I gained the Associateship of the Royal Photographic Society in 1973, after joining the Society the previous year. The distinctions include Licenciate (introduced in the mid 1970s), Associate and Fellow, and members can apply in one of a number of categories – such as Pictorial (which I did), Applied, AV, and so on. An RPS distinction is not a qualification, of course, but I guess it indicates a certain standard. More importantly, it gave me something to work for and helped me become more critical of my own work. / more...
 

 
Gaining the Associateship in the Pictorial section involved, at that time, submitting a panel of 12 prints or 18 slides, which should show 'variety of subject matter' and 'evidence of a distinct photographic style'. Most of my panel is shown above; I doubt if I'd succeed with these prints today as standards have risen. Some of these images did quite well for me in exhibitions (click for the details).

/ top