Since I'm the one who posted the thread in Feedback, this is what my thoughts were.......

As a newbie here, it never occurred to me that this forum would be the place to go for portrait specific photography even though studio photography, by nature, would be mostly portrait. My impression of Viewfinder are more of a place to post pics just to share but not for more serious discussion of technique. That's my impression, though, and is probably misplaced. I did look in here once or twice but the thread count was really low and the tag line "Discuss lights, lighting techniques, backdrops, and other studio-related issues." made it seem more studio gear specific.

In the interest of full disclosure, I readily admit that I have selfish interests in that I want to learn as much as I can from the portrait specialists here as it's the type of photography I enjoy most. I also completely agree that too many forums dilute the experience and make content harder to find. Any portrait "specific" forum would have to cover natural and artificial lighting as well as traditional and non-traditional portraiture, IMO, in order to avoid becoming too specific.

Maximizing exposure is, of course, one of the goals of the forums. Having more forums could make it less likely for posts to be seen. That's always a risk. The flip side of that coin is that having too busy a forum, one with a high per day thread count, could have the same effect as threads roll off to the second and third page, especially if someone misses a day or so between visits. It's a difficult balance to strike.


The one thing I don't want to do is come across in the wrong way -- as some noob stirring the pot. My entire PR experience thus far has been beyond positive. This is a great community that invites and welcomes participation. Posts have and will always find a home, regardless of what the forums are called. I don't want to convey anything other than a positive attitude towards the site.


Anyway, those are my thoughts on the subject.