Photography Clubs and Classes in Utah Valley

Things to Do October 20, 2026 8 min read ✓ Updated October 20, 2026

Abigail Giordano Senior Writer, Provo.com How we make Provo.com

Utah Valley has plenty of places to learn photography and a handful of places to shoot with other people, but the honest answer to "is there a camera club here?" is more complicated than a list. The biggest local club we could find has not left a current public schedule. The most active, established camera club near Provo is an hour north in Salt Lake City. And the liveliest photography community in Provo itself right now gathers around a film lab on Center Street.

Here is what we could confirm, organized by what you are looking for.

If you want a class

UVU Continuing Education (Orem)

Utah Valley University's Continuing Education division runs non-credit courses open to anyone, with no admission. Its photography page describes classes "whether you're learning to get the most out of your smartphone camera or ready to take your DSLR skills to the next level," covering composition, lighting and editing. Course examples listed on the page:

Digital, beginner and intermediate photography
Landscape, portrait, and nature and outdoor photography
Camera settings and techniques; lighting and composition
Photo editing and Adobe Lightroom
Mobile and smartphone photography

Dates, prices and locations are in the catalog linked from that page; Continuing Education's office is at 801-863-8012. Of the options we found, it is the only standing public catalog of photography classes for adults in Utah Valley. Our community education guide covers UVU's whole catalog and the alternatives.

BYU Evening Classes (Provo)

BYU Continuing Education says its Department of Evening Classes, established in 1956, offers more than 350 evening courses in fall and winter to degree-seeking students and to "non-degree-seeking individuals who qualify for registration through the BYU Office of Visiting Students." These are regular university courses, for credit, not hobby workshops. Whether a photography section is offered in the evening changes by semester, so check BYU's class schedule and the visiting-student rules before counting on one.

Small-group and private workshops

Photography Workshops of Utah, based in Murray in Salt Lake County, advertises small-group Saturday-morning workshops and private one-on-one sessions for DSLR and mirrorless shooters, held "in beautiful locations across Utah," covering manual mode, depth of field and shutter speed. It is not in Utah Valley, but it is the kind of class many Provo beginners drive north for.

If you want a darkroom, or film

theFINDlab, at 187 W. Center St. in downtown Provo, grew out of the FIND (Film Is Not Dead) Workshop. It describes itself as a film lab by photographers, for photographers, with a darkroom, studio, gallery and retail space, and says it hosts photowalks, workshops, exhibitions and community events.

Its events page in fall 2026 listed:

A darkroom workshop: "Just bring your negs and we'll provide all the chemistry. Paper will be available for purchase."
Gallery opening receptions for photographers' shows.
A flash-on-film pop-up on the essentials of flash film photography.
A recurring event on the second Saturday of each month.
A lab open house and a three-day hands-on film workshop with photographer Jonathan Canlas.

For a student with a film camera, it is a place to learn, print and meet people who shoot film. Check the events page for current dates, since the schedule changes.

Allen's Camera has two Utah Valley stores, at 626 N. State St. in Orem and 333 Freedom Blvd. (200 West) in Provo, per Google Maps. It sells cameras, darkroom supplies and other gear, and Google listings describe film developing at the Provo store. We did not find a current class schedule on its site.

If you want a club

The Utah Lake Photography Club: big, but we could not confirm it still meets

In May 2020 the Daily Herald profiled the Utah Lake Photography Club, started about four years earlier by photographers who met while shooting sunsets at Utah Lake State Park, with the Utah Lake Commission (the lake's management agency then) as sponsor. The paper reported:

More than 500 members, from bird and wildlife photographers to portrait and landscape shooters.
Monthly educational meetings with guest speakers on topics like astrophotography, lenses and settings.
Monthly group outings, to places like Paul Bunyan's Woodpile in Juab County, the West Desert's wild horses and the sand dunes.
Members sharing work on the club's Facebook group.

That is the profile of exactly the club a newcomer would want. We could not find a current website, meeting calendar or 2026 event for it. It may still be active inside its Facebook group, which we cannot verify from outside. If you are on Facebook, search for the group and look at recent posts before assuming it meets.

The Wasatch Camera Club (Salt Lake City): the nearest club with a public calendar

The Wasatch Camera Club was founded in 1994 and is now an all-volunteer 501(c)(3) nonprofit run by a board. Its stated mission is "the enjoyment, mastery, and furtherance of the photographic arts," through lectures, workshops, field trips, exhibits and critiques.

Its fall 2026 calendar showed what a working club looks like:

Presentations on evenings like Oct. 21 ("The Essence of Photographing People") and Nov. 4 (color grading), 6:30 to 8 p.m.
Themed competitions ("Macro" in November, "Negative Space" in January, "Reflections" in March) with critique meetings on Nov. 18, Jan. 21, March 25 and May 27.
Field trips, including a Nov. 14 outing to photograph historic buildings and mining remnants in Eureka, in Juab County, which is closer to Utah Valley than to Salt Lake. The club gives the meeting location to registered members and asks shooters to respect no-trespassing signs.
Mentoring and exhibits.

If you are serious about getting better and do not mind the drive or an online meeting, this is the established option. The Eureka trip is a good first event for anyone in Utah County; our Eureka and Tintic ghost towns guide covers the town.

