I'm a photographer!

[SelfEmployedDebtFree]

OK, So I'm not really. I barely know the basics. Just read.
I was at a historical tour the other night and I wanted some pictures of the Wright Brothers plane. I've got my bright red Pentax K-x, and I'm looking for any little excuse to experiment with my newest toy.
So a couple people walk up with pocket cameras and snap a picture. (That was me 2 months ago)
No one even gives them a look.
I open the bag (I'm using a point and shoot bag, because I like the small size of the bag.) and pull out this big bright red camera. I wasn't trying to cause any attention, but people immediately start watching me. So I snap a few pictures as nonchalantly as possible. I then walk over and try to get a few better angles. I'm not doing ANYTHING that would draw any attention to myself. (Honestly)
But I notice I have nearly as much attention in the room as the guide. The guide then finishes the spill a few seconds later, and turns to me and says "Excuse me, would you mind taking a picture of me for my class? I'm a school teacher." So I agreed. She then compliments my camera and asks me if I'm a photographer. I said "No. I'm a newbie at the whole photography thing. Its just an expensive toy so far."
She asks me to email her some pictures of the exhibits because she hasn't been able to get any pictures that she likes.

The moral of the story is. "Wow! You get attention with a camera like this!"
Even if you don't know what the heck your doing with it.

But I must admit there's a certain sense of cool factor to being the only person in the room with a DSLR.

I once read somewhere that once you get a DSLR, everyone immediately thinks your a photographer.

 

[omghidanielle]

I know how you feel!

When the Phillies won the Nationals to go to the World Series this past year, I grabbed my camera, and ran out to the popular intersection by my house to take some pictures of drunk people being insane.

There was a group of incredibly inebriated individuals who kept following me around, asking if I worked for the news. I was like, "Yeah, totally...now show me your best Utley!". I was able to easily manipulate them to basically pose however I wanted.

Too bad I had recently purchased the camera, and didn't have much experience shooting in low light, so many of them didn't turn out

 

[disneyboy2003]

Congratulations, and welcome to "the club"! ...just kidding.

The only corollary to that is that security guards will also hassle you about being "a photographer" when they see your camera, and they'll totally ignore everyone else who have point-and-shoot cameras around you.

 

[TheGoofster]

My son has at least one basketball game every week, and for the most part, I always go and bring my Nikon D5000 with me. People look at me like I'm some kind of professional photographer, carrying around this big ol' camera with a telephoto lens attached to it. In fact the team pretty much considers me the team's personal photographer. And even though I suppose I do have more experience / understanding than most of the people there, I can't help but laugh when I think about what the truth really is.

 

[JoeDif]

Want to really mess with people? Next time you are at a family gathering outside and someone asks you to take a group photo, just say "OK but I'll need to wait for the light to change a bit"

 

[Ashmanarion]

I took some pictures at a waterfront a couple weekends ago where I had a big backpack on me and was changing lenses with my wife helping. A couple walks by and the guy turns around and walks back to ask if we do weddings. I tell him that I'm simply amateur and don't know much yet, but I recommend some decent photographers around our area. We see the same couple later on, and he again stops and asks us if we can do their wedding. I felt very good for being asked but it was only because I have a DSLR and "looked" like a photographer. That's a great story you have though!

 

[nigelp]

Congrats on getting the red Pentax K-x.

There seems to be quite a few dis-boarders with the red one. My wife has just bought one and I'm wondering how many red ones are out there?

 

[SrisonS]

Cool story!!!! Thanks for sharing.

Whenever I have my dslr out, and am walking around Disney, I seem to get more requestS of people asking me to take their picture (with their camera of course). I don't know if I look more "professional", or just a lonely o' sap with nothing better to do (I'm there alone sometimes).

But one time, I asked a cast member to do a pin trading pose; and she defintely made me feel professional. She was estatic that I asked, and was even wondering if she should pose a certain way or not. That pic and the rest of the story is in my blog in my sig.

 

[WDWFigment]

I have been asked if I am a PhotoPass photographer or if I'm a pro a number of times. My standard response is, "ha, no...I'm just a dude with a big camera."

 

[DznyFan]

Yes! So true, all these comments and stories. I guess there's just something about wandering around anywhere with a big(ger) camera - lots of looks. And what about the 'lens envy' looks - you know, the one where the other 'photographers' are sizing up your setup, you catch that glance out of the corner of your eye... (while you're secretly checking out their gear at the same time)

 

[disneyboy2003]

I mentioned this story a couple weeks ago, so if you've already read this, please skip to the next reply.

I was at an event where this woman was carrying around her Nikon and a HUGE lens, walking all around taking pictures of this & that. She would spend most of her time outside, but sometimes she's come inside to take photos, too. I was totally intimidated by her & her huge lens.

Well, I finally got the courage to go up to talk to her. She's a news photographer, and she was carrying the 70-200mm lens, which is a very popular $2000+ lens.

She was trying to take photos of something indoors in the lower lighting area, but she kept getting frustrated at how blurry her pictures were turning out. And she didn't know how to fix it.

Turns out, she was using the "P" mode (Program mode, which is a little more advanced than regular Auto mode) the whole time. The shutter speed that her camera was choosing was WAY too slow for the situation, causing all her indoor pictures to be blurry. I could even HEAR the shutter speed clicking slooooowly.

