Tucked away in room 225 of Business Hall, 11 students gathered on Thursday because of their shared love for photography. 

Club President Ariadna Martinez-Lopez and Vice President Anurag Thudi hosted their first Photography Club meeting of the semester. 

Despite its name, the club didn’t focus on camera settings or sharing portfolio pieces in this meeting but rather honed in on team building.

Immediately after Martinez-Lopez, a marketing major, and Thudi, a computer science major, finished their hellos and introductions, they began to conduct a game of Mafia. 

Students sent jests of accusations toward one another, laughing after each elimination, and studying each other body language to determine a suspected murderer.  

Though this club’s leadership felt a sense of pride to see seven new faces join them on this dark winter night, they couldn’t help but worry about retaining these recruits. 

With recently losing E-board members, having to appoint a new advisor, and dealing with minimal funding, The Photography Club has all but recently been in survival mode. 

“I know this isn’t a brand new club, but we are a brand new E-board with no experience whatsoever,” said Thudi. “With our last E-board not being responsible or accountable, we were kind of put in a situation where we had to act up.”

Prior leadership caused the club to rack up points for not attending Student Government Association (SGA) meetings, demoting the club to uncharted status. Martinez-Lopez said that this, and a lack of training on how to run the club, left her and Thudi on a rocky road, trying to salvage what was left. 

Advisor support was also lacking as communication was delayed and emails back from the former advisor were sparse, leaving the duo to navigate the club’s comeback by themselves. 

“We are not properly funded as of right now,” said Martinez-Lopez. “Last year’s E-board did affect us in how we got our funding this semester, and that we are now working out and trying to fix.”

This left two locked out of ProfLink, unable to apply for more funding and launch events.

Fortunately, the club president and vice president were able to present their case to SGA, ultimately being granted Tier 0 club status and receiving a $500 budget. However, with professional-level cameras reaching costs into the thousands, the budget isn’t nearly enough to properly equip even one member of the team. 

“We are trying to get funding from the department so we can at least be able to purchase some equipment,” said Martinez-Lopez. “So if people want to learn camera skills, they can learn through this club.”

Requests to borrow cameras from Rowan’s Department of Radio, Television, and Film were denied on the basis that they are solely reserved for classes. 

Martinez-Lopez’s drive to keep fighting for the club not only comes from her love of photography but also a love for meeting new people. Being a marketing major, Martinez-Lopez appreciates the art of networking and seeks to help fellow students find community and knowledge that supports their interests.

“This is a safe environment, we try to be as fun as possible,” said Martinez-Lopez. “We can provide the skill set for students to take the best photos possible…We want to see this club grow, so we’re not leaving anytime soon.”

With Dr. Michael Milovic, associate professor of business, taking the reigns as the new advisor, increased meeting turnout, and reclamation of funding, Thudi wishes to move forward from the club’s past struggles and spread the word about their presence. 

“The biggest benefit of joining our club would be exposure to actual photography,” said Thudi. “Instead of it just being a hobby, you can have your work looked at and appreciated by the group.”

The duo said the club is not only open to aspiring photographers but also to those who want to model, edit, produce, and help with photo shoot curation. 

The group cited their proudest work as their Halloween photo shoot, where the innovative usage of practical special effects, lighting, and set design displayed the group’s resourcefulness and tenacity. 

Regularly hosting “photo walks,” the group browses the campus for possible photo ops. Along with this, the club attends events on behalf of the university with the opportunity for their work to be featured on Rowan’s social media or in newsletters. 

The Photography Club meets every Thursday at 7 p.m., in room 225 of Business Hall. Open E-board positions within the club include: Secretary, Treasurer, and SGA representative.

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