Q. How do I become a member?

A. There is nothing special to becoming a member. Click our “Like” button, and that's it! You're a member!

Q. How do I quit my membership?

A. Simply un-“Like” our Facebook page to quit your membership.

Q. What are the benefits of becoming a member?

A. Photos and videos shared by Tokyo Camera Club will appear in your Facebook newsfeed automatically. (This is a feature of Facebook)

Q. I want to manage what kind of photos and videos appear in my newsfeed.

A. Unfortunately, Facebook does not have such features. However, Tokyo Camera Club has several sister pages you may want to look at. "NEKO Club (Cat Club)", "INU Club (Dog Club)", "Sora no Shashinkan (Sky Photo Studio)", "FINE ART TOKYO" and the original Japanese version of "Tokyo Camera Club". Each page has their own theme. If a particular theme interests you, please feel free to "Like" them!

If there is a specific theme you want to see, but not included above, please send us a message. We will carefully consider creating a new sister page for everyone to enjoy.

Q. I do not live in Tokyo. Can I become a member?

A. Of course! You do not have to be a resident of Tokyo nor Japan. Our members come from all over the world!

Q. Named Tokyo Camera Club, do you only accept photos and videos taken in Tokyo?

A. No, not at all! We welcome photos and videos from all over the world! It's just that our headquarters are in Tokyo. :)
However, if your photo/video is not related to Japan, you may want to post on our Japanese version of Tokyo Camera Club instead, since our sharing priority at the English version of Tokyo Camera Club are photos that depict Japanese culture and scenery. The Japanese version of Tokyo Camera Club is more open, theme-wise.

Q. Can I post photos other than landscapes?

A. Sure! We welcome a wide variety of photos including, landscapes, portraits, and etc.! (Excluding photos that violate our guidelines.)

Q. Can I post monochrome photos/videos?

A. Of course! We welcome both color and monochrome work.

Q. I don't own a camera. Can I be a member?

A. Sure! We welcome all photo/video lovers.

Q. I don't own a SLR camera. Can I post my photo/video on Tokyo Camera Club?

A. Sure! We welcome photos taken with any kind of shooting equipment; SLRs, compact digital cameras, mobile phones… you name it. Just be careful that your photo/video/post does not include any prohibited material listed on our guidelines.

Q. Can I post videos?

A. Sure! Tokyo Camera Club is a "camera club", not a "photography club", therefore we welcome both photos and videos. For videos, directly upload your video file just like posting a photo. Please note that posts linking to YouTube or any other video-sharing website will be automatically deleted.

Q. Can I post a photo or video I've posted elsewhere?

A. Yes. You can post photos and videos you have posted elsewhere, as long as the photo belongs to you, and the photo does not violate Tokyo Camera Club's guidelines and Facebook's terms of service.

Q. Can I post photos that have been post-processed or HDR processed?

A. Sure! At Tokyo Camera Club, we welcome any post-processed photo/video as long as the image is originally taken with a camera (including both digital and film). We love seeing vintage photos/videos taken with film cameras. At the same time, we believe that post-processing images, taken with digitalized cameras, on PCs, is a wonderful part of the evolution of current cameras.
However, please note, images, videos, and 3DCG created from scratch, do not match the intentions of Tokyo Camera Club.

Q. I use Facebook's iOS app on my iPhone. I am disappointed that "Posts by Others" has been removed from the new app.

A. Tokyo Camera Club's management team has not made any special changes regarding this matter. It seems like Facebook's app features have been renewed. Please kindly understand.

Q. I have a problem uploading my photo/video.

A. For detailed descriptions to posting on Tokyo Camera Club please refer to our “How to Post” page. Tokyo Camera Club's post form uses Facebook's functions; therefore, posting problems depend on Facebook's specifications.
If you are posting from your mobile phone, please check the status of your internet connection, and try again later, or try from a different location.

Q. I want members to include information of their shooting location, equipment, and settings with their posts.

A. At this moment, we welcome our members to post detailed information about their photo, but this is not a requirement. We prefer our members to be able to post their photo casually.

Q. This photo looks like it has been taken from a no-trespassing area/is violating photography rules.

A. Tokyo Camera Club takes photography etiquette very seriously.
We believe that our members are familiar with photography etiquettes, abide by rules when taking photos, and only post photos taken with safety precautions. However, we are aware that there are photographers with bad etiquette and are strongly against such behavior. Therefore, we find it very disappointing if this accusation is true.
Tokyo Camera Club will continue to post information about etiquette problems to familiarize our members with photography etiquettes.

Q. This photo looks like animal-abuse. I want to point this out/accuse the photographer because I think the shooting procedure is disturbing.

