Photography Monthly Subscription versus Internet
While photography monthly subscription will deliver news of current technological breakthroughs to your door, when you need a specific query answered the Internet is the place to go. Because the Internet can be a confusing place to navigate, you should begin your search with forums. Which forum you choose will be determined by the nature of your query.
If, for example, you are experiencing some difficulty with your brand new Canon 40D then you would track down a Canon forum. These forums will require registration, but they are generally free and only require basic information about yourself. Having successfully registered as a member you are then free to post your question. Before you do so, check previous posts for the same problem as the same issues tend to crop up again and again. If you do post a question, be patient, it can take a day or more for somebody with the right information to read and reply to your post.
If the issue you want to address is related to effects or photo editing software, you should broaden your search to all photography forums. Because these will have members who own a variety of equipment brands, the forum will probably have more members, and so more brains to pick. Again, before posting a question, check for tutorials and previous posts on your query. Within these forums you should be able to view other people’s pictures, the effects they have added and a detailed explanation of how it was achieved, right down to the F stops, shutter speed and exposure time.
Of course the Internet is not only good for gaining information, it can also be used to showcase or even profit from your own offerings. There are a number of sites that give good advice on how you can set about selling your own photography online. One way is to have your own website containing a portfolio. The problem with this method is that you will need to get somebody to develop and promote your site using search engine optimisation techniques. Another way is to use a site that specialises in supplying images. You will be paid a certain amount for your images, with the site provider taking a percentage for the service.
While photographic monthly subscription is a handy means of gaining general information, the interactive nature of the Internet allows for a much broader range of options to become available to you. You can transmit and receive images from anywhere in the world instantly, potentially a lucrative proposition if you happen to have your camera handy during some unexpected newsworthy event. Although the proliferation of phone cameras means you are unlikely to get an exclusive, high quality professional pictures will demand a higher premium.