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Are the photography groups dead?

Is it me or have the various photography groups been pretty dead? A couple of years ago, we had tutorials or tips on taking better photos almost daily. For instance, the purpose of the photography group is spelled out in the left panel:

"Some folks here just want to take better shots of their listings. Others are confirmed Shutterbugs. The Photography group chats about equipment, tips and techniques for all types of Photography."

Today we have an excuse for each day of the week to post photos. Don't get me wrong, I like good photography, but as an emerging photographer, I'd like to know how you did it so I can improve as well. Do you think we will ever get back to helping each other make better pictures?

So you don't think I'm just a stick in the mud, here's a few of the photos I'm proud of.

Friday night fireworks on SPI Moon

pier

the Alamo

The fireworks shot was taken with about a 3 second exposure. I had scouted out a location earlier in the day so that the bridge would be in the background.

The moon shot is really two separate photos. A full moon earlier in the month and a quarter moon joined together in photoshop to make for what I consider an interesting view of the moon.

The pier is me just playing around with the new camera. It's just an example of composistion using the rule of thirds.

This old walkway was taken on the south side of the Alamo in San Antonio. I took a lot of good photos on that trip on the riverwalk, of horse drawn carriages and the architecture.

Posted by Lee Jinks on 09/24/2009 09:37 AM

Comments (17)

photography tutorials

Post is included in group: Photoshop Elements for Real Estate
Post is included in group: Tips and Techniques for Better Real Estate Photography
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17 Comments on Are the photography groups dead?

SEP

Some nice photos. Seems not too many sending anymore.

I'm not in any of the photography groups, just wanted to congratulate you on the cool fireworks photo. I thought that Alamo photo looked vaguely familiar, haven't seen that in 20+ years.

Your right about the postings in the photo groups. I get most of my information from the Photography for Real Estate website and the Flikr group of the same name. Larry Lohrman has a great book on Real Estate Photography on the website for those wanting more technical details. Use Flickr to post pictures and get great constructive feedback.

Jeff, that's were I get all my good information these days as well.

SEP

Hi Lee,

I think you're dead-on with your observations. In fact, a little early this morning I stumbled across one of Bryce's posts, and wondered what ever happened to him. He used to do some great tutorials.

I've written a few tutorials on photo retouching, but I don't know what other kinds of tips people are interested in.

BTW - the fireworks shot is awesome! Thanks for sharing.

SEP

Lee - I am not sure the newer users of Active Rain use the group structure for navigation the way the more seasoned Rainers do. I think the emphasis is on the channels now.

But for those of us who are still here, the Photography groups are dead only if we let them die. We are all short of time to spend on activities not directly related to work - but for many of us, the time spent on Active Rain is interesting and rewarding. I have learned a lot from you and other writers in the photography groups. Particularly about HDR photography and use of software to enhance (or correct) my images.

It is up to all of us to provide content to the groups or to ask questions seeking solutions that the highly qualified readership here can provide. The information provided in the photo groups is terrific because not only are our contributors very competent and knowledgeable, they are trying to solve the same problems we all face every day in the same line of work.

Thanks, Lee, for your contributions and thanks to all who provide content for these specialized groups. I am featuring this post in the Photoshop Elements for Real Estate Group.

I am new to the group and plan on spending a lot of time reading all the old posts to catch up. :) I am not a professional photographer, but sometimes I have to take pics for realtors that dont have the time to take them themselves. I want to make sure that my pictures are the best they can be...... on my .... Canon PowerShot SD960 IS.... yeah, that is what I have. :) dont laugh!

SEP

Hey Lori!

Welcome to the group. And no need to apologize for your camera. Canon makes some great stuff. In fact, I just did some retouching on a shot that had incredible detail. So much so that I had to look at the EXIF info to see what camera it was shot with. Sure enough, it was a Canon PowerShot G10. Granted, that may be higher-end than your model, but it was still a PowerShot none the less.

SEP

Lori, until very recently I shot with a 2003 model Coolpix 5400. Your PowerShot SD960 IS is a much better camera. It's not ultra wide, but has a 28mm wide end to the zoom lens and it has Image Stabilization. I think this camera will take you a long way in learning real estate photography.

Lee, thanks for giving everyone a bit of a kick. I like writing the tutorials and have been a bit of a slacker for quite some time now. I really like mine to be full of content and extremely elaborate...which keeps me from writing them a bit too often...I will get back on it :-)

OCT

LEe - How about this for livening up real estate photos - 3D pics!!!

http://www.fujifilmusa.com/products/3d/camera/finepix_real3dw1/index.html

This camera probably isn't wide enough at 35mm but who knows what kind of effective angle of view it has with 3D imaging, and if it takes off how far behind can wider lenses be?

OCT

Trying to learn more about real estate photography, so I always enjoy reading the instructional posts. I especially like your photo of the old walkway in San Antonio. Stunning!

OCT

I've been missing the how to in these groups, so thanks for your post Lee cause I have nooooo idea what the heck I'm doing when it come to photography!

OCT

It would save every real estate agent time and money to just hire a professonal real estate photographer. You get great, show-stopping results for just a few hundred dollars. It gets you more hits, more calls and a quicker sale.

Be a real estate pro and do what you do best - sell real estate. Leave the pro photos to us pro photographers - what we do best. It's a great combination.

Just my .02 worth.

Michael