OPS is an open society, as its name suggests. Its facilities are available to anyone with a genuine interest in photography, and most are free. However, the Society has no formal membership database. People are free to come ang go as they wish. No charge is made for access to the the Society's website, and all areas of the site are open to everyone.

Nominal charges are made for a few services such as image evaluations, but these are determined by the cost of providing the service. Note that photographers who live in countries where neither appropriate credit card nor Paypal services are available may be exempt from such charges and may submit material entirely free of charge. All submitted images and text, from whatever source, must satisfy the Society's standards of acceptance.