Joining The Club

Most queries about joining the club should be answered by this page, however if you have a specific query that is not answered here, please use our Contact Form.  If you are ready to join, you can apply by using the link below.

Join LSAPS or Renew Membership

Subscription Rates

The 2024/5 season started on 5th September, however it is still possible to join or renew for this season. The full membership fee is £50, but we offer a half price membership fee of just £25 to new members, with further possible reductions if joining part way through the season. Approximately pro-rata rates will apply for people who join us later in the season. Rates for under 18s are available on request.

Our Season

Our season of meetings runs from early September until June – specific dates will be published on our Syllabus Page.  The main weekly meetings are held every Thursday evening at 7:30pm at the Well Church Hall (next to the YMCA) in St. Albans Road, St. Annes FY8 1UZ.  Meetings usually last about two-and-a-half hours and include Guest Speakers, Competitions and portfolio nights where we discuss images from competition portfolios.

In addition to the main meetings we also hold a series of tutorials to help improve your photography and critique evenings, where you can submit your own images and gain feedback from other club members.  These meetings are held throughout the season, on a Monday or Tuesday evening.

We also organise photo-walks, which are outings to places of interest where participants can take photos, supported and encouraged by their fellow members.

Zoom Meetings

Some meetings may be held over Zoom, depending on the speaker’s location. These may be held in the hall or it may be possible to join from home – details of any Zoom meetings will appear in the syllabus.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q1. Are there any other costs associated with membership?

The fee covers the cost of the main meetings, tutorials and critique nights. The only other cost is 50p for a cup of tea or coffee in the tea break at the main weekly meetings!

Any one-off events or Photo-walk outings organised by the club may involve their own costs.

Q2. Do I have to enter Competitions?

There are regular club competitions and an end-of-season Photoshow, but it is up to members to decide for themselves whether to enter any or all of them. Judging is carried out in front of the whole group by experienced photographers qualified as judges, which can be daunting, however this provides an invaluable source of feedback and learning.

If you are not ready to have your images judged, you can try out our Critique evenings for feedback on your photographs, or join the club’s group on Facebook or the Flickr photography website.

Should you be interested in entering external competitions, we can inform, guide and support you with that as well.

Q3. What if I’m brand new to photography – will I know what’s going on at meetings?

When you join, we will ask you about your photography experience and if you want our help with anything, our Membership Secretary will introduce you to people who can talk with you about a wide variety of subjects from choosing a camera or software to understanding some of the terminology used in photography. If you wish you can be paired up with a mentor, and we run a series of photography tutorials.

Q4. What about very experienced photographers, or professionals? What’s in it for them?

We welcome people at all levels and currently are very keen to attract experienced photographers and professionals. For professionals, competitions provide an opportunity to extend photographic skills outside the relative comfort of your working specialism and to compete with others operating at the same level; and really the same applies to highly skilled amateurs. One of the benefits that many of our most experienced members enjoy is the chance to share some of their knowledge and skills with new or less experienced photographers, by leading or participating in our tutorials, through mentoring or, in some cases, by training as judges and joining the judging circuit.

Q5. Can children join?

We welcome people of all ages but children (ie those aged 18 or less) must be accompanied to all meetings by a parent or other responsible adult. Children pay a reduced fee – our membership secretary will discuss this with the parent or accompanying adult.

Q6. How can I find out if LSAPS is right for me?

Come and join our meetings for a couple of weeks for free – we will welcome you, talk to you about the society, let you join in the meeting and help in any way we can while you decide whether it’s for you.

Question still not answered? Please use our Contact Form.