Meetup a photo album is created on the site for members to add their photos.

I’ve meet great people and learned about places in my own town that I’ve never knew about—except for having been part of this meetup group.