Poll - What Should We Work On In 2006?

[Photo-John]

I just put up a new Quick Poll about what kind of content you want us to work on in 2006. There's lots of editorial content we could put our energy into. But it would be good to know what you want. Are you interested in camera comparisons, buyer's guides, how-to pieces, photographer and photo industry interviews - what would be most interesting and useful for you? Let us know:

Quick Poll >>

If you choose "Other," you can go ahead and post your idea in this thread.

Thanks in advance for your input!

[Asylum Steve]

it would be good to know what you want.

Obviously like the idea of member feedback, but I think it would be better if we could vote for more than one thing...

[Peter_AUS]

Yes I agree with Steve on that one, I would have picked maybe 3 or 4 of the choices.

[Photo-John]

A lot of things would be nice. But this particular technology only allows for one choice.

[Peter_AUS]

Yeah, marriage is a bit the same, must have been the same developer ;)

[maplegirlie]

I just put up a new Quick Poll about what kind of content you want us to work on in 2006. There's lots of editorial content we could put our energy into. But it would be good to know what you want. Are you interested in camera comparisons, buyer's guides, how-to pieces, photographer and photo industry interviews - what would be most interesting and useful for you? Let us know:

Quick Poll >>

If you choose "Other," you can go ahead and post your idea in this thread.

Thanks in advance for your input!

Thanks for the opportunity to contribute. I appreciate a company that is responsive to its customers' feedback.

I was torn between chosing "Software How To" and "Buyer's Guides/Camera Comparisons" but opted for the Guides/Comparisons because I *will* be buying a camera in the next year and that type of tool/info is VERY valuable to me. I don't have the time, patience, or energy to do all the comparisons myself, manually, in an Excel spreadsheet (much as I love Excel). I really want someone else to provide that for me.

Info like that would make the decision-making process so much more robust, thorough, and -- bottom line -- easier.

Thanks again for wanting to know what we want.

[masdog]

PJ,

Thanks for providing the opportunity for members to give feedback. I selected other because I'm not sure if what I'm about to suggest would fall under basic how-to or not.

One thing I think should be on PR, in addition to basic how-to articles, is a series of articles on how to shoot in particular areas of photography. Primers on wedding, sports/action, portraits, photojournalism, nature, and street photography would be great for helping both new members and experienced members expand their photographic skills.

Sean

[opus]

I figured that fell under "photo technique guides". That's the one I picked, although I was torn between basic photography principles and photo technique guides, so I figured the technique guides would be more all-encompassing and satisfy more levels of people.

I also really loved the idea of Photo Travel Stories. I'd have never thought of that one on my own. But it would be cool to read about other photographers' travels. Kind of like a gallery but with room for lots of words accompanying the pictures. I might even have a story or two of my own to contribute.

[srobb]

I would have preferred more than on choice, but that is fine. I went with Photo Guides/Techniques, also. I think that is probably close to the same as Sean was suggesting. I would like to be able see Travel Stories, and Pro Photographer Spotlights. There are a lot of good choices there PJ. Great idea.

[adina]

I'm going to vote for other, as I think the most important thing is getting me my pr.com t-shirt for winning the 2005 photo of the year.

[masdog]

I would have preferred more than on choice, but that is fine. I went with Photo Guides/Techniques, also. I think that is probably close to the same as Sean was suggesting. I would like to be able see Travel Stories, and Pro Photographer Spotlights. There are a lot of good choices there PJ. Great idea.

Now I feel really dumb. I didn't even see photo guides when I looked at the list.

[opus]

Well, it looks like you could go back and vote more than once.

I thought it would give me the results page if I went back today, but I got the poll again. Is that supposed to happen?

[walterick]

Hey John,

Very nice of you to go to "the people" for input on a thing like this!

My vote is for Photo Technique Guides. I think that is the one thing I could get the most out of at this point in time. Plus, I was wondering, why not make it technique guides written by pr members? I would love to read a portrait technique article by Andy Armstrong or Charles Hess, a black-and-white technique article by Tuna or Gaphsidy, a fashion or lighting article by Asylum Steve, a travel article by Loren or Kelly, a children how-to by Natalie or Adina ... the possibilities go on and on. I think the talent and the diversity are here, I think it would be cool to utilize it.

