Does The Internet Help Or Hurt Photography?

Since there seems to be no end to the "Pros Vs Joes" debate, do sites like POTN, Fred Miranda, DPReview, etc. help clarify the situation or do they simply further muddy the waters?

Is the level of information available adequate or are we seeing a world where a little knowledge is a dangerous thing?

If you care to comment, please limit your thoughts to only those sites that allow / encourage active participation and discussion. Please exclude blogs and other "Expert Opinion" sites as they disseminate information without much fear of rebuttal.

Help; otherwise I never know that you're so good with the planes' shoot!
And I learn lots since I joint POTN.

I think it helps a lot. It helps with sales but, the downside is when someone steals your image and claims it as their own.

Not quite what I was driving at JD but I agree regarding how it helps photographers in many ways.

I'll edit my text to attempt to clarify my point.

Oh ok. I'm over analyzing.

the internet (and the various theme sites like POTN fred and miranda etc) offers a huge library of information to the photographer which can be used in so many ways:

1.) learning on almost any subject - both static (articles, stickies, reviews) as well as dynamic (threads and PMs)
2.) establishing peer contacts
3.) selling services (increased client base) and/or making contact between artist and buyer who would not normally meet
4.) peer review
5.) the internet itself is full of demands for photography (an extra client)
6.) + more

but as has been pointed out - there are down sides as well....not everything availabe on the net is reliable, strong biases can be given more weight than usual (the sqeeky wheel gets the grease), theft, etc....

but overall - in my opinion - the internet as a medium is wonderful for photography

Helps, but only if you are smart enough to filter out all the BAD information out there.

I would have loved the 'net and photography forums when I first started getting serious with photography in the 80's.
It would have saved me a truck load of money on film and the learning curve with trial and error wouldn't have been anywhere near as great.
Even though there is a certain amount of "bad" information, the good info is far greater.

It does improve my skills, knowledge, and helps me knowing how to do this and that. Internet is the only source I had when I start photography 2 years ago.

And as the knowledge goes, including about gear, you know what happened...

I think it hurts photography, there are a lot of people out there who don't want to bother about buying prints of your photo, just nick them from either flickr or some other galleries.

It sure helps me!

I think these are good places to point others to the correct information...

From here I was pointed to the best books, kelby training etc.

That accelerated my understanding.

Also the knowledge here is very good, but you have to sift through it.

For instance, is someone is saying L's are a waste of time and they only have entry level equipment, you have to filter their advice.

But if someone owns the equipment their advice should be considered.

The only downside is that when you start out on here, you ask what equipment you need.

20k later, you have every conceivable item known to mankind produced for photography, which 90% of said equipment you will never use.


I think the hardest thing I have learned is:

Buy once, buy right...

The upgrade path is expensive, buy the best you can afford at the beginning, you only end up selling the lower end stuff to buy better equipment when you learn about fast lenses, low light etc...

The Internet is truly a double edge sword. With the OT, it truly is helpful. With out site like POTN the only place people could learn is by a mentor. Sure you can learn the mechanics of photography from reading and trial by error, but the necessary time and money one would need to invest would be dramatically higher. With sites like POTN one can test techniques and have them C&C by very talented photographers. For Free! LOL

The down side, some might say, to all of this is the increase in ‘competition’. As with sites like these, entry into the profession is a lot easier. But to me I say more competition is always a good thing, as that is what drives any profession.

JMTCW

^^Entry might be easier, but mastery still only comes to those who really persevere...

mtimber wrote in post #12432334
^^Entry might be easier, but mastery still only comes to those who really persevere...

I don't disagree. I was simply trying to stay on topic.