How much have you grown as a photographer since joining POTN?

Lot's - but mostly with flash. I was on a huge learning curve and between lighting courses, Neil van Niekerk and POTN I took control of my flash. It used to be the other way around. It worked fine in P mode (always went to P when the flash went on) and ETTL. FEC was a no brainer but what put knots in my stomach was repeatability. I know it gave me a decent snapshot, I just did not know how or why.

What would happen of one day I had something to shoot that counted like a friends birthday party and something did not go right. Not that would have mattered because he is a friend but you want to do your best.

A friend asked me to shoot his wedding which I repeatedly declined. Eventually I broke down and went on a 6 month learning journey to prepare. Another benefit is recovery from a problem. Now I don't stand there looking like a deer in headlights nearly as long as I used to One of the best things I ever did.

One of the posters on this thread helped me a lot. There were many more.

digital paradise wrote in post #17285405
One of the posters on this thread helped me a lot. There were many more.

Well dont hold back? Was it me?!

JakAHearts wrote in post #17281189
I knew nothing, and I mean nothing. Id say that 80% or more of my knowledge has come directly from others on this forum and the other 20% probably from links that I got on here.

same here. As a result of the help i got here at POTN, we opened our business 7 yrs ago and it took off. 26 wedding last year. 20-30 a tear for the past 4 yrs. I am extremely grateful for the friends I have made on line at POTN and for all the help given out. So I now try to give back every chance i can.

Thanks everyone.

JakAHearts wrote in post #17285543
Well dont hold back? Was it me?!

There were many

This forum has been indispensable. Hardest thing to learn was to not take CC's personally and move on.

POTN was one of my main paths to photography when I was first starting out, of course I scoured the net and read up on just about every aspect of photography and Canon cameras, but nothing could beat directly asking people with real experience or even just lurking around.

armis wrote in post #17280833
If POTN taught me anything, it's that I should get an 85L.

Me too! But unfortunately my old 85LII is going to retire soon to fund my advance to a slightly different kind of photography, but of all the lenses it spent the most time glued to my 5D2, second only to the 70-200 f/4 IS, another legendary lens in my opinion.

Even if I am slowly moving away from the Canon camera system, I'll always be around here to help people out and share my discoveries and techniques that I've learned over the years, since this is one of the largest but also closest internet groups I've had the pleasure of interacting with.

One thing that I've appreciate about POTN as a learnjng tool is that I get to learn by reading informative posts by other learned photographers, but I also learn by helping less knowledgeable photographers. The act of explaining things to others makes you distill the ideas or processes to their most basic form snd over time you come to own that knowledge in a way you didnt before.

I joined right after I picked up my first DSLR, a Canon T1i. I learned at least 90% of what I know from POTN. Almost every question I had was already asked and answered by someone else, which allowed me to lurk for long periods of time. The images gave me inspiration and ideas for me to work with. And with a very small percentage (<.01) I could easily ask a question and get several ideas from several different photographers here. I help when I can with an answer, but for good or bad, I still consider myself to be a lurker.

90+ percent of what I know was learned right here at POTN.

I've been here since about 2007 (had a different screen name at one time, bought a new computer, lost passwords and files, and just formed a new screen name. Don't know if the old one is alive or dead it's been so long).

Regardless, POTN has no equal online in terms of support and learning. Plus, it has a very, very low snob factor.

I'm not growing - I'm 75 and shrinking ... but I'll die with a Canon in my hand.

Have learned a tremendous amount. Including how to spend money. Can't say I've 'grown' as a photographer. Having knowledge and putting it into practice are two different things. Doesn't help that I've been very lazy with respect to this hobby, for the past year.

Str0ntium wrote in post #17293894
Have learned a tremendous amount. Including how to spend money. Can't say I've 'grown' as a photographer. Having knowledge and putting it into practice are two different things. Doesn't help that I've been very lazy with respect to this hobby, for the past year.

Well, by growing, I meant skill-wise. For example, by applying knowledge, I have gained skill, and thus have grown. I attribute a lot of what I've learned to POTN, however, I attribute me putting into action to myself.

FarmerTed1971 wrote in post #17282760
I've learned a LOT and my wallet is much lighter. Thanks! grrrr

Mostly I've learned a lot about composition and technique. I love sharing my work and getting feedback but mostly enjoy other members' work. It's very interesting to view so many different styles from all over the world. I've been a member of many online forums but this one is by far the most interesting AND educational. Glad to be here.

This! My wallet is much lighter too, never knew there was so much stuff I couldn't live without! It's a disease.

Well....since 2006...07?

Everyone here definitely put me in the right direction.