1. Volunteer to conduct a digital photography workshop for day camps and nearby overnight camps. Working parents must find daylong activities for their children during the summer, so your community is filled with various kinds of day camps. An essential element of teaching children about photography is putting a camera in their hands. If the day camp operator has an activity budget, then it may be affordable to rent one of the waterproof, shockproof and dustproof compact cameras for a day, so each child has an opportunity to take pictures and create a joint album of photos.
You may find a similar opportunity at a senior center or as part of the activities offered at a 55+ condominium or golf course community.
Write and distribute a press release before and after your volunteer workshop, describing what occurred there. Add the press releases to your Web site, where you can also blog about your experiences teaching children or seniors. Make sure your workshop is listed on any online community activities schedule. If the children in a workshop create an album of photo, then add it to your Web site as more exposure of your volunteerism, plus people love to look at kids in pictures and pictures they’ve taken.
2. Municipal recreation departments also have a full slate of activities for children and families throughout the week during the summer. Contact your local department to discuss how you could conduct workshops, or volunteer your time in a photography-related manner.
Local parks departments are also opportunities in this category. Many have trails and nature walks that are perfect environments for a digital photography workshop for children, adults and families.
3. Approach garden clubs with an offer to teach a workshop about flower and/or macro photography, especially if you have a collection of such photos to use as teaching tools. In exchange for your workshop, you’re allowed to promote yourself to members who might want the gardens they have so carefully and painstakingly built and nurtured photographed professionally.
4. Summer is the season for outdoor arts festivals. Contact the organizers about display space to sell framed prints and promote your services. Farmers’ markets may also include space for artists, providing exposure to large crowds every weekend throughout the summer.
5. The summer’s calendar will also be filled with many community events: parades, festivals, parties, pig roasts, etc. Becoming one of the sponsors may be more affordable than you may think and puts your name and services in front of many qualified customers.
6. All these community events are also opportunities to offer to serve as the “official” digital photographer to record the event. The organizers will have images to promote future fairs, festivals, etc. and your name could become synonymous with the event. You may also be able to trade your services for a display of your prints.
Whatever promotional and publicity opportunities you pursue in your community this summer, make sure to create a thorough contact list, so you can remain in touch with organizers, other sponsors you meet and any leads for photo jobs. Then, maintain contact with organizers, so they’ll think of you first for next summer’s events. Remember also that many of the people that serve on the committees of community events are your target audience, and many of them are prominent citizens.
Above all else, write and distribute press releases about all your workshops, your volunteer work, sponsorships and where and when your photos will be on display. Add these press releases to your Web site and prominently announce your schedule of summer appearances on your home page.
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Photograph by Photography Talk Member Ben