Your Camera Takes Good Pictures!

[wenrob]

Ahhhhhhhh!!!!! This is a direct quote:

"They are the most gorgeous photos ever, im so jealous of your camera it takes beautiful pictures and the models are adorable."

I belong to a private Mommy board and we all have our own photo threads. I get this constantly. I'm usually a combination of amused and insulted and really don't know what to say to that. Yes, my camera does take good pictures but dam*it I'm the one who has to get everything right so it will do so.

What are your stories with this? What are your come backs?

 

[JR6ooo4]

"... it sure does. But unless I help it a little bit, all the pictures it takes are of the back of a lens cap"

Mikeeee

 

[Steve's Girl]

The camera is just a tool (although a really good one!) in the hands of a craftsman....errrr craftswoman!

 

[jann1033]

some cameras do take better photos than others even in auto so it's not really an insult. it could be someone with a low end camera...and cute models do make a better photo than ugly ones i think what you said is a good come back. "yes it does but i work hard to get the image just how i want the camera to take it"

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Yes, I've heard it, too, like you just pick up the same type of camera and it magically happens. (Don't we wish!)

The other time I hear this is with my dog. People comment how "good" she is; that they "wish their dog could be so good". What they don't realize is how much time and effort I've invested into training and socialization techniques over the past two decades. (And what a run my current dog has given me for my money! )

 

[wenrob]

some cameras do take better photos than others even in auto so it's not really an insult. it could be someone with a low end camera...and cute models do make a better photo than ugly ones i think what you said is a good come back. "yes it does but i work hard to get the image just how i want the camera to take it"

I can agree with that up to a point. My full auto shot next to her full auto shot is going to be better but it's me busting my butt this past year or so that makes those pictures beautiful. I know people don't realize what they're saying but it still makes me nuts, lol.
Years ago, DH and I remodeled the kitchen in our old house. I designed that kitchen right down to the custom island w/bar.I picked the colors, the tile, the counter tops, the cabinets, the doors the everything. I worked right alongside him to put it together. Do you know to this day everyone says what a good job he did, not what we did. I know I did more then contribute but it still irritates me. That's how I feel when someone says, "Your camera takes great pictures." I think I deserve a smidgen of credit for it.

 

[boBQuincy]

I like the reply from "What the Duck": "Thanks, your mouth makes really nice compliments."

 

[YesDear]

I also love the comments when they see the camera that it must take really good pictures. And it always amazes me when I have the 70-200 on the camera it just attracts attention.

I did enjoy it when in Nassau last fall at the aquarium at Paradise Island. A woman was trying to take a picture with her P&S though the glass at a lionfish. SHe was complaining that it was too dark and he moved too fast. I had a 10.5 on my D300 and bumped up the iso and took a picture that came out very nice. I just put the lens against the glass. I showed it to her and she of course told her husband they needed to get a good!!! Camera!

 

[DisGal520]

I would never take the comment in the wrong way. While at MVMCP during the evening castle light show I was taking a lot of photos of the light changes.

A couple behind us could see through my LCD screen how sharp and bright some of the images were. So when they asked what kind of camera, I was more than willing to share the model number and even demo'd a couple of the features.

Sometimes people just don't know how to ask when they see a displayed photo on these boards.

 

[rtphokie]

Ahhhhhhhh!!!!! This is a direct quote:

"They are the most gorgeous photos ever, im so jealous of your camera it takes beautiful pictures and the models are adorable."

I belong to a private Mommy board and we all have our own photo threads. I get this constantly. I'm usually a combination of amused and insulted and really don't know what to say to that. Yes, my camera does take good pictures but dam*it I'm the one who has to get everything right so it will do so.

What are your stories with this? What are your come backs?

And Hendrix's guitar made good music too.

 

[webshark3]

 

[jann1033]

I also love the comments when they see the camera that it must take really good pictures. And it always amazes me when I have the 70-200 on the camera it just attracts attention.

I did enjoy it when in Nassau last fall at the aquarium at Paradise Island. A woman was trying to take a picture with her P&S though the glass at a lionfish. SHe was complaining that it was too dark and he moved too fast. I had a 10.5 on my D300 and bumped up the iso and took a picture that came out very nice. I just put the lens against the glass. I showed it to her and she of course told her husband they needed to get a good!!! Camera!

sorry not saying you don't take good photos but doesn't this prove the point? are you saying her point and shoot should be able to take the same kind of shot as your d300???????? a $200+ camera should be able to take the same photo as a $2000 camera?
if so, lots of money is being wasted on lenses and dslrs

 

[annnewjerz]

sorry not saying you don't take good photos but doesn't this prove the point? are you saying her point and shoot should be able to take the same kind of shot as your d300???????? a $200+ camera should be able to take the same photo as a $2000 camera?
if so, lots of money is being wasted on lenses and dslrs

What I took away from that was that A. yes, John had the nicer camera so obviously it was going to take a nicer quality photo regardless, but B. he knew to boost the ISO because it was dark, he knew to put the lens on the glass to avoid any glare, etc. etc. Those are things that a good photographer would know to do, regardless of the camera they were using.

Even if you put the D300 in the other person's hands, they might have gotten a better photo than they did with their P&S but I would be it wouldn't have been 1/2 as good as the one John took with it. The other guest proceeded to try to convince her DH that she needed a "better" camera (which in this case would help), not realizing it was the photographer that made that photo...not just the camera.

KWIM??

 

[bnorm27]

I also love the comments when they see the camera that it must take really good pictures. And it always amazes me when I have the 70-200 on the camera it just attracts attention.

Funny you should say that. On Saturday I was taking pictures at my daughter's basketball game. I had my 70-200 mounted on my XTi, on a monopod. Some woman walked by and said "wow, what a good camera".

 

[Chikabowa]

I simply reply "Yup. It sure does!"
Because it's true... my camera does take great quality pictures. Inside, I know that it's the photographer, not the camera, but I'm not going to waste precious minutes of my life worried about that little fact.

Honestly, it only boosts your credit as a photographer. Sure, anyone can go out and