The Photographic Society Club was founded in 1856. Seiberling and Bloore state "The membership of this club overlapped significantly with that of two organizations formed for the exchange of photographs, The Photographic Exchange Club, and the exchange within the Photographic Society (also sometimes referred to as the Photographic Exchange Club or Photographic Club...)". All three were established for the exchange of information, ideas and photographs between members. Members of the clubs included among others Roger Fenton, Hugh Diamond, Philip Delamotte, Francis Bedford, Benjamin Brecknall Turner and George Shadbolt. Of the twenty-two members of the Photographic Society Club a few were members of the Society of Antiquaries including Thomas Mackinlay who initially suggested producing this album, John Richardson Major D.D., the Reverend J.R. Major and the editor of Notes and Queries, William John Thoms. Other members whose portraits are included are: Henry and Julius Pollock, sons of the photographer and President of the Club, The Right Hon. Sir Frederick Pollock, the Lord Chief Baron; Edward Kater, known in scientific circles and one of the founding members of the Photographic Society of London; J.J. Forrester, a wine merchant and amateur artist introduced to photography by Diamond; Frederick Hardwich, James McCosh, whose portrait in this copy is replaced by that of Joseph Durham, a sculptor; Count de Montizon who supplied the view of the hippopatamus to the Photographic Album for the Year 1855 (included in an outdoor group portrait); John Parker; Charles Vignoles and John Percy whose studies in medicine and interest in chemistry led him to photography. The Photographic Society Club was more of a social organization where the members would meet as a group to dine five times a year 'in some Country locality favourable to Photographic Pursuits'. The group portrait in the back of the album of the photographers and their wives, including Fenton himself, was taken by Fenton and exhibited circa 1856 at the Royal Photographic Society.

It would seem likely that there were, at most, only as many copies made of this album as there were members of the Club. In the rules it states A Book shall be formed to contain the Photographic Portrait of every Member of the Club, and which he is bound to present as soon after his admission as convenient. He shall also present to the Club every year a Photographic print done by himself or some member of the Photographic Society of London, and if at any time the club should come to an end, Such book and its contents shall be given to the British Museum. Comparisons with four copies in the Royal Photographic Society show that there were slight variations with regard to which portraits of the members were used. It has been suggested that all of the portraits were taken by Fenton, but the images themselves and the reference to the portraits in the rules would tend to imply that this was not the case and several are likely to be self-portraits. There appears to have been only one other album produced by the group in 1858, containing twenty portraits of the members and accompanying text. The two albums from alternate years were the exchange albums compiled in 1855 and 1857.