A. Please hold on. Is it really animal-abuse? Is the shooting procedure really disturbing? It may not be what you think. If you are not absolutely sure, do not accuse the photographer. Please ask for the details of the photo instead.

Photos shared by our staff are viewed by thousands of people. Same with comments you post on photos.

Consequently, if your accusation is false, you will be defaming the photographer’s honor and dignity in front of thousands of people. And the photographer will not be able to clarify his/her position without knowing that his/her photo has been shared by our staff. We need to prevent this by any means.

So, please do not point out or accuse the photographer based on assumptions that may be false.

If we find such comments, our staff will delete them based on our decisions. In case of serious offense, we will have to block your activity on Tokyo Camera Club.

Q. My photo/video, or photo/video of a client I officially represent, has been posted on Tokyo Camera Club without consent.

A. As written on Tokyo Camera Club's guidelines, we require our members to only post photos/videos they own. We take it very seriously if any copyright infringement is found.
In such case, please send us the following information. (The copyright holder himself/herself, or official representative must give us this information.)
We will investigate the matter, and if copyright infringement is found, we will delete the post and warn the member.

・Name of copyright holder or official representative
・Contact information of copyright holder or official representative (Email, post address, telephone number)
・URL of copyright infringing photo
・Proof of ownership of copyright (when available)

Our contact information
Tokyo Camera Club Corporation.
Tokyo Camera Club Management Office.
MAIL: camera.jpn@tokyocameraclub.com

Q. Starting May 1st, 2014, why have you stopped using Facebook’s “Share” function when sharing members’ posts?

A. We have decided to change our method of sharing due to the increase of false accusations and defamation regarding shooting procedures, and people replacing posts with advertisements after our staff share them. This change will help us:

1. Edit and update information of posts to prevent false accusations and defamation from spreading.
2. Stop users from replacing posts with advertisements after our staff share them.

We apologize for the inconvenience to those who are unrelated these incidents. We ask for your kind understanding, so that we can prevent users from running into unpleasant experiences due to inappropriate usage of Tokyo Camera Club.

Q. Was my photo/video/comment hidden or deleted?

A. Unfortunately, we cannot answer questions regarding individual posts.

Q. Is it safe for members to directly post photos/videos onto your page?

A. As you pointed out, at this moment, at Tokyo Camera Club, we accept all posts without prior checking. We can do this because the vast majority of our members abide by our guidelines. If problems occur often, we may change our policy, but we would like to continue accepting all posts as long as possible.

Q. I posted on Tokyo Camera Club, but my photo does not appear on Tokyo Camera Club's timeline. Does this mean an error occured when posting my photo?

A. All photos posted from Tokyo Camera Club's timeline appear on our "Visitor Posts" page and do not automatically appear on Tokyo Camera Club's timeline.

Click here for Tokyo Camera Club's Visitor Posts.

Photos posted from our timeline are curated by Tokyo Camera Club's management team, and shared on our page and our sister pages to offer more exposure.
Photos shown on our timeline are the photos that we have shared.

Q. Why was my photo/video/comment deleted?

A. Any post violating our guidelines or found inappropriate by our staff will be deleted. We cannot answer individual questions regarding our deletion criteria.

In most cases, posts are deleted because:

　　1. The photo includes a URL in large font. (Crediting or watermarking your photo is OK)
　　2. The post includes a URL.

To prevent unwanted advertisements, posts with URLs are prohibited. Posts that apply to 1 and/or 2 will be automatically deleted, so please be careful. (To prevent trouble, we DO NOT make case-by-case decisions. Thank you for your understanding.)

Q. Why don't you share my post? Why don't you share better photos/videos?

A. If the photo is yours, please check whether or not:

1. Your photo includes a URL in large font. (Crediting or watermarking your photo is OK)
2. Your post includes a URL.
3. Your [My photos] setting under [Settings] -> [App Settings] -> [Apps others use] is unchecked.

If your photo applies to 1 and/or 2, it is most likely that your photo has been automatically hidden or deleted as an advertisement. If 3 is applicable, our staff may not have checked your photo yet. We use an original app when checking posts, where photos posted by members with their [My photo] setting turned off do not appear on our app.

At this moment, at Tokyo Camera Club, all photos and videos posted on our page are visible to all members. So, in terms of selection criteria, our guidelines should serve as a reference. (If your photo/video violates our guidelines, it will be deleted.)

Many photos/videos posted on our Facebook pages have received lots of “Likes” and comments even though our management staff have not shared them. Our Facebook page is not a contest site. We want it to be a place to enjoy great photos and videos with camera and photography fans. Therefore, we think sharing by our staff is only a supplement and the primary objective of our Facebook page is for our fans to have a good time communicating with each other.

