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Clickin Moms?

mrs2a50

mrs2a50

Pretty much the best.ever.
Joined
Apr 12, 2007
Messages
15,178
Who is a member? Worth the price if I don't have any desire to be anything but a hobby photographer? Other suggestions for sites?
 
I've been a member of Clickinmoms since November 2010, when I took advantage of their black Friday deal (40% off Lifetime membership), after many months of subscribing to their newsletter at my friend's recommendation. I think it's definitely worth it, even if I never get around to going into business. (I pursued the idea from about 2012-2014 and then put it on the back burner.) There are many hobbyists among the membership, too.

The forum is a wealth of information and full of very helpful people, including designated mentors. It's extremely active, so much that you can't possibly read everything. Also, it can be frustrating to post and not get a reply; you may have to "bump" your post to get it noticed. But I'd rather that than be in a forum where I'm not noticed because there are not enough people.

I've checked out several photography forums and Clickinmoms is the best.

If money is an issue, though, for people just starting out to learn photography, I have a few recommendations.
Click it Up a Notch - She is a blogger (and also a Clickinmom) who freely shares a lot of helpful photography info.
Photofocus has been one of the best sources of good articles about photography. While I've unsubscribed from so many now, I still keep this one.
Digital Photography School has a free forum and has a pretty good blog or newsletter (I forget which) that I used to subscribe to so I'd get tips/tutorials in my Inbox regularly.
CreativeLIVE - Not just for photography anymore, but that is where they started 5 years ago. John Greengo's Fundamentals of Digital Photography is what/who I credit with explaining DSLR photography to me in a clear, visual way. The first edition of his class in 2010 is what made me finally decide to buy a DSLR. The cool thing about CreativeLIVE is that you can watch their classes for free. You only have to pay if you want to download the class to watch it any time. But when it is originally broadcast and when it is rebroadcast (which always happens immediately after the original broadcast, sometimes even twice, and then occasionally even more any time) it is free to watch on their website. Just check their website every day to see what's playing. I have learned a lot from them. A couple of years ago they added digital scrapbooking classes even, though they've been quite basic. But their photography and business classes are excellent.

That's just a few of the resources I've used over the last 5 years since I got my DSLR. I compiled a list for my photography club a few years ago. I think you might be able to see it HERE because it's an open forum. Not absolutely sure though. If not, I could post it here, if it's okay; it's very, very long.
 
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I've been a ClickinMoms member for several years . . . definitely worth it!
 
I've not been there for a long time but am a lifetime member and can say it's full of information and help. Also I'm a lifer at pretty forum bot not visited for quite some time. It used to be rock that shot. It was good too.
 
I am in a similar place now. Been hovering on the edge of clickinmoms but not being able to decide to take the jump. I would definitely like to take some classes - give a boost to my photography (and it does need one) I just feel like I'm taking the same kind of photographs for so long. So definitely looking at improving the quality (technical side) of my photographs as well as creative side. Its a big draw on the purse so I'm thinking I will take a class and then go on from there. So questions ladies - Is there a class you have taken there that you would recommend? Along the lines of getting focus right, shooting in manual that sort of thing?
 
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Shivani said:
...- Is there a class you have taken there that you would recommend? Along the lines of getting focus right, shooting in manual that sort of thing?
Click to expand...

Do you mean at Clickinmoms? I haven't really looked at the class offerings since 2014 and I know they've changed a bit. I took a quick look at the class catalog. It looks like instead of just the one course I took to learn to shoot manually in 2012, now they offer a very beginner class that doesn't even seem to do much with manual, then First Steps with a DSLR, which goes over the semi-automatic modes so if you want to get right to manual I'd skip it, and finally Mastering Manual Exposure. I can't say much about them since I didn't take them (the mastering manual class I took at CM is no longer offered; the teacher left), but Clickinmoms the forum is still active and they continue to offer new sessions of their classes every month, so I imagine people are liking the classes.

