In order to advance his own knowledge of photography and to encourage others in his small home town, in 1898 White brought together a group of 10 local people to form the Newark Camera Club. All of its members, including White at that time, were amateur photographers who shared an active interest in pictorialism, but it was White's leadership that soon propelled the club's influence far beyond a small town in Ohio. Ema Spencer, a club member and later member of the Photo-Secession wrote that the club "was known in photographic circles here and abroad as 'the White School', a reflection of White's stature and prominence. A goal of the Club was to have at least one major show of its members' work each year, but also to show the work of "photographers from the east as well as abroad, so their own work would profit from the examination and comparison."