rainbowroute Wrote:
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>
> you can put a bunch of fine people in a group yet
> the group dynamics transcend the individuals and
> become unappealing.
>
If that situation happens, it's either the fault of the organizer who can't control their own trip and/or patrons, an unwillingness on the part of the person to comment on things that are happening so those in charge know about it and can address the situation, or it's on the person themselves who thought they paid for one thing, found out it was something else entirely and is unwilling to follow the ground rules for the event. Some people just don't do well in a large group environment for one reason or another, and there isn't much you as an organizer can do about it short of refunding money and telling them to politely leave.
The single hardest part of running any event--especially a photo charter--is getting everyone on the same page and working as a group. That normally requires the rules to be stated up front that this is the way we are going to do things and you have to enforce it. I tend to call it a benevolent dictatorship. Suggestions and comments are welcome and taken under consideration, but in the end, one person controls what happens. With any luck, by a short time into the trip, you get everyone working together and the rest of the trip goes smoothly. The alternative is often chaos with everyone doing their own thing and getting in the way of everyone else.
Everyone is out on these things for fun, and they are actually a very nice group of people. If you have a question, they have answers. If you need help, they will provide where they can.