If you did not mean at Clickinmoms, then I highly recommend looking for John Greengo's Fundamentals of Digital Photography class at CreativeLIVE as I wrote about up in the 3rd post.

You might also check your local parks & recreation class offerings. I know mine have beginner photography classes and I know the teachers because they're in my photography clubs so I bet they're good. And some people learn better interacting face-to-face. Parks & rec classes are much cheaper than CreativeLIVE and Clickinmoms too. :)

Jump in! The sooner you do, the sooner you'll master manual photography and be in complete control of your photos. It's awesome!
 
michelepixels said:
Do you mean at Clickinmoms? I haven't really looked at the class offerings since 2014 and I know they've changed a bit. I took a quick look at the class catalog. It looks like instead of just the one course I took to learn to shoot manually in 2012, now they offer a very beginner class that doesn't even seem to do much with manual, then First Steps with a DSLR, which goes over the semi-automatic modes so if you want to get right to manual I'd skip it, and finally Mastering Manual Exposure. I can't say much about them since I didn't take them (the mastering manual class I took at CM is no longer offered; the teacher left), but Clickinmoms the forum is still active and they continue to offer new sessions of their classes every month, so I imagine people are liking the classes.

If you did not mean at Clickinmoms, then I highly recommend looking for John Greengo's Fundamentals of Digital Photography class at CreativeLIVE as I wrote about up in the 3rd post.

You might also check your local parks & recreation class offerings. I know mine have beginner photography classes and I know the teachers because they're in my photography clubs so I bet they're good. And some people learn better interacting face-to-face. Parks & rec classes are much cheaper than CreativeLIVE and Clickinmoms too. :)

Jump in! The sooner you do, the sooner you'll master manual photography and be in complete control of your photos. It's awesome!
Click to expand...
Thanks Michele! Very helpful. I have been shooting in manual for some time now but I wanted to have a more structured approach to it and do it 'right' KWIM? Thanks for your kinds words... :)
 
Check your local community college for courses. I have taken a bunch there. Also if your area has an arts council they might also offer classes. Another option is locla photography clubs. Can you tell I prefer the hands on teaching?
 
I subscribed there a few years back - but like Michele said it was super active and I couldn't keep up at the time. I just lurked. There is so much talent it can be a little intimidating! I found myself not using it a lot - not because it wasn't awesome, but more about where I was - I just wasn't committing to it. I keep saying I'm going to become a member again ... I LOVE their magazine and subscribed to that for many years but had let that go recently too, and I keep saying I want to subscribe again.

For $10/month ... try it for just a month when you know you have more "me time" and see if you like it.
 
I'm not a member of clickinmoms but I love their 'full participation' courses. I have just completed my third one, and although expensive (particularly including Aussie dollar exchange rate) they are a really good fit for me. The ones I have done have been four weeks in total, with a new topic each week and assignment with instructor critique. When you do a course you also get access to the forums for the duration of the course so you get to see what you're missing by not being a member :)

IMO, the great thing about being a member would be that you can post photos for critique and participate in creativity exercises (it looks to me if you did the creativity exercises alone you would develop). However, as I'm not keen on posting my 'identifying' photos online, I restrict myself from participating in those things, even though I can see it would be super helpful for my photography progression (hence why I'm not a member - have I confused you yet!!). I also agree that I could easily become overwhelmed with all the information on there.

Having said all that I started my photography journey with Capture your 365 - I did two courses that taught me everything about shooting manual - totally fitted where I was at that time.
 
It's not as busy but another good forum is Pretty Forum (formerly Rock The Shot). Lots of great info in the forum. I'm a lifetime member at PF and CMs and think they are both great resources. Not sure, but do either of them offer a one week trial? That would give you a chance to check them out and see if they might be useful for you.
 
Very helpful suggestions everyone.Thanks so much!!! I am eyeing a few courses at CM and will probably take one of them real soon!!! As for membership, $10 for a month can't hurt right?!!! :)
 
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