I want to teach a photography class, how do I get people to join?

July 17, 2010 8:22 PM

I want to teach a photography class, how do I get people to join?

So, I had the thought that it would be fun to teach a local digital photography class--mostly geared at people who just got an SLR and want to learn how to really use it. I'm pretty knowledgeable in the subject, and having taken several photography classes myself, I sort of know what I'd want to teach.

However, the biggest question is--how do I get people to sign up? I was thinking of doing something with the local community center (I'm in Bethlehem, PA), but it doesn't seem like they do that sort of thing. I'm sure I could advertise in the paper or at local photography shops, but does anyone have any experience with something similar? What worked for you?

posted by deansfurniture5 to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (7 answers total)

I would look for your local Flickr groups and post topics there -- it seems like the main Bethlehem group isn't very active, so I'd check out area/county groups too, like this one. That page mentions a photography club, which looks like it requires dues for members but might be interesting. I'd also try to find out whether there's a local free school or other skill exchange collective in your area (more common if there's a nearby college with an anarchist population). Or maybe do it through your local library? If there was a free photography class at my library on a Saturday afternoon or something, I'd probably go to it just for fun. I'm not sure how I'd hear about it though, since I'm not there all the time. I might see a flyer at my coffee shop.
posted by dreamyshade at 10:17 PM on July 17, 2010

Also, one thing I learned when I was in college is that the dorm RAs were always looking for fun events to put on for their students, and that they had some money from the university to spend on these events. I don't know if your college works the same way, but that's another potential audience to look into.
posted by dreamyshade at 11:09 PM on July 17, 2010

See if any of the school districts or universities in your area have community education programs and would be interested in offering your course. I taught a class on Photoshop through community ed for a couple years, and enjoyed it a lot.
posted by jferg at 6:13 AM on July 18, 2010

Dreamyshade's idea is a good one.

Check out Princeton University's Graduate College (housing complex where 500+ students live) and the Graduate School. They're separate. You'd want to contact the House Advisor or Social Chair on the ?? committee (forgot what it's called) at the Graduate College or the person in the Graduate School who does Student Life.

Rutgers & PSU might have similar opportunities, but I know Princeton always puts on events like this because I was in charge of coming up with this kind of stuff when I was a grad student there.
This one could be really popular especially with the beginning of the school year coming up.

The limiting factor is that not necessarily that many graduate students have a digital camera. Princeton's graduate students are over 50% not-from-the US. I don't know how many of them bring cameras with them. Then again, maybe because they are foreign students they do.
posted by vincele at 10:00 AM on July 18, 2010

Craigslist?
posted by hiho at 10:42 AM on July 18, 2010

I'd also open it up to non-DSLR cameras for a better turnout! You can still talk about manual settings, composition, etc., and generally getting the most out of your camera. It would probably just lower the barrier to entry a lot, especially since most people I know with DSLRs are already pretty knowledgeable about them, while I know a decent number of people with point-and-shoot cameras who would like to learn more. Maybe even include people who have a half-decent cell phone camera, like the iPhone camera...

(I've taken one photography class, taught by a pretty successful artist and professor, and he had no rules about what camera you could use, and zero instruction about manual settings. It was all about how to stop taking boring photos, and I disliked it at the time it was one of the best art classes I've had. My photos would be much better if I consistently applied what I learned there four years ago.)
posted by dreamyshade at 3:21 PM on July 18, 2010

Response by poster: Great responses so far, thanks everyone!
posted by deansfurniture5 at 4:47 PM on July 18, 2010