Ever felt like giving free advice while encountering other hobbyists (strangers)?

[dennisc]

not as bad as what I saw yesterday: people who use a 5d mk3 + and L 16-35mm and shoots with tripod and flash in bright daylight, but they're rich students obviously, whatever makes them happy lah... hehe another was shooting landscapes @ blue hour handheld, nothing wrong with that too, but I prefer to plop the cam on top of a trashcan or a short pillar (there's a lot there yesterday), for small aperture and long shutter but they chose to hold on hand. again whatever makes them happy but I like my pics clear and steady.
Missy, maybe that guy wants to take silhouette of the plastic flower, who knows he's got a good artistic eye... :bsmilie:

 

[daredevil123]

Only in one situation I offered advice...

THere was a dude and his gf/wife shooting at an old temple and he is firing his flash non stop at night... since he is beside me and standing slight behind, he was blinding me with his flash... I couldn't help but tell him his flash is useless and to up his ISO...

If he is not blinding me non-stop, I wouldn't have bothered.

 

[dennisc]

Oh ya, classic example which I also noticed from my outing yesterday was shooting landscapes with int dslr flash popping up. But actually I'm envious because I don't even have a built in flash that pops up auto on landscapes...

 

[banana0ne]

Free advice is okay, just need to ask...

 

[Thoth]

Free advice is okay, just need to ask...

I think as a noob, like myself, would really appreciate if seniors can advise me on d spot at times when not able to shoot to the effect I want. Cheers. Tatz me personally though, and probably for most noobs... Photography shouldnt be a lonely journey...

 

[Chillibomber]

Hi seniors, sempais, friends and fellow clubsnappers,

I am wondering if any of you have felt compelled to give free advice or share photography tips with other hobbyists while out on shooting trips.

Now just to put things in perspective I am not an accomplished photographer. but I can't tahan when people are not aware of how the light falls and get poor results and keep frowning at their camera. Do any of you sometimes do feel like putting people out of their "misery"?

eg. Yesterday, I was at Marina Barrage in the afternoon. I saw a guy with a very very nice gear : what seems to be a 5D (not sure which version) - with no built in flash - and a L lens (seemed to be 70-200 F4 L ). He was with his girlfriend who looks photogenic enough, and carrying a bunch of plastic flowers (i know the flowers is irrelevant). ok to the relevant part: he was shooting his gf with the sun behind her (4pm blazing summer sun no clouds) and no flashgun and no onboard flash (because DSLR don't have).

I think if I shot like that with the most expensive camera in the world, the gf would still look underexposed? (not sure if 5D have a mode "backlighted" mode like some PnS have?). In any case this seemed to be the cause of his dissatisfied pictures because he kept shaking his head... then proceeding to repeat the same shooting angle with his gf backlit by the sun. :sweat:

I watched for a while and felt like telling him he would do better with some fill flash, or to change the angle.

What would you do?

I decided to respect him and mind my own biz. :bsmilie:

I really felt like telling him, but too paiseh. Not nice for me to suggest to him in front of his gf wait he lose face?

If you are confident to share your tips subtlely, i think you should go ahead. If not, our local culture is really "mind your own buiness", so try at your own risk. Good gears can also be used by people who dont have matching skills.

I remember helping to take some photos for my church camp in 1993. It was a small church so the expectation was just to have someone take some pictures with a point-and-shoot camera. I had a classmate who generously lent me a slr so that i could have better chance. Later, i found out from a church friend that the gears were very high end - Nikon F4 with a f2.8 zoom (i think it was 35-70mm). Haha, wasted on me cos i only leave it in programme mode thoughout as advised by my classmate. But photos still much better than using my own compact then.

 

[rhino123]

I think as a noob, like myself, would really appreciate if seniors can advise me on d spot at times when not able to shoot to the effect I want. Cheers. Tatz me personally though, and probably for most noobs... Photography shouldnt be a lonely journey...

If u ask, I would think most people are willing to share or help you up.

Like what many had pointed out, we do not normally go telling people how to shoot their photos because none of us know whether the shooter himself was capable to doing what he wanted to do and what he/she was trying to capture.

 

[rhino123]

I think if I shot like that with the most expensive camera in the world, the gf would still look underexposed? (not sure if 5D have a mode "backlighted" mode like some PnS have?). In any case this seemed to be the cause of his dissatisfied pictures because he kept shaking his head... then proceeding to repeat the same shooting angle with his gf backlit by the sun. :sweat:

I watched for a while and felt like telling him he would do better with some fill flash, or to change the angle.

Basically from your given example... well, like what many had pointed out... you do not know what that guy is trying to do... and to get a correct exposure at that situation, you do not need a fill flash (or change angle or what ever, there are a couple of ways to do it right, which for all you know, that guy is practicing that.)

