Will you be willing to talk about your camera?


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renzokuken

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Sep 13, 2009
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went to the night safari with my friends today..
suddenly a professional photographer hired by the zoo came up to us and ask for a photo to be taken... we agree and let him took the shot...

after taking our photo i proceeded to ask this question while he is reviewing the picture
"may i ask what is the model of your camera"

the professional photographer gave me a "wtf" look and answered "nikon" reluctantly..
i mean i know its nikon
what i'm asking is what model no. it is...

this happened at the entrance.... not at the tram area... we were approached by him between the bus stop and the night safari entrance

so my question to you guys is
Are you comfortable to talk about your equipment???
and
Is it rude to ask what equipment people are using??

was i to blamed? i'm still a novice at photography .. so there might be customs that i am not aware of
 

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nah, its quite common for other photographers to talk about equipment.. esp if you're holding on to something expensive, seldom seen or weird looking (like TLRs)
 

i'm actually not really comfortable to answer that kind of question :)
especially when you're posting some photos, then people like ask you... "what camera are you using ah?"
it just seems like you're thinking that the photos is like that because of the camera.. not because of the person taking it...
but i will still answer it anyway :)

but i know some people like to be asked that kind of question... so they can show-off the list of their equipments even until the smallest things ;)
 

I'm not sure it necessarily applies in this situation but I'm usually slightly wary because usually one or two questions later will come, how much did that cost then?

I never know what to say with that but I usually give a vague answer like "too much" rather than give the true value because I just wonder if it's not a thief magnet.

I suspect in your situation the feller is just wary about being distracted from working. Personally I've got no problem talking if I'm not in the middle of something, but if I'm on a job and need to concentrate then it just gets annoying if someone's trying to make conversation about photographic equipment. Usually most casual people will have the good sense to let you get on with your work, but often, and the ones that ask the photographic type questions fall into this category more often than not, some will want to keep asking you all sorts of questions because they have this idea that you know a lot more about photography than they do. Or photographic equipment.
 

I'm not sure it necessarily applies in this situation but I'm usually slightly wary because usually one or two questions later will come, how much did that cost then?

I never know what to say with that but I usually give a vague answer like "too much" rather than give the true value because I just wonder if it's not a thief magnet.

I suspect in your situation the feller is just wary about being distracted from working. Personally I've got no problem talking if I'm not in the middle of something, but if I'm on a job and need to concentrate then it just gets annoying if someone's trying to make conversation about photographic equipment. Usually most casual people will have the good sense to let you get on with your work, but often, and the ones that ask the photographic type questions fall into this category more often than not, some will want to keep asking you all sorts of questions because they have this idea that you know a lot more about photography than they do. Or photographic equipment.
i see
well honest i won't ask him more than 2 questions even if he replied me with a friendly smile...
my point of view was
he took a picture of us for his client , the zoo...
the least he could do was to be friendly with us..

well but what you says make sense too... he's working afterall
 

i'm actually not really comfortable to answer that kind of question :)
especially when you're posting some photos, then people like ask you... "what camera are you using ah?"
it just seems like you're thinking that the photos is like that because of the camera.. not because of the person taking it...
but i will still answer it anyway :)

but i know some people like to be asked that kind of question... so they can show-off the list of their equipments even until the smallest things ;)

no la... he wasn't posting any photos
and he didn't even showed us the photos
the photos was for his client... if it is really that bad... i think he will not show to his client at all
 

hum a bit hard to say, my friend always ask me about this and I am aware that the money that I spend for my DSLR will make them thinking that I waste too much money for it. So sometimes not really comfortable to answer especially if the one who are asking is not familiar with DSLR world
 

hum a bit hard to say, my friend always ask me about this and I am aware that the money that I spend for my DSLR will make them thinking that I waste too much money for it. So sometimes not really comfortable to answer especially if the one who are asking is not familiar with DSLR world

oh?

well, most people who ask about the price, i tell them the truth, and they're surprised.

