Location: SPC Geneva, 5 Rue Henri-Christiné, 1205 – On Site, Part-Time (~50%)

This is a hands-on role at the heart of Swiss Photo Club in French-speaking Switzerland. You’ll be based in our Geneva office and studio in Plainpalais, work directly with the founder, and take care of everything that makes our courses, studio and exhibitions run smoothly in the region.

The role

Your week will look something like this: making sure the upcoming courses in Geneva, Lausanne and the rest of Suisse Romande are scheduled and staffed; answering students and prospective students by phone, email and chat, mainly in French; managing studio rentals and keeping the Plainpalais space in good shape; translating our newsletters and marketing content into French; entering instructor invoices; keeping our image databases in order; and, a few times a year, organising SPC Photo Awards exhibitions — from venue to printing to opening night.

It’s a role for someone who likes variety, is comfortable being the go-to person, and enjoys improving how things work rather than just keeping them going.

You

You live in Geneva or nearby and can be at the office at least four half days a week. You’re fluent in French and can understand and speak English at a conversational level — it’s the language of our internal team. You hold Swiss citizenship or a valid B, C or G permit. You’re organised, reliable and independent, and you like being around photography and creative people, even if you’re not a photographer yourself.

Practical details

• Part-time 50%: about 20 hours a week over 5 days; at least 4 days at the office, 1 day home office possible
• Start: September / October 2026, with a handover
• Pay: CHF 2130/month, plus free access to SPC courses and workshops
• Location: Geneva, Plainpalais

If you’re looking for a dynamic and impactful role in a growing creative company, fill in the form below. We look forward to hearing from you!

The post We are hiring! Operations Manager for Suisse Romande (Geneva, 50%) appeared first on Swiss Photo Club Blog.

As we wrap up 2024, it’s becoming a tradition to take time to reflect on the highlights of the year and share what lies ahead for 2025. Your enthusiasm and support have driven us to new heights, and for that, we’re deeply grateful.

This year, we reached some record milestones:

• Participants in SPC Classes: 1238
• SPC Academy graduated students: 26
• Photos Exhibited in SPC Awards: 3717 in Switzerland, 4166 in Germany & Austria
• Countries Hosting SPC Events: 3 (Switzerland, Germany, Austria)
• Students average rating: Increased to 4.95 out of 5.0

This year, our theme has been community. To an outsider, photography might look like a lonely hobby. What we discovered is that appreciation for visual arts connects people in a deeper way, improving their lives and their art. This is why our membership program is becoming more and more popular, people meet each other and hang out for a long time during the awards exhibitions and more and more students register to our classes to learn in person effectively instead of watching YouTube videos.

We do our best to follow our mission: Spreading the passion for photography far and wide. Here’s how we’ve grown together in 2024:

SPC Academy

Since its launch in 2020, SPC Academy has grown exponentially. We celebrated 14 students in 2023, and in 2024 we had 26!

This is partly thanks to the new option of “Your Private Academy”, in which the students can finish the program by taking classes in private, at 50% of the time, according to their own availability and learning preferences, for the same price as group classes.

SPC Academy takes a deeper dive into teaching photography, providing comprehensive training in the artistic, technical, and business aspects. We’ve witnessed our students show incredible improvement during career breaks, after retirement, or during evenings attending our Academy classes.

It’s been amazing to see alumni using what they’ve learned to build successful careers—and even networking independently of us! For instance, we recently highlighted two alumni who met through SPC: one exhibited at the other’s gallery in Basel, in an inspiring example of how this community supports and uplifts each other. Read the story here.

Membership

Our SPC membership program has continued to flourish, with long-term friendships forming among those who attend practice workshops regularly. In every city, a core group of members regularly attend our practice workshops, exploring new techniques while bonding over their shared passion. These connections go beyond photography—they’re about shared understanding and mutual encouragement. Seeing this network of photographers thrive reminds us why we do what we do.

Renate Stutz – Dance 3

Awards

This year’s SPC Awards showcased the incredible diversity and talent within our community. Zurich’s exhibition was a standout, becoming the second largest in our history since launching Awards in 2016. We also expanded into Dresden and Vienna, continuing our mission to spotlight talent across Central Europe. These events are more than competitions; they’re celebrations of creativity, community, and inspiration. They’re also fantastic networking opportunities, offering photographers a chance to connect with peers who challenge and inspire them.

