About the St. Louis Camera Club
Founded in 1914, the St. Louis Camera Club is one of the oldest continuously operating photography clubs in the United States. For more than a century, photographers of all skill levels have gathered to learn, share ideas, improve their craft, and build lasting friendships.
Whether you're just beginning your photography journey or have years of experience, you'll find a welcoming community dedicated to creativity, education, and constructive feedback.
Learn More About Our 110+ Year History
What We Do
Our club offers something for every photographer, whether your goal is to improve your skills, share your work, or simply enjoy photography with others.
Learn
Regular educational programs
Guest speakers
Hands-on events and workshops
Compete
Friendly competitions
Constructive critiques
Multiple competition categories
Connect
Regular meetings
Field trips
Social events
Photography community
Create
Explore new genres
Share your work
Receive feedback
Volunteer
The St. Louis Camera Club is entirely volunteer-run. Our members contribute their time and talents to organize meetings, competitions, educational programs, and special events that make the club successful. Learn more about how our volunteer organization works.
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Activities
Each club meeting typically includes:
- An educational program by a speaker from our membership or from the photographic community
- A member competition in one of our many photography sections
We also feature special competitions such as:
- A short photo essay and a longer travelogue essay
- A yearly competition for our new members (the Rookie Competition)
- As a member of the Photographic Society of America (PSA), the club sponsors the Mississippi Valley Salon, an international competition, each year
- PSA Interclub competitions with other PSA clubs
- Monthly New Member Meetings focused on questions and needs of our new members
Other activities include:
- Monthly Special Interest Group meetings which delve into more detailed conversation about items of particular interest
- Salons at which small groups discuss their images in a friendly, informal setting
- Outings ranging from multi-day trips to one-day excursions and informal photographic outings.
- A summer picnic
- A holiday party
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Our Mission Statement
The St. Louis Camera Club is a group of photographers of widely varying interests and every skill level, from those first discovering photography and learning the basics to professional photographers. What we all have in common is a desire to learn more about photography, share our experiences and enjoy the company of like-minded friends. Our primary focus is on education through our various meetings and competitions.
The Mission of the Club is to promote the art and science of photography in a social environment where photographers of all skill levels are welcomed. The Club embraces the advancement of photography through member education, innovation, technology and creativity.
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Our Ethics Statement
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A member of the St. Louis Camera Club shall act in accordance with the by-laws of the St. Louis Camera Club.
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A member shall be ethical when making and presenting photographic images. Images submitted for competition shall originate as photographs by the entrant on photographic emulsion or acquired digitally. By virtue of submitting an entry, the photographer certifies the work as his/her own.
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Members not in compliance with this ethics statement will be subject to the loss of the right to compete and/or loss of competition points and honors.
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Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility Statement
The St. Louis Camera Club is committed to fostering, cultivating and preserving a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility. All members of the St. Louis Camera Club are expected to treat others with dignity and respect. Our members commit to being open to a diversity of artistic photographic expression.
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Copyright Policy
As an organization comprised of photographers, the St. Louis Camera Club places a high value on the copyright of a creator in his or her artistic works. We advocate for and strongly support all artists’ copyrights. These include not only the rights of photographers and other artists in their visual works, but also the rights of musicians in their compositions and performances. By submitting a presentation to the Club or an entry to any Club competition, a member represents that he/she has complied with all applicable copyright laws and regulations as they pertain to any third party content included in that entry, whether that third party content is aural or visual. It is not the responsibility of any judge of these competitions to make any determination whether the use of music or third party images contained in any entry is in compliance with applicable copyright law. We assume that the member submitting the entry has fully accepted and discharged this responsibility. No judge’s decision regarding the merit of any entry will be influenced by the issue of copyright compliance or non-compliance.
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