My second vote would go to Travel stories, just because I think that's cool.

GL with your decision!
Rick

[walterick]

?

Did I miss something?

Or has our self-portrait queen become dilusional?

[adina]

?

Did I miss something?

Or has our self-portrait queen become dilusional?

Either or.


You just wait. Photos will be posted.

[OldSchool]

we get a lot of repeat questions from new users. It would be nice to have a "how to..." section here instead of referring them to other sites.

One big improvement would be to have image icons on the "Photo Critique" board so that you can quickly chose which images you may want to check out further. I like how this is done on Photosig. I'm not sure if vBulletin would allow this though...

Tim

[adina]

we get a lot of repeat questions from new users. It would be nice to have a "how to..." section here instead of referring them to other sites.


Tim

We do have a how to section. It is under the "learn" tab at the top.

[OldSchool]

Thanks for pointing that out to me. I even learned something.

Why did PJ put it on the poll then? Also, I think it could be expanded... Such as classical examples of when white balance is off (like in the snow), or why a RAW file picture looks flat etc. I'm just thinking of the many questions that come here over and over...

Maybe we could harvest some of the good answers people here have provided and dump them into a FAQ.

Cheers,
Tim

[Photo-John]

We do have a how to section. It is under the "learn" tab at the top.

Yes, we do have a section for that kind of content. Thanks for posting the link, Adina. The question is, what kind of content should I focus on adding first? Regardless, most of the stuff I'm working on will end up in the learn section. I have a basic exposure guide on the way, right now. I'm also thinking about adding a Photo Tips forum so that people can post their own guides and tips. If people use the thread rating the the best stuff will float to the top. And maybe we could even take the best stuff, edit and reformat it, and add it to the Learn section. That was my big idea for today

[OldSchool]

Having had a home office for many years, the online communities have kind-of been my office mates. Whether the boards were professional interests (engineering, operations research), or recreational (windsurfing, biking, skiing), there have always been a rich interchange. There was always at least one person (if not more) that had a similar experience or was knowledgeable about a particular thing or technique. And there was most always feedback when you contributed content. I've always learned so much and at least got a thanks back when I helped someone.

In comparison, the traffic here in PR.com just seems anemic. I think you should be careful when considering additional discussion boards in that it may further dilute the already thin traffic. In fact, you may consider combining a few forums to help bring up the interaction. Would there be a way to advertise this board to bring in greater participation? Is there a budget to do so?

While on this topic, I think a thumbnail of any image in the top post of a thread would be a great addition. Photosig does this, and I think it works very well as far as seeing what others are working on. This works especially well for deciding which photos one wants to critique. I've stopped critiquing here because it took too long to open every single thread to see if there was something I could add.

I also have a general beef against vBulliton (I found it more difficult to track threads and interact when mtbr.com switched over, but I guess the cgi was a bit to maintain). But again, a thumbnail of the top photo would really improve it here. Can vBulliten do this?

Anyway, that's my take. I'm sure there are very good reasons for why things are the way they are, and we all like different flavors.
Cheers,
Tim

[photophorous]

.... I'm also thinking about adding a Photo Tips forum so that people can post their own guides and tips. If people use the thread rating the the best stuff will float to the top. And maybe we could even take the best stuff, edit and reformat it, and add it to the Learn section. That was my big idea for today

Doh! I've been thinking about this idea off and on all day, trying to figure out a way to explain it. I thought I thought of it first. Good thing I read a little more carefully before posting.

With that said, I think this is a great idea! The good stuff could be added to the Learn section, and over time, we'd have a huge resource of information. I see lots of great information from members. Problem is, it gets lost in the archives, and finding it is often very tedious. Thus, questions get repeated.

This idea could be expanded from simple Tips to more extensive articles. For example, if someone felt generous they could write a detailed story about a specific job or project they worked on. You may not get a lot of submissions, but it would add up over time.

Paul