What’s Next for 2025

Online Awards

In 2025, we’re exploring the idea of launching SPC Online Awards. This initiative would allow photographers from all over the world to participate and all participants reach a global audience. Imagine the possibilities: connecting with photographers in distant countries, sharing diverse perspectives, and creating a digital exhibition space where creativity knows no bounds.

We still love to see photos in print, so the winners will still be printed and exhibited in the upcoming awards.

Awards Artists’ night:

Photography is about more than just aesthetics. Every photo tells a story. And in 2025, we will make it easier to communicate that story by providing a platform for interested participants to talk about their photos, open-mic style, to an audience of other participating photographers. Communicate your unique artistic vision to a group of people who can get it. We can’t wait to hear from you.

Continuing to deliver the best classes in the industry

We continue to use and improve our “secret sauce” to provide the best photography education in the industry:

• Work with the best photographers
• Work with those who are also highly motivated teachers
• Provide them with high quality teaching materials that we improve every year, so that they can focus on delivery rather than creating slides.
• Keep the class sizes small to allow for individualized attention

Every year we gather the feedback from our teachers and update our teaching slides accordingly. We prioritize practical results over theory, while making sure that the theory we do need to teach is easy to understand and relevant.

Continuing Our International Expansion

Following our successful launches in Dresden and Vienna, we’re excited to bring SPC events to even more cities. Expanding internationally allows us to connect photographers from different cultures and backgrounds, fostering creativity and collaboration on a global scale. So much photographic talent is hidden behind the scenes. We have the skills and experience to help people bring it to life–and we love to create these opportunities for every photographer to enjoy their moment in the spotlight.

Thank you for being part of this journey. Your passion and creativity inspire us every day. As we look ahead, we remain committed to spreading the love of photography, helping you grow your skills, and creating meaningful connections within this vibrant community.

Here’s to another year of creativity and connection in 2025!

Warm regards,
Oguzhan Altun
Founder, Swiss Photo Club

The post Letter from the founder 2025 appeared first on Swiss Photo Club Blog.

From Huan Cao: A Gallery Rooted in Community

Huan Cao’s journey from SPC Academy graduate to gallery owner is founded on her love of storytelling. “Photography,” Huan says, “is more than just pictures. It’s about capturing the essence of a person, a moment, a feeling, a story waiting to be told.”

Galerie Fotografie Sechs has become a hub for Basel’s photography community, providing a space where local artists can share their stories, exhibit their work, connect, and inspire others. Regular exhibitions like Architecture — Structure & Soul highlight the gallery’s commitment to promoting artistic exploration and community engagement.

Lukas Wagner: Looking for the Soul

Lukas Wagner’s participation in Architecture — Structure & Soul reflects his evolution as a photographer and his growing prominence in Switzerland’s photography scene. Lukas described SPC Academy as “a pivotal step in his search for creative expression,” a decision that helped him refine his craft and find his artistic voice after retiring from a successful medical career.

Lukas exhibited a series of photos on the theme of man-made structures blending harmoniously with their surroundings, merging the soul of the building with the soul of nature. With these and other photographs, Lukas earned the credential of Licentiate of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain.

“A good photograph lets viewers sense that there is more to it than meets the eye, revealing its secrets without giving them all away. In Nightly Secret, the image of a wooden house facade with warm streaks of light falling through the blinds onto the snow connects the interior with the exterior. Geometric patterns of light and darkness contrast with the natural lines of the forest. The result is a dialogue between the visible and the invisible, the familiar reality and the hidden realm beyond it.”

Read more about the exhibition and the other exhibitors in this lovely article by journalist Jessica Schöne (in German).

SPC Academy: From passion to profession

We are so pleased to see the success of these two SPC Academy alumni as they make waves in the Swiss photography scene.

Huan’s work as both a gallery owner and photographer and Lukas’s thought-provoking artistry are a testament to the program’s ability to nurture talent and inspire careers–and they make us deeply proud.

Congratulations to Huan & Lukas!