For example

1) Correctly expose his girlfriend and let everything else get overexposed, and it might be what he is doing.
2) Get a few exposure, then do HDR later on.

So, as you see, that might be what that fella is doing, and if you jump in and give what you think is right, you might end up looking like the 'wrong' one.

 

[blive]

Unless the guy asked, I don't think I am in a position to give advice. I will just focus on my own photos. Of course, if he asked me to take photo of them, I would gladly do so

There's a time and place to say and do things.

 

[sinned79]

its always good to MYOB in real life.

 

[banana0ne]

I think as a noob, like myself, would really appreciate if seniors can advise me on d spot at times when not able to shoot to the effect I want. Cheers. Tatz me personally though, and probably for most noobs... Photography shouldnt be a lonely journey...

Ask and thy shall be answered. Hehe.

Nobody knows what you know and what you are not. Might end up the person giving advice to be wrong in the end...

 

[ZerocoolAstra]

Hi seniors, sempais, friends and fellow clubsnappers,

I am wondering if any of you have felt compelled to give free advice or share photography tips with other hobbyists while out on shooting trips.

Now just to put things in perspective I am not an accomplished photographer. but I can't tahan when people are not aware of how the light falls and get poor results and keep frowning at their camera. Do any of you sometimes do feel like putting people out of their "misery"?

eg. Yesterday, I was at Marina Barrage in the afternoon. I saw a guy with a very very nice gear : what seems to be a 5D (not sure which version) - with no built in flash - and a L lens (seemed to be 70-200 F4 L ). He was with his girlfriend who looks photogenic enough, and carrying a bunch of plastic flowers (i know the flowers is irrelevant). ok to the relevant part: he was shooting his gf with the sun behind her (4pm blazing summer sun no clouds) and no flashgun and no onboard flash (because DSLR don't have).

I think if I shot like that with the most expensive camera in the world, the gf would still look underexposed? (not sure if 5D have a mode "backlighted" mode like some PnS have?). In any case this seemed to be the cause of his dissatisfied pictures because he kept shaking his head... then proceeding to repeat the same shooting angle with his gf backlit by the sun. :sweat:

I watched for a while and felt like telling him he would do better with some fill flash, or to change the angle.

What would you do?

I decided to respect him and mind my own biz. :bsmilie:

I really felt like telling him, but too paiseh. Not nice for me to suggest to him in front of his gf wait he lose face?

I think you did the right thing by not interfering in that fella's shoot.
Quite often, good intentions get misinterpreted as you trying to be a busybody.
If you really are keen to help, I find that smiling and asking "everything all right?" does the trick most of the time. Even if they don't need your help, they would be less likely to react negatively.
Do it at your own risk of course A nasty reaction could easily ruin your whole outing.

 

[Thoth]

Yeah... Asking will alwayz b good... but sometimes equally paisei as the those who wanna advise to... LOL

 

[Shizuma]

I think Clubsnap should design a "Newbie" t - shirt. wear already, can get free advice. Idea?

 

[Thoth]

I think Clubsnap should design a "Newbie" t - shirt. wear already, can get free advice. Idea?

Yes... It should read "Clubsnap Noob Here!! Please teach me!!" LOL

 

[rhino123]

I think... even if you put a Newbie on your T-shirt, still nobody will help you voluntarily. The offers still stands... If you have problem, ask and people will help. If paiseh, then too bad. Because nobody know what you are doing or whether you are doing it right.

Plus I believe most people would not like someone to keep hounding them or looking over their shoulders and comment on every single thing they do... I know I don't want that.

 

[flipfreak]

i have a habit of shaking my head when i take pics. sometimes i do get people offering their 2 cents worth to me.

most of the time the advice is either off the mark or doesn't apply to what i want to shoot. -_-"

 

[shark78]

i have a habit of shaking my head when i take pics. sometimes i do get people offering their 2 cents worth to me.

most of the time the advice is either off the mark or doesn't apply to what i want to shoot. -_-"

strange habit. but sometime i do tat too...

 

[ricohflex]

Mai kay kiang.

Don't be a kay poh.

Better not go around giving uncalled for advice to strangers, as though we know everything.

I have shot a photo like that and it won a prize in a photo competition.

I knew what I was doing and exposed correctly.

I took that photo with a L lens properly shielded by the proprietary lens hood made for that lens.

 

[daredevil123]

Oh ya, classic example which I also noticed from my outing yesterday was shooting landscapes with int dslr flash popping up. But actually I'm envious because I don't even have a built in flash that pops up auto on landscapes...

dude.. that dude was using a 580 EX II at FULL power... my eyes hurt after the 5th or 6th time he fired off the flash.. and it came with pre-flashes too...