If you want a reason to shoot: the Utah Lake photo contest

The Utah Lake Authority, which works from the historic Utah County Courthouse at 51 S. University Ave. in Provo, runs an annual Utah Lake Photo Contest. For 2026:

Submissions were open Aug. 12 to Oct. 12, 2026, with winners to be announced in late October.
Categories: scenic, fun and wildlife.
Prizes: a $1,000 overall grand prize; in each category, $500 for first and $250 for second; honorable mentions get $50, and the Authority uses those photos.

The contest is open to amateurs and professionals. Mark August 2027 on your calendar, and start shooting the lake now: our Utah Lake and Provo River delta birding guide is a good starting point for the wildlife category.

Where to practice once you have the basics

Our Provo photography spots guide covers locations, the rules on who lets you shoot and for what, drones, and a seasonal calendar.
Our Provo Canyon photo spots page goes deeper on the canyon.
Students shooting friends' portraits should read our graduation photo spots guide for the campus rules.

What we could not verify

Whether the Utah Lake Photography Club still holds meetings or outings in 2026.
Any Utah Valley camera club with a current public website and meeting schedule. If you run one, we would like to hear about it.
Specific photography sections in BYU's evening schedule for the coming semester.
Class schedules at local camera stores.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a camera club in Utah Valley?

There was a large one, the Utah Lake Photography Club, which the Daily Herald reported in 2020 had more than 500 members, monthly educational meetings and monthly group outings, with the Utah Lake Commission as sponsor. We could not confirm from a current website or schedule that it still meets in 2026; it has organized through a Facebook group. The nearest established club with a public 2026 calendar is the Wasatch Camera Club, based in Salt Lake City.

Where can an adult take a beginning photography class in Utah Valley?

UVU Continuing Education, in Orem, offers non-credit photography courses open to the public, with examples on its site ranging from beginner and intermediate photography to landscape, portrait, Lightroom editing and smartphone photography. Its office is at 801-863-8012.

Can I take a BYU photography class without being a BYU student?

Possibly, through BYU's Department of Evening Classes, which has offered evening courses since 1956 to degree-seeking students and to non-degree individuals who qualify through BYU's Office of Visiting Students. Which courses are offered changes by semester; check the university's class schedule for photography sections and the visiting-student requirements.

Is there a darkroom I can use in Provo?

theFINDlab at 187 W. Center St. in Provo lists a darkroom, studio and gallery, and its events page in fall 2026 advertised a darkroom workshop where you bring your black-and-white negatives and the lab provides the chemistry, with paper for sale. Check its events page for the next date.

When is the Utah Lake photo contest?

The Utah Lake Authority runs it each year. For 2026, submissions were open from Aug. 12 through Oct. 12, with winners to be announced in late October. Categories were scenic, fun and wildlife, with a $1,000 grand prize and $500 first-place prizes in each category.

What does the Wasatch Camera Club do?

Founded in 1994 and now a volunteer-run nonprofit, it holds lectures, workshops, competitions with critique meetings, exhibits and day and overnight field trips. Its fall 2026 calendar included a Nov. 14 field trip to photograph historic Eureka, Utah, in Juab County.

Are there free photography meetups in Provo?

theFINDlab says it hosts photowalks, workshops, exhibitions and community events in addition to running a film lab, and its events page lists gallery opening receptions and a recurring second-Saturday event in Provo. Details and any costs are posted with each event.

Do I need permission to photograph at Utah Valley parks and canyons?

It depends on the place and whether the shoot is commercial. Our Provo photography spots guide covers who lets you shoot, for what, and the rules for drones.

Sources

The facts in this guide were checked against these sources. Hours, fees and rules change, so confirm anything time-sensitive with the source before you go. How we make Provo.com.

Photo Contest (2026 Utah Lake Photo Contest), Utah Lake Authority. Checked October 19, 2026.
Photography (Continuing Education enrichment programs), Utah Valley University. Checked October 19, 2026.
Evening Classes at BYU: Expanding Access Through Flexibility and Opportunity, BYU Continuing Education. Checked October 19, 2026.
Photography Workshops of Utah. Checked October 19, 2026.
theFINDlab: About, theFINDlab. Checked October 19, 2026.
theFINDlab: Upcoming events, theFINDlab. Checked October 19, 2026.
Wasatch Camera Club (home page calendar), Wasatch Camera Club. Checked October 19, 2026.
About the Wasatch Camera Club, Wasatch Camera Club. Checked October 19, 2026.
Echoes of Eureka: Photographing Historic Buildings and Mining Remnants (event page), Wasatch Camera Club. Checked October 19, 2026.
Love for Utah Lake brings photographers together (May 24, 2020), Daily Herald. Checked October 19, 2026.
Google Places listings: theFINDlab, Allen's Camera (Orem and Provo), Photography Workshops of Utah, Google. Checked October 19, 2026.

Abigail Giordano

Senior Writer

Abigail Giordano is a senior writer at Provo.com covering student life, family resources, and community events across Utah Valley. Her writing focuses on making Provo more accessible and navigable for newcomers, students, and families — the practical guides that help people feel at home faster.

Photography Clubs and Classes in Utah Valley: Where to Learn, Where to Shoot With Others, and What We Could Not Confirm