CCA Previews ’22: Raffles Photographic Society

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By Lim Yuan Ren (22S03P), Chairman, Matthew Tan (22S03Q), Vice-Chairman and Ryan Tong (22S03A), Quartermaster

Attend one of our school’s events, and you may just feel the weight of a lens pointing right at you! We are a community of photographers with a passion for our craft.

As Percy W. Harris once remarked, “skill in photography is acquired by practice and not by purchase”. In Raffles Photographic Society, we aim to hone our members’ photography skills and inculcate values such as creativity and passion for learning through fun and enriching CCA sessions!

Sessions are usually held every Tuesday. Normally, CCA sessions are held in school from 4pm to 6pm. Due to COVID-19 safe distancing measures, online sessions are held from 5pm to 7pm. CCA sessions are guided by external mentors or RPS EXCO and typically alternate between photoshoots and photo review sessions, so don’t worry—you’ll get tons of opportunities to show off your work! This mostly comes in the form of basic photography training—members with more photographic experience can share more about their technique. We also plan CCA camps and laidback sessions to just chill out and talk.

A photographer covering last year’s Mental Health Awareness Week

Of course, being a Raffles Photographer wouldn’t be complete without event coverage! We play an important but often forgotten role in documenting the events of the school. Because of this, Raffles photographers are busy throughout the year—JC provides many opportunities for you to go out and shoot for the school. Usually, every photographer is required to fulfill a minimum of 40 hours of Event Coverage duty over the span of two years. However, due to the current COVID-19 situation, we have adjusted the Event Coverage duty accordingly to ensure that our photographers can meet the requirements.

All-in-all, event coverage is a highly enjoyable and fulfilling process—nothing beats the satisfaction of others viewing your very own professional event photos!

A photographer in action at last year’s (scaled down) prize presentation.

Besides event coverage, every member will have the opportunity to participate in photo exhibitions in both Year 5 and Year 6. Exhibitions are without a doubt the highlight of a member’s journey here in RPS. This is the occasion where members get to proudly showcase their work to hundreds of viewers!

Being a photographer comes with some perks—more often than not, on-duty photographers are granted complimentary entries to paid events, exclusive access to restricted or backstage zones, and a free pass to the best viewing spots!

If everything we’ve said above interests you, then being a Raffles Photographer may just be the perfect fit for you! Trials are casual and there are no prerequisites. Simply bring along a portfolio of your best work, and let us get to know you better through a short interview—as long as you have an interest in photography, we’re more than happy to make you a part of our own.

In short, our pictures are a little viewfinder of school life, for all its gloom, aspirations and idiosyncrasies. We look forward to seeing you in our CCA!