If you’re ready to embark on your own transformative journey in photography, SPC Academy is here to help. In as little as 4 weeks or as long as a year, you’ll learn and practice the artistic, technical, and business skills you need to turn your enthusiasm into expertise.

Join one of our upcoming information sessions (free and online) to see whether SPC Academy is right for you.

The post SPC Academy Alumni Shine in Basel Photography Exhibition appeared first on Swiss Photo Club Blog.

Generative Remove:

After a long wait, Adobe has finally announced the first-ever generative AI in Lightroom with Generative Remove.

With this tool, you are now able to remove anything in your photo with one touch, using AI technology. Previously, this was only possible in Photoshop, so we are now very happy to see it in Lightroom.

Here is how it works:

1. In the Develop module, select Remove (Eraser icon) > Generative AI:

2. Brush over the object you want to remove. Adjust the brush Size and the overlay Opacity to select with precision. Use Add or subtract after making the selection to refine. In the photo below, there is someone in front of my camera that blocks the full view of the dancers:

3. Final result is quite impressive:

Lens Blur:

AI-powered Lens Blur is now available in Lightroom Classic. Quickly add aesthetic blur and bokeh effects to your photos and achieve a professional look by using adaptive presets. You can also batch copy-paste Lens Blur settings to achieve a consistent look.

• You no longer need a special lens, a specific phone, or the right setting to achieve the popular blurred look​
• Blur any part of the photo by controlling the depth of field
• 7 new Lens Blur presets automatically apply blur on portraits, cityscapes, and street/urban photography​
• Create a preset of a Lens blur effect you like and apply it to more photos in the future

Let’s work on the photo above where I could not isolate the spectators close to the dancers as there were almost the same distance vs the couple.

Lens blur > Apply. It takes a few seconds to detect the subjects in the photo. Unfortunately, it didn’t work very well on the first try:

In these cases, I recommend using the Visualize depth and then focus range to select only what you want in focus, then make sure the remaining is “blue”:

This looks much better but the male dancer’s suit is being blurred and the lady on the left is still too much in focus.

So here, I used the “focus” brush to paint his suit and the “blur” brush to paint the lady on the left:

Final Result:

I hope you find these new changes useful! We have already updated our Lightroom course materials with these newest features. Check out the upcoming classes in your region at our course page:

The post Lightroom: New Generative AI and Lens Blur features appeared first on Swiss Photo Club Blog.

On Saturday 20 July 2024, you can join a team of (slightly crazy) photographers who will walk the streets of Lausanne from 00:00 to 23:59 and document life in the city.

No one is obliged to last the 24 hours, you can participate even for a few hours. As for those who will go the distance, you will have the feeling of having succeeded in a marathon, for an exceptional photographic project.

Registration is free (https://www.24hourproject.org/register/)

Your mission, if you accept it, will then be to take pictures, and post one per hour on Instagram (with hashtags to be specified later). These photos will then potentially be used for exhibitions that will raise funds and support the humanitarian cause chosen for 2024.

Bernard Menettrier de Jollin, trainer for Swiss Photo Club, is the event’s ambassador for French-speaking Switzerland. Bernard participated in the 2016, 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2023 editions and will be able to share his experience and guide you.

In addition to registering on the project’s website, Bernard invites you to send him a message (bernard@swissphotoclub.ch) to announce yourself and receive useful information by July 20th.

Looking forward to marathoning for a good cause.

The post 24Hour Project – July 20, 2024 appeared first on Swiss Photo Club Blog.

While this year was marked by many accomplishments, it was not without its hardships and challenges, especially on the technical side — we would like to thank all of you for your support and enthusiasm, which give us the energy to keep pushing to deliver bigger and better things for you.

As we celebrate this holiday season, we want to express our heartfelt gratitude for each of you. Since 2016, Swiss Photo Club has been all about spreading the passion for visual arts to everyone. We are very inspired by your feedback and we can’t wait to have you at our classes and events in 2024.

Some quick numbers from 2023 that you might find interesting:

• 926 students learned photography or videography from 65 instructors in 5 cities
• Students gave our classes an average rating of 4.76 / 5
• 1.5K people exhibited their photos at an SPC Photo Awards event
• 128 active members joined 149 practice workshops

With this letter, I wanted to share with you some big changes that we made in 2023 and our plans for 2024. Any questions, comments or ideas? Feel free to send me a message here.