So I suggested that she switch her setting to Manual, and I suggested a somewhat faster shutter speed (about 1/30 - 1/60), and she was totally thrilled that the indoor pictures were finally turning out!

She's had her Nikon camera for a year. As much as she loved the camera, she admitted that she was gonna to take a Nikon class later on to learn about the camera.

What got to me was that (1) she was making money as a news photographer, and didn't know how to take photos in more complicated lighting situations, whereas I'm hanging around doing this as a hobby, and I was teaching her how to use her camera, and (2) just cuz someone's walking around with a HUGE lens doesn't mean they know what they're doing.

In the end, it is possible to have all this dSLR gear and pretend like you know what you're doing. ("you" in the general sense, not "you" specifically)

When I looked back at everything, I felt really silly being intimidated by her & her huge lens.
​

 

[mabas9395]

Get a photog vest and a monopod and you can pretty much go where you want and people will just move out of your way.

 

[JoeDif]

Get a photog vest and a monopod and you can pretty much go where you want and people will just move out of your way.

 

[SelfEmployedDebtFree]

When I looked back at everything, I felt really silly being intimidated by her & her huge lens.

This morning I showed my wife the 500mm lens (about 14" long) I found on CL, and I told her that I was going to call the guy and get the lens.
She looked at the picture of this little camera and LONG lens and said "OK Jack Sparrow"

 

[disneyboy2003]

This morning I showed my wife the 500mm lens (about 14" long) I found on CL, and I told her that I was going to call the guy and get the lens.
She looked at the picture of this little camera and LONG lens and said "OK Jack Sparrow"

500mm? That's *nothing* compared to the Canon 800mm lens (about 18.1" long):

Or, you can opt for the Canon 1200mm lens (32.9"), which is no longer in production, but you can buy used:

The Canon 1200mm lens, right next to its baby sister the Canon 800mm lens.​

If these don't scream "PHOTOGRAPHER", I don't know what will.

 

[MICKEY88]

500mm? That's *nothing* compared to the Canon 800mm lens (about 18.1" long):

Or, you can opt for the Canon 1200mm lens (32.9"), which is no longer in production, but you can buy used:

The Canon 1200mm lens, right next to its baby sister the Canon 800mm lens.​

If these don't scream "PHOTOGRAPHER", I don't know what will.

maybe this lens, that I shot at the Astronauts hall of fame in cape canaveral.. 2000mm

 

[MICKEY88]

my favorite story occured this past january at WDW, after 2 weeks of guests asking me to take their photos, and a few cast members including security mistaking me for photopass, my last night I was in the magic kingdom waiting for spectro to start, I had my back to the train station, off to the right, eaning against a lamp post, I hear this woman saying " are you leaning against that lamp post" I slowly turned and said "maybe", she very gruffly said, "well you were and we are not allowed to do that", so I said I was sorry, then she asked what was up with the jewelry I was wearing, and said" we are not allowed to wear more than one ring, and no bracelets...

at that point I realized she thought I was a cast member, so I calmly looked at her and said and I don't work for disney,
she said" you don't"
I said you as a supervisor should have known better, do any of your photographers carry 2 cameras... do any of them have facial hair, Walt didn't like that, she turned all red and started to apologize,I told her I was used to it after 2 weeks of guests asking me to take their photo.
right about then a family walked up on my left, the mother said excuse me, so I looked at the disney supervisor, and said, watch this.
the mother then asked if I could take their photo, I smiled and said I could, but I don't work for disney, and pointed her in the direction of a nearby photopass photog.

the supervisor then said" you weren't kidding" we then talked for a while and she apologized several more times before walking away..

 

[Experiment_626]

I have been asked if I am a PhotoPass photographer or if I'm a pro a number of times.

That happens to me probably half a dozen times every day I'm in the parks, especially if I'm using my tripod and wearing a Disney Hawaiian shirt (as I usually am, on both counts). Sometimes the people who approach me speak little or no English, which makes declining their Photopass card a bit tricky.

I'm usually willing to take someone's photo with their own camera -- but I'm always careful to explain that I don't work for Disney.

 

[WVDisGeek]

While I am most definately NOT a professional photographer, when I have my K200 with a battery grip, large hotshoe flash and a monopod, people always seem to assume that I am. The one good part of all of that is people do tend to move out of the frame if they see you trying to shoot something!

In December, I was at WL and while my DW had gone to be early, I decided to try walking around to get some night shots of the waterfall and the lodge from outside. I had the camera on a tripod with the flash and my Sigma 17-70. I can't tell you the number of times other folks would just walk up and watch while I was shooting and then ask if I worked for Disney or what magazine I was working for. Kind of crazy...if they only knew the truth!!!

 

[Groucho]

Congrats on getting the red Pentax K-x.

There seems to be quite a few dis-boarders with the red one. My wife has just bought one and I'm wondering how many red ones are out there?

There's a shot in my latest trip report of two of 'em on a table at Columbia Harbour House. (My wife's and ukcatfan's.) It gets a good amount of attention and it just happens to be a terrific little camera, too; why not get a fun color? I have heard that it is a big seller, maybe even the most popular color. IIRC it was Amazon's #7 top seller in Photography recently; the only non-C/N DSLR in the top 10.