Digital BW, The Print

Elliot ,

Hi. I don\u2019t have a problem with anyone making an income or just recovering costs on their web sites, but this periodic fee or no access plan has already proven itself a loser.

Photographers definitely do not like the \u201cI have a secret and you have to pay to hear it\u201d approach.

It is like a certain individual I have been having an on and off dispute with recently who \u201chas a secret” and won\u2019t reveal it under any circumstances but a $1000 workshop setting, $2000 with expenses.

Only the well off have access to that knowledge. Definitely not the custom in photography for the last century or so.

If you make your information freely available, people will STILL sign up for your workshops and STILL buy your books. In fact, all of those areas will be greatly enhanced. Ansel Adams proved this approach correct a long time ago.

You don\u2019t have to be a secret keeper to make a living. You just have to know how to do it right. Fee based web sites are absolutely NOT the right way to deal with the internet. People don\u2019t like it, won\u2019t go to your web site and won\u2019t buy anything you have to offer. Millions of web site owners have proven this the hard way. The internet is a means of making your reputation so that people will be interested in your product. The only reason Adobe is getting away with it (maybe) is that they have a captive audience. Photoshop is a must have tool and what Adobe is doing is really quite low.

If they weren\u2019t the only game in town, I believe their bottom line would be in considerable pain right now. They wouldn\u2019t tell us if it was.