What changed in 2023

New Website

We switched to a fully custom-coded website this year in order to serve you better. Not only it is much faster, it also allows uploading Awards submissions directly, immediate creation of gift vouchers and early bird discounts for courses. Unfortunately, we did have many bugs at launch–but our developers worked hard to smash them as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience. We look forward to adding new features in 2024!

Private Academy Courses : 

While group learning is fun and engaging, we realized that some of our SPC Academy students needed a more customized approach to fit their photography education around their busy schedules. That’s why we introduced a private option for all our SPC Academy classes, where students can cover the same material at the same cost but in half the time. It was a big hit! 50% of all our students chose this option in 2023 and we expect even more in 2024. If you are interested in learning more about SPC Academy (group or private options), let us know.

Lindsay Adler & Peter Coulson:

We welcomed back two celebrity photographers in 2023 to teach masterclasses to our students. These were another big hit, and students loved learning studio and portrait techniques from both masters. The 6-student format for the Lindsay Adler classes was especially well received, because the smaller classes allowed ample time for each student to interact with Lindsay in studio for their personal questions. We heard you! For all future celebrity masterclasses–and we are planning more in 2024–we will continue this format. 

Artist’s corner

We featured 6 artists during our Awards events, providing great visibility and exposure. It was also an immense pleasure to meet them personally  

What you can expect from SPC in 2024

Here are a few major projects we are working on. Do you have a favorite? Or do you think we should be working on something else? Let us know!

New Celebrity Photographers

In addition to having Lindsay & Peter back, we have been in talks with some of the world’s best photographers. Here is a list of a few confirmed. Do you have a favorite photographer you would like us to invite? Let us know!

Nath Sakura

Incredibly talented french-spanish photographer Nath Sakura will come to Geneva to provide workshops during 2-3 March. Click here for full info.

Chris Knight

The master of Dramatic Portraits and Rembrandt Lighting Chris Knight comes to Zurich & Geneva to provide workshops in June.

Pep Bonet

Pep Bonet (Spain) is an award-winning filmmaker and photographer who has travelled extensively capturing profound moments that represent the unbalanced world in which we live.

Marco Benedetti

Swiss photographer with Italian roots, Marco Benedetti was nominated more than 50 times at international awards (photography and art) and received several times Merit of Excellence and Outstanding Achievement Awards.

New Destinations:

Another very popular demand: we asked our instructors to come up with new destinations and they delivered way above our expectations. Join us in 2024 in some of the world’s most photogenic locations, including Lofoten (Feb), Nepal (Mar), Namibia (Jul), Oman and Thailand (Nov), in addition to our usual destinations such as Zermatt, Morocco, Cappadocia, Istanbul, and Iceland. And we’re not done adding trips.

Let us know where we should go next–and then come with us

Find a photographer marketplace:

Choose a photographer for your projects and select a package

New Website Features

• Find your course by search
• See classes by instructor

Expanded Offers for Businesses

Building on the successful partnerships we’ve built with corporations so far, we are clarifying and expanding our B2B offerings in 2024.

• Team building events
• Corporate portraits
• Courses on site for employees
• Image database management

If it’s about photography, we can help your business meet its needs! Could your company benefit from our services? Tell us about it!

Thank you for reading all the way to the end! We appreciate your support and hope to see you in 2024.

The post Letter From The Founder: 2023 Changes & what you can expect in 2024 appeared first on Swiss Photo Club Blog.

With this letter, I wanted to share with you some big changes that we did in 2022 and our plans for 2023.

It’s the first time we do this:) Let me know if you find it interesting (or not!) and of course if you have any recommendations / ideas. If you reply to this email, it will come directly to me.

Big changes in 2022

New Website

We are finally on swissphotoclub.com : a single website for all the regions and countries where we exist. I will spare you a description of the administrative changes, but here are the advantages for you:

• See all classes in all cities at one place, especially a great advantage for members or if you are looking for a specific course in any city.
• Practice workshops listing with photos: Easier to find your workshop
• Early bird discounts for courses: You will see that future classes are slightly cheaper.
• Much faster load times
• Immediate delivery of gift voucher orders (we used to prepare each manually)
• Photo Awards: Upload your photos directly instead of having to send us later by email.
• See your registrations and orders in your account.

