The photography associations listed alphabetically below are national groups that support various genres of photography in a much broader way than a local or regional camera club.
These organizations generally support a specific niche and frequently provide benefits that smaller groups can’t afford.
If you are looking for camera clubs in your area, use this camera club directory.
American Photographic Artists (APA)
APA provides a full complement of member benefits that help photographers run a smarter, more creative and profitable business. Our benefits have been time-tested over four decades and give members the tools to build a sustainable business.
American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP)
The American Society of Media Photographers (ASMP) is the premier trade association for the world’s most respected content creators.
ASMP is the leader in promoting photographers’ rights, providing education in better business practices, producing business publications for content creators, and helping to connect clients with professional photographers. ASMP, founded in 1944, has 4,000+ members and 38 chapters.
International Society of Animal Photographers
Formed in 2021, the International Society of Animal Photographers assists members in achieving their professional and artistic goals; promotes public awareness of the profession; and advances the creation of images in all photographic disciplines as an art, a science, and a visual recorder of history.
American Society of Photographers (ASP)
The American Society of Photographers is a welcoming community where passion, creativity, and excellence come together. We are photographers, educators, and storytellers, supporting one another as we grow, share, and shape the future of our craft. Through meaningful recognition, mentorship, education, and connection, ASP encourages every member to keep evolving, stay inspired, and lift others along the way. Here, your work is celebrated, your journey is supported, and you’re invited to be part of something truly special!
North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA)
We provide information, education, inspiration, and opportunity for all persons interested in nature photography through tools and principles that include ethics, conservation, advocacy, education, and networking.
Education is one of the key tenants of our mission. Whether you’re a full-time professional or a beginner, we have resources that can help you grow your photography business or improve your photography skills.
National Press Photographers Association (NPPA)
The National Press Photographers Association is dedicated to the advancement of visual journalism – its creation, practice, training, editing and distribution – in all news media and works to promote its role as a vital public service.
Since 1949, the NPPA has been the leading voice advocating for the work of visual journalists. Our organization fights for working news photographers, videographers and multimedia journalists. Our Code of Ethics stands for the highest integrity in visual storytelling. Our advocacy efforts put NPPA in the center of today’s thorniest issues of journalists’ rights to do their work — and to earn a living from their craft.
Our ongoing education initiatives seek to equip our members and prepare the emerging generation of visual journalists in the face of an ever-changing media landscape.
Professional Photographers of America (PPA)
PPA’s mission is to create a vibrant community of successful professional photographers by providing education, resources, and industry standards of excellence.
The world’s largest nonprofit photography association is organized by professional photographers for professional photographers, with over 35,000 members in more than 50 countries!
PPA is your go-to resource for elevating your craft and maintaining a profitable business. It’s your link to online education, live classes, business assistance, and equipment insurance. It’s your peer-to-peer support group, your advocate for copyright protection, and your source for news and info about the industry.
Read my article: Why You Need To Join Professional Photographers of America (PPA)
Photography Society of America (PSA)
The Photographic Society of America (PSA), founded in 1934, is a worldwide organization providing abundant resources for photographers, from the novice to the professional. PSA offers online learning, webinars, study groups, competitions, mentors and consultants. Membership is in over 80 countries, 5,000 members, 460 Camera Clubs, and 11 Chapters across the United States.
Society of International Nature and Wildlife Photographers
The Society of International Nature and Wildlife Photographers is for pro and enthusiast photographers who enjoy photographing the natural world.
Wildlife photographers are devoted to capturing animals in action, such as in flight, their natural habitats, hunting, eating, fighting, or just simply in their natural environment. Nature photography refers to a wide range of photography taken outdoors and devoted to displaying natural elements such as landscapes, wildlife, plants, and close-ups of natural scenes and textures.
The Society for Photographic Education (SPE)
SPE is the leading forum for fostering understanding of photography in all its forms and related media. SPE engages its worldwide membership and affiliated communities through a range of supportive platforms including conferences, events, and publications.
The majority of SPE’s members are fine art photographers, artists, educators, students, curators, critics, and historians. SPE is growing in bold, exciting ways in areas of K-12 education, community service and outreach, and expanding as an international non-profit organization to develop a broader understanding of how photography matters in the world.
Through its programs and services—and through new initiatives that shift focus to more active ground—SPE seeks to promote a wider understanding of photography in all of its forms and to foster the development of its practice, teaching, scholarship, and critical analysis. SPE’s headquarters are located in Cleveland, OH, and the archives are maintained at the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, AZ.
Young Photographers Alliance
Initially founded in New York in 2009 by Jerry Tavin and Deborah Free, the Young Photographers Alliance was created to inspire and empower young, gifted photographers. Led by industry professionals, YPA provides aspiring image-makers with access to the kind of practical industry knowledge, experience, resources, and contacts they need to build sustainable careers as photography professionals.
YPA is unique in its focus on community and the fostering of direct, meaningful connections between emerging and established photographers. Our vision is to create powerful synergies between the two groups, recognizing that collaboration benefits both, and ultimately energizes and advances the profession as a whole.
