Question for the Pros

Retro

Senior Member
In your experience, when pros and other experts see an obvious newbie with a $2,000 or $3,000 body, do they look down on them and think "Oh, look! More money than brains!", or do they look at them with a D800 around their neck and think, "Well, he's got a lot of room to grow with that. More power to him."?
 

480sparky

Senior Member
I couldn't care less what someone else uses. As long as they get the results they want, how much they spend to do so is none of my concern.
 

Marcel

Happily retired
Staff member
Super Mod
My question to you, since you've asked is: Who do you want to impress? Other photographers? Paying customers won't be hiring you because you own a D2400610. If they do, then they make a bad choice.

What are you using now? Is there any gear you have missed in a paid shoot? Why do you thing a better camera would help your sales?

I think only you can answer these questions, and only after honestly answering them can you get what you need, not what we think you need.
 

Pretzel

Senior Member
I think... "Wow, nice camera" and nothing more. If I wanna know whether or not they're a "pro", I'll look at their work, not the equipment they used to shoot it. Any of today's DSLR's, in the hands of someone that knows how to shoot, can produce an image to WOW the masses.

Now, when I see a high school kid driving an Audi R8... I'm jealous. ;)
 

Retro

Senior Member
I doubt that I will ever make money with a camera. Over the years I have heard that the market is saturated, and many professionals who hired photographers in past decades have bought digital point and shoots and take the pictures themselves. Demand for real photographers has been vaporized. The boss comes to your office and says "I bought you a camera", and you're now doing the job of two people.

How many have bought a camera with the dream of one day working for National Geographic? (That is something I would do, so I'm not mocking.)

I've been working hard at building my skill set for retirement. I don't know if I will be able to leave when I am eligible - March of 2016 - but I have to aim for it. Delays only give me more time to add skills and make more money.

I just got my hunting license in December, and I've passed both PAL exams. I'll be able to send in my application as soon as I get a form back from the RCMP. I also have both my Aeronautical and Maritime Restricted Operator's Certificates, boater's card, and I've been working on my Amatuer Radio license. When I'm able, I also want a private pilot's license. I just finished the trapper's course, and will soon be a certified trapper. I just need to send in a form to the OFMF. (No more courses!!!! AAAaagh!)

Anyone who's lived north of Sudbury should be able to imagine how all of the above, or any three of the above, could come together in one occupation. All of that without a bag of Nikon equipment, and some decent skills, just doesn't seem right. Whether I will volunteer for an organization, or work for money, I can't say. Any bozo can fly over a lake and take a picture. If you have something unique to offer, or just have the freedom to do what others wish they could do, you can make a go of it, and get a few bills in your pocket.

Many of the qualifications I mentioned might only create the opportunity to get in the right place at the right time with a camera, just to take that great shot that makes a difference. Many others will have the camera, but not the opportunity.

All I know is I want to be outdoors, and I want to have fun!

And btw, speaking without any real experience, my favorite kind of photography will be extreme wide angle, rectal linear. I really hate fisheye, but I will enjoy getting great shots with a 14mm lens.
 
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Retro

Senior Member
I think... "Wow, nice camera" and nothing more. If I wanna know whether or not they're a "pro", I'll look at their work, not the equipment they used to shoot it. Any of today's DSLR's, in the hands of someone that knows how to shoot, can produce an image to WOW the masses.

Now, when I see a high school kid driving an Audi R8... I'm jealous. ;)

If you saw me with D810 and looked at my work, you would think I was a pro. When you talked to me about the craft, you would realize that I'm not.
 

skene

Senior Member
If you saw me with D810 and looked at my work, you would think I was a pro. When you talked to me about the craft, you would realize that I'm not.

Don't put too much emphasis on something like that. As many pros would also forget the photo jargon or pause for thought when asked, but when doing a setup prior to a shot it's all second nature. So realize that there are those people that speak/discuss/teach a bit more often, so terminology is often used. So they can more than likely give you the answers you seek.
 

Retro

Senior Member
"Rectal linear"! LOL I believe the word you're looking for is rectilinear. :)

I always wondered about that, Fotojack! I've never seen the term in print. I've only heard it spoken. I've never spent time around other photographers to have known better. I always wondered, jokingly, "What does this type of lens have to do with my r*****?"

Thank you. That is the first time I've seen it correctly.
 

Eyelight

Senior Member
I like the quote that goes something like, "We wouldn't worry about what other people think if we realized how seldom they do."
 

AC016

Senior Member
I can never say it enough: content is king. There are plenty of people who shoot with a D800 or a D4 and should not be, simply because they are not deploying their work in a way that would bring out the qualities of either camera. If all you're doing is putting stuff up on the web, what the heck is the point of owning a D4 or a D800 for that matter? On the other hand, if someone wants to blow thousands of dollars on a piece of equipment just because they can say they have the "high end" stuff, hey, it's their money. It's kind of like some of the guys around here who buy top of the line pick-ups, but never use them for their intended purpose or to their full potential. All they do is go to work and back home. In the end, it's a personal choice and if you have more money then sense, alright. Output (the photos) will be the judge in the end. D800, D750, D4... i don't care. As Shania once said, "it don't impress me much." What you make with the camera is what i care about.
 

Moab Man

Senior Member
I think nice camera. Although I do cringe if it's in full auto, but only because I think of what that camera could do. However, I don't begrudge them. If you have the money for the worlds most expensive point and shoot it's yours to spend.
 

Whiskeyman

Senior Member
The "good" professional may buy and use the latest equipment, but if they don't, it's not what is stopping them from getting the shot. They are more concerned with the light in the shot than anything else. The best of them is ready to help improve a shot when asked, using constructive criticism. Usually, the equipment is never brought up, unless they have a specific question about something.

WM
 

Blacktop

Senior Member
In your experience, when pros and other experts see an obvious newbie with a $2,000 or $3,000 body, do they look down on them and think "Oh, look! More money than brains!", or do they look at them with a D800 around their neck and think, "Well, he's got a lot of room to grow with that. More power to him."?

It's all in your mind Mr.Lunatic.

A "pro" wouldn't really care about what camera you're using. Besides, where are you shooting at with all these pros around, and how do you even know that they are pros? Also what makes yo think that they are looking at you and your camera?

When I go out to shoot on the weekends, I hardly see anyone else out, let alone a pro. I was shooting at some bison (also called buffalo) last month, when a guy in a Beemer pulled up, rolled the windows down and stuck out a long white lens from the drivers seat, took a few shots and left..

He said hello, but never looked at my long black lens or my 7100. Must have not been a "PRO". Damn..I sooo wanted to ask him questions about shooting buffalo from a Beemer with a long white lens..
 
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fotojack

Senior Member
I always wondered about that, Fotojack! I've never seen the term in print. I've only heard it spoken. I've never spent time around other photographers to have known better. I always wondered, jokingly, "What does this type of lens have to do with my r*****?"

Thank you. That is the first time I've seen it correctly.


hehehe...no problem, bud. That's why they call me Captain Grammar. :)

rec·ti·lin·e·ar
ˌrektəˈlinēər/
adjective
adjective: rectilinear; adjective: rectilineal

  • contained by, consisting of, or moving in a straight line or lines.
    "a rectilinear waveform"

    • Photography
      of or relating to a straight line or lines.
      "rectilinear distortion"


    • Photography
      (of a wide-angle lens) corrected as much as possible, so that straight lines in the subject appear straight in the image.






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