they say "not more than that?" and i say, "yeah"

maybe it's because i use pentax. :bsmilie::bsmilie::bsmilie:
 

oh?

well, most people who ask about the price, i tell them the truth, and they're surprised.

they say "not more than that?" and i say, "yeah"

maybe it's because i use pentax. :bsmilie::bsmilie::bsmilie:

lucky for you... hahaha... but I love to share if the person who asked is know about DSLR.

maybe I just need to adapt to this condition
 

I think if he wasn't comfortable answering, he could just say so, instead of giving you a du-lan look... If someone talks to me while I'll at work, I know they are just trying to be friendly or making conversation... if they delve into a topic I don't wish to talk about, I'll just give them a vague reply or tell them I'm not comfortable answering... so I don't see what's the point of his attitude...
 

My guess will be he is a professional photographer with a low EQ. He may be good at taking photos but not good at dealing with people. You see too many good technical people be it computer or other profession who can do the job well but are not good in handling customers or clients.
 

My guess will be he is a professional photographer with a low EQ. He may be good at taking photos but not good at dealing with people. You see too many good technical people be it computer or other profession who can do the job well but are not good in handling customers or clients.

Good point.
 

when I'm at work, if people ask me about my gear or photography, I will just answer as briefly as I can, if the conversation go on, I will tell them I'm at work now, I would love to share with them at some other time, but this is not the right time. I'm hired to shoot now.
 

the least he could do was to be friendly with us..

Absolutely I'm not necessarily condoning his behaviour.

I think it's a difficult one to call. The problem might also stretch to the level that if you were a professional lawyer, doctor, engineer, architect, etc, and someone came up to you without the training but thought they were some armchair expert on your profession, I suspect many people would get slightly annoyed. This is clouded for the photographic profession as so many people have some sort of knowledge about the photographer's profession.

I love talking about my work, technique, photos, gear with other photographers when I'm in the right environment. Usually when I'm cornered it's at football matches where I worry about the sobriety of the person, where I usually have about $25k worth of stuff on me, and usually I'm trying to wire on the laptop.

Now if someone makes conversation in a different setting such as when I'm shooting a wedding then usually I'm a lot more forthcoming, unless it's at an inopportune moment. If I'm sitting at a table eating with no immediate work on the horizon then I'll talk as much as the guest wants, even if it's about point and shoots or whatever. In the latter situation [1] I'm not being distracted from doing my job [2] it's part of the job as much as anything else to be a friendly, sociable face.

You could argue that your zoo situation is similar to the wedding example, and in many ways it is.

Again, I'm not defending the photographer... but just to get people to see all sides... to you he was rude because you asked one question and might have asked a second question. But he's there maybe 9 hours a day, 5 days a week, and might get asked that question several times a day. Seeing how intrigued the Singapore population seems to be with technology, I can see this as a distinct possibility. So your question might be the tenth time he'd be asked the same question that day.

Just to be clear [1] I'm not saying this was what happened, and [2] I'm not excusing a less than polite response.
 

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he prob thot tht u dnt know anything abt cameras, so tell u so much also no use.

y he think this way leh, i really dnt know :dunno:
 

talk about my camera... sure, i'm alway happy to share some info, no problems.

i couldn't really care if it was a cheap as chips p&s or an entry level dslr or some ancient "film" camera, if someone were to ask me it shows that they're interested and i'm happy to oblige. (i might even learn something as well.)
 

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To people face front, yes. In this forum, no.
 

My guess will be he is a professional photographer with a low EQ. He may be good at taking photos but not good at dealing with people. You see too many good technical people be it computer or other profession who can do the job well but are not good in handling customers or clients.

I like your point :)

when I'm at work, if people ask me about my gear or photography, I will just answer as briefly as I can, if the conversation go on, I will tell them I'm at work now, I would love to share with them at some other time, but this is not the right time. I'm hired to shoot now.

I would hope most, if not all, pro photographer can be like this.
If I am being asked, I will tell them the camera model. also will just answer briefly
 

I would even give them the cam's serial number and warranty card number.
 

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