Tokyo Camera Club has several sister pages you may want to consider posting at. "NEKO Club (Cat Club)", "INU Club (Dog Club)", "Sora no Shashinkan (Sky Photo Studio)", the Japanese version of “Tokyo Camera Club”, "FINE ART TOKYO", “Fuji no Shashinkan (Fuji Photo Studio)”, and “Omoide ni +me (Memories and Me)”. Each page has their own theme. If your photo matches one of these themes, we may share your photo on our sister site. Also, since Tokyo Camera Club receives many posts every day, photos posted on our sister pages will have a greater chance of being shared than posting on Tokyo Camera Club at the moment.

If there is a specific theme you want to see, but not included above, please send us a message. We will carefully consider creating a new sister page for everyone to enjoy.

Q. Is there a specific timeframe for photos/videos being shared?

A. We don't know about the future, but at this moment, we do not have a specific sharing timeframe or deadline. This is the same with all of our Facebook pages. We don't only share recent posts, so there will always be a chance for your post to be shared.

Q. Can I “Like”, comment, or share a post?

A. Sure! Members who post on our Facebook page, assume their posts will be “Liked”, commented (excluding being advised or criticized), and shared by other members.

Q. Do I need permission to share a photo/video? Do I need to comment that I will be sharing?

A. No. We encourage casual sharing. We believe the easiness of sharing posts is a great feature of Facebook. Of course we welcome comments, but you do not have to comment to get permission when sharing a post. Sharing without commenting is not rude at all.
If you think people should comment or get permission before sharing a post… we're sorry, this place is not for you. Please do not participate in our activities. And please do not criticize people for casually sharing posts. Our Facebook page is a place to enjoy life with cameras through “Liking”, commenting, and sharing of posts from our members.

Q. I don't want my photo/video to receive “Likes” and comments. I don't what people to share it.

A. We are sorry. If you do not wish your photo/video to be “Liked”, commented, or shared by our members, please do not post on our page. Our Facebook page is a place to enjoy life with cameras through “Liking”, commenting, and sharing of posts from our members.

Q. I want advice regarding the photo/video I posted.

A. Please refer to our “How to Post” page. By including “Please advise” in your comment, our members may give you advice. (We cannot guarantee that you will always get advice from our members.)

Q. I am sad that the photo/video I posted is receiving heartless comments.

A. We are sad too. We may be able to hide/delete the comment for you. Please send a message to our Facebook page. It may take a while, but we will consider carefully to respond to your request.

Q. Can I attach photos to my comment?

A. No. At Tokyo Camera Club, we ask you NOT to attach photos to your comment. When we find a photo attached to a comment, we will take it as an advertisement, and automatically delete or hide your post, so please be careful.

Q. I want Tokyo Camera Club to post photos/videos of a specific theme. I want Tokyo Camera Club to organize a specific event.

A. It is very important that our members to have a good time at Tokyo Camera Club. So, if there is a specific theme you'd like to post, feel free to post! If there is an event you'd like to propose, please send us a message. It will be difficult to answer everyone's request, but we will do our best to serve our members.

Q. I want Tokyo Camera Club to separate posts for different themes.

A. We believe separating post forms according to themes can cause some confusion and trouble. Therefore, at Tokyo Camera Club, we ask our members to post from a single post form on our timeline.
Regarding posts we share, we have several sister sites with different themes, like "NEKO Club (Cat Club)", "INU Club (Dog Club)", "Sora no Shashinkan (Sky Photo Studio)", "FINE ART TOKYO" and the original Japanese version of "Tokyo Camera Club", where you can view posts with specific themes.

Q. I want to delete a photo/video I posted.

A. Yes, you can delete your photo/video on your own. You can also re-post your photo/video. However, please note that all “Likes” and comments will be deleted along with your post, so please consider carefully.

Q. What kind of connection do you have with Facebook?

A. Tokyo Camera Club is a user of Facebook's services and nothing more.

Q. Who operates Tokyo Camera Club?

A. Staffs at Tokyo Camera Club Corporation, the managers of "Minpos", a social bookmark service for home electronic reviews, operate Tokyo Camera Club.

Q. I want to download a photo/video from my favorite post. Can I use it as my wallpaper, etc.

A. All photos/videos are copyrighted. Please act accordingly.

Q. I want to share a great photo/video I found, so more people can enjoy it. But I am not its owner.

A. All photos/videos are copyrighted. Facebook's “Statement of Rights and Responsibilities prohibits users from posting content that violates another party's intellectual property rights”. So, please do not post photos and videos you do not own.