About Us

Photosoc is the photographic society of the University of Edinburgh.  We are currently both the oldest and the largest university photographic society in the UK with an annual membership nearing 400.  Photosoc welcomes students and non-students, digital and film lovers, complete beginners and keen amateurs.

Our activities

At Photosoc we try our best to cater for members of all skill levels. Our Friday night meetings range from beginner tutorials, to more advanced workshops on topics such as lighting and Photoshop. Our meetings hold a diverse array of lectures and hands-on workshops given by professional, semi-professional, and amateur, enthusiastic photographers. Through these talks, we try to cover as many different styles of photography throughout the year, ranging from portraiture to light-painting. If you have any suggestions for topics you would like to see covered at Photosoc, let us know.

At Photosoc, we realise the importance of putting the skills learned in our weekly meetings into practice, and so, as well as talks and tutorials, there are plenty of opportunities to take photos – such as on our night time photo walks around Edinburgh or during one of our many Saturday trips. However, all good societies need a strong social dynamic, and at Photosoc we’re no different. If we can’t be found in the lightroom or darkroom, we can always be found in the pub, whether this be after one of meetings, at the end of a long day of shooting on one of our trips, or on one of our famous Photosoc pub crawls. Every year we hold our famous disposable camera pubcrawl – come along for the giggles and good times!
Competitions and Exhibitions

Every year, Photosoc runs several competitions for its members. The competitions are either single or double themed in structure: one theme that is general and one that is specific. We encourage our members to use the Saturday trips as an opportunity to shoot for each competition. The competitions are judged by Photosoc members; the winning photographs from each theme win prizes, and these photographs, along with the best of the rest will be exhibited in a chosen venue in Edinburgh. More information on the competition can be found on the Competitions page.

We freely acknowledge that our weekly 2 hour sessions can only offer a taster for the possibilities of what is largely an individual pursuit.  In response to this, we organise occasional Saturday workshops and excursions in and around Edinburgh, as well as bi-annual trips further afield. Previous trips have included Fort William, Oban, Mull, Skye, and Aviemore. More information on trips can be found on the Trips page.