There are still some bugs here and there, plus a few server issues that we are working on. Please keep on reporting if you see anything, we will keep on fixing them and adding new features in 2023.

New Online Shop

We have launched our online store at https://shop.swissphotoclub.com/store/.

We don’t have a lot of stuff here, we only have the products that we personally use and recommend. We simply contacted the brands and asked for a discounted price for our followers. Some examples:

• Camera straps that make it easy to carry your camera
• Photography gloves that let you use your camera and still keep your hands warm
• Light and easy to use tripods that you will not hate
• Filters that you can use with all your lenses.

Of course all products are delivered by Swiss Distributors with a Swiss guarantee.

(Many) more practice workshops

You love attending them, our instructors love coming up with new ideas to get you to practice photography! So we removed the “3 per month per city” rule: At the moment, we have 46(!) practice workshops in the coming 2-3 months across Switzerland.

(Many) more Photography Trip Destinations

Another very popular demand: we asked our instructors to come up with new destinations and they delivered way above our expectations. Join us in 2023 in the most photogenic locations such as Brazil (Feb), Nepal (Mar), Morocco, Thailand in addition to our usual destinations such as Zermatt, Grimentz, Turkey, New York, Iceland.

Our 2023 resolutions

Here are a few major projects we are working on. Do you have a favorite? Or do you think we should be working on something else? Let us know!

• Photo Awards: More jury recognitions. A new artist’s corner – ability to have a dedicated wall for selected artists. We are also looking for new galleries in Bern, Lausanne & Basel – let us know if you have any contacts or suggestions.
• SPC Academy: Distance learning as an additional option to current in person offers.
• More online content: Free quick tip videos on our YouTube channels (German, French or English) plus full format courses available to purchase online
• Find a photographer marketplace: Choose a photographer for your projects and select a package
• More celebrity photographer workshops (Peter Coulson already confirmed for May for both Zurich & Geneva)
• Update existing courses (Drone, Lightroom, Photoshop, etc).

Thank you for reading all the way until here! We appreciate your support and hope to see you around in 2023:)

The post Letter From The Founder: 2022 Changes & 2023 Resolutions appeared first on Swiss Photo Club Blog.

That’s why we offer three different ways to learn, to meet everyone’s schedule. Do you know them all?

#1: Short-Term Photography Classes

If you want to learn photography, this is a great place to start.

In as little as four hours or as many as 15, we’ll get you up to speed quickly in whatever it is you choose to learn, from general courses for beginners or intermediates to popular subjects like portraits & landscapes, or even more niche genres like nude or drone.

These classes have a results-oriented, practical curriculum that focuses on only the most impactful theory so you can start taking better photos right away. They’re perfect for people with limited time who still want to find a way to express themselves creatively.

Our short-term photography classes are great because we hire the best teachers in the industry; we keep the groups small enough to allow for lots of personalized attention in the context of a fun group atmosphere; and we’ve carefully crafted the curriculum to focus on the most important aspects of each topic so you don’t waste any time.

By the way, you can learn almost anything about photography on your own timeline with a private course.

#2: Photography Mastery Bundles

If you love our short-term photography courses, these bundles are for you!

We’ve combed through our data to figure out which of the short-term classes people tend to take together. Then we’ve set them up so that, if you sign up for them all up-front, you’ll receive a valuable discount vs. registering for them all separately.

There are bundles for beginner and experienced photographers, covering subjects like portraits, outdoor photography, filmmaking, and even Photoshop.

Here’s how it works: First, you register for the bundle that’s right for you. Next, we’ll send you a promo code for each of the classes in your bundle, which you can use to register for each class without paying anything additional. Finally, you register for the classes in your bundle that fit your schedule, going as quickly or as slowly as you prefer.

#3: SPC Academy Comprehensive Photography Education

So far so good. But what if you want to develop deep expertise in photography without cutting any corners? That’s where SPC Academy comes in.

Unlike our short-term courses, which are really focused on improving your results quickly, the SPC Academy programs are focused on giving you a comprehensive understanding of photography and developing yourself as an artist and as a professional.

