VIP Club

[veronicatapp]

I've been a subscriber for several years but started to have serious doubts when the the magazine changed its look. The latest issue has finally given me the impetus to cancel my subscription. The VIP club has TOP SLR PRO tips just for subscribers, which include:

Charging your batteries
Using a tripod
Using the rule of thirds

OMG. If these are your special pro tips, when can we look forward to in the rest of the magazine? I suggest the following:

Switch your camera on
Locate the lens on the front of your camera
Press the little button on the top to take a picture.

I don't know whether to laugh or cry...

[Geoff Harris]

Hi Veronica
Sorry you didn't like this month's subs club. In retrospect maybe the battery tip was a bit obvious, but not the others - it's surprising how many readers we meet who still struggle with composition and the concept of thirds. We have a very diverse readership, with lots of SLR beginners.

I'd also argue there is plenty of other good stuff in VIP Club, including exclusive product giveaways (we get a very big response) and Photoshop tutorials.
Thanks for the feedback though. What do other subscribers think? Is VIP Club too dumbed down?

Geoff Harris, Editor

[veronicatapp]

Hi Geoff

I take your point, but if the tips are meant for beginners, why not just call them beginners' tips? Surely a "pro" tip is just a little bit more advanced?? Though the word "pro" seems to be a favourite in the photography magazine world, and perhaps its over-use has rendered it rather meaningless. Actually, I would get rid of the list altogether and go for something more substantial. The magazine is full of lists nowadays, so if the VIP club is supposed to be special, make it special.

Oh, and I wasn't complaining about the rest of the content, just this particular list.

I appreciate that you only have a certain amount of advice that you can give, and that after a while it all gets recycled, so maybe it's just time for me to move on. The first couple of years I got DCM I loved it.

[Geoff Harris]

Sorry you feel that way. Most of the response to the redesign has been really positive. Thanks again for the feedback and we'll take what you say onboard

[donoreo]

I have to agree with her. Those are pretty basic tips to be calling "Pro". Perhaps it should be "Tips from a Pro"?

[J A Mortram]

RE the VIP club...

Thanks for the interview as Subscriber of the Month Geoff (and Carly!), much appreciated... and now blogged everywhere! : )

as for the tips being too basic... the answers pretty simple - just ignore the basic ones if your ability surpasses them and get something out of the features that are more to your own personal level.

For sure there will be plenty of beginners out there that most likely would love the baby step tips.

[Geoff Harris]

Thanks everyone - i think we did mess up a bit here, we shouldn't have used the word "pro"

sorry, we'll be more careful next time and will take the comments onboard

hopefully the tips were still useful and the other stuff - and good interview, mr mortram!

Geoff