You’ll learn the history of photography and copy some of the great masters. You’ll go on all kinds of cool shoots planned by your teachers and mentors, learning by doing. You’ll even learn the business of photography so you can start turning your hobby into a career.

And by the way, no experience is required. The pace moves quickly, but we start from the beginning to make sure we all have the same vocabulary and that everyone has mastered the fundamentals before moving further.

There are 4 different SPC Academy programs:

• 100+hour course: 4 weeks full-time or 12 weeks of nights and weekends

• 200+hour course: 8 weeks full-time

• 600+hour course: 32 weeks full-time

The post Beginners Guide: 3 Ways to Learn Photography appeared first on Swiss Photo Club Blog.

When it comes to learning photography, you have a lot of options–some good, most less so.  It can be hard to cut through the clutter and find the best photography school in Switzerland to help you develop your passion and grow your skills.

We want to make it simple for you. Here are just a few reasons Swiss Photo Club stands out from the competition. They explain how we have kept a 5-star average rating even as we have grown to serve over 8,000 students in Switzerland and Germany. And they show why we stand so confidently behind our promise of “Better Photos, Guaranteed.”

Rigorous, Results-Oriented Photography Curriculum:

To maintain a consistently high level of quality in all our courses, we use standardized course materials, developed by our in-house experts and refined each year based on student feedback, technological developments and artistic trends.  In theory, you could start a class in Geneva, continue it in Bern, and complete it in Zurich–and you’d experience the same consistently high quality and results-focused approach in every city.

Top Teachers:

To teach at SPC, it’s not enough to be a great photographer.  Our instructors also need to be passionate about teaching and have excellent communication skills.  When we hire instructors, we evaluate BOTH skill sets. We also ask our students for feedback after every course and make sure only the top-rated instructors continue to work with us.

Small Groups:

The best way to learn is by doing.  With class sizes of 3-8 students (average 4), you’ll have the opportunity to practice under the guidance of your instructor and to receive real-time, personalized feedback on your photography from someone who truly wants to help you improve.

Trust Swiss Photo Club to Help You Learn Photography

We are ready to help you take better pictures.  Are you ready to get started?

Find photography classes in your local area here and take the first step towards reaching your goals.

Learn Photography in Switzerland or Germany

The post What Makes Swiss Photo Club Stand Out from the Rest appeared first on Swiss Photo Club Blog.

Tip # 1

How much to invest?

The camera technology changes all the time, so do not buy too expensive cameras if you don’t know exactly what you are paying for. If you will buy second hand, don’t buy more than 3 year old camera bodies.

Tip # 2

Interchangeable vs lens fixed on the body?

Definitely interchangeable. Forget about the “super-zooms”.

Tip # 3

DSLR or Mirrorless

Having a mirror in the camera body adds to the size, but enables you to see through the lens, helps to focus faster and prolongs battery life, as you won’t use the back-screen so often. Check this excellent article for more on this subject.

If battery life, faster focus and bigger choice of lenses are more important for you, then we recommend a Nikon or Canon DSLR.

If smaller size, newest technologies and live preview (what you see is what you get) are important for you, then the mirrorless offers from Sony, Olympus and FujiFilm are excellent cameras.

Tip # 4

Sensor size : Cropped or Full Frame

This relates to the size of the sensor of your cameras, and is in fact the most important choice that can have a significant impact on the quality of your photos. 

For beginners, we recommend a cropped sensor camera (Nikon: DX, Canon & Sony: APS-C).

Tip # 5

Which brand?

Another hot debate – the answer is that it doesn’t matter too much.

If you want a DSLR, our recommendation for beginners is Nikon and Canon on the entry segment. We rated Nikon slightly higher due to its excellent & affordable 35mm f/1.8 lens option.

For the mirrorless, all the major camera brands now have great mirrorless offerings around. Sony has the lead with the most advanced technologies and high quality sensors, however we find that their menus are still too complicated – obviously designed by engineers, not photographers. Olympus is very impressive with its in camera stabilization technologies, however the lens choices are more limited vs others. Fujifilm is an excellent option too with amazing designs. However the settings are for more intermediate photographers who feel comfortable with Aperture and Shutter speed direct controls.

More important choice than the camera, and much better investment because the technology doesn’t change much. Buying second hand could also be a good option here.

Kit lenses:

 The classic 18-55mm lenses are “ok” for overall walk around photos, but quite limited in both range and aperture. If you have the budget, you can replace it with 18-135 (or 200) for extra range for portraits. These are “jack of all trades, master of none” type of lenses – they cover a huge range but do just an average job at any focal length.

Prime lenses:

These are small specialists – they cannot zoom but they do a great job at low light and they can isolate subjects much better. They are also extremely light, small and cheap. If you don’t mind changing lenses, we recommend a prime lens any day over (or in addition to) a kit lens. We recommend a Nikon AF-S DX 35mm F/1.8G for all budget levels. For portraits, 50mm or 85mm for cropped sensors will do an excellent job.

Blackrapid Strap:

Wearing a long strap around the shoulder & neck distributes the weight evenly. They’re attached to the tripod mount of your camera, keeping it upside down next to your hand, easy to reach.

The strap is curved to fit over the shoulder and there is a small auxiliary strap that goes under the arm, keeping the strap stable preventing it from riding up towards the neck or sliding down off the arm. The strap is wide enough and padded enough to be comfortable and prevent the strap from cutting into you.

Our recommended brand is BlackRapid – who invented the most comfortable solution that we ever saw. Their most popular Breathe Curve model is available at our online store for direct orders. For other models, check our price list here. 

Spider Holster:

This is our new favorite solution: Created for those who prefer to place the weight of the camera at the hip instead of their upper bodies. This alleviates many of the upper body pains associated with long shoots and heavy equipment. The holster gives you “quick draw access,” hanging comfortably at your hip until needed.

For mirrorless, we recommend the Spider Light Single camera system (comes with a belt).

For DSLR’s, SpiderPro Single Camera System v2 is the product we use all the time.

Check all of the Spider Holster models here.

Tripods

If you like landscapes, sunsets, low light & night photography, you will eventually need a tripod for long exposures. We recommend to invest in a good “traveller” tripod from the start, as the technology is not really changing and they’re both sturdy and light. A cheap tripod will not do the job (shaky in the wind, etc) and a heavy tripod will stay at home as you won’t take it with you.

We recommend a carbon-fiber tripod, with legs that can go as high as your eye level plus a ball head for easy alignment.

Our budget recommendation is Sirui: Check the model SIRUI T-2204SK Traveler for general use.

If you want the best quality to last you many years, then go for Gitzo. Our recommended product is their incredible travel kit with 5 sections: Closed length 35.5cm, 148.5cm max height, weight of 1.42kg

Local Camera Store

Best option to get personalized recommendations and help:

• Geneva: Photo Verdaine
• Lausanne: Photo Grancy
• Zurich: Graphicart ZH
• Basel: Photo Marlin

SPC Shop

We are official distributors of the following brands and can offer you lower than market prices for Gitzo tripods, Spider Holsters, Samsung SSD Drives, Nisi Filters, Tamron Lenses and more.

See SPC Prices

Fotichaestli.ch

Swiss distributor of some of our favorite brands:

• Godox flashes
• Sirui tripods
• Spider Holster

Fotichaestli Store

Osan Altun

Osan Altun is a Swiss photographer & photography instructor living in Geneva. He began photography as a hobby in 2008 with events and landscapes. Later he left his finance career to follow his passion and founded Swiss Photo Club in 2016. He can be found on instagram at @altuno and @altun_travel

Photo Competition

Winners: SPC Photo Awards Geneva September 2026

Many thanks again to all the participants and our sponsors, who together made for a fantastic 9 days of photography in Geneva.  You can find

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14/09/2026 No Comments

Photo Competition

Winners announced: SPC Photo Awards Zürich September 2026

Congratulations to all the participants of the SPC Photo Awards – Zurich September edition, and especially the winners! Find the full details here.

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08/09/2026 No Comments

News

We are hiring! Operations Manager for Suisse Romande (Geneva, 50%)

We’re looking for an organized, proactive and bilingual (French/English) team member to support and grow our operations in Suisse Romande. Location: SPC Geneva, 5 Rue

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17/08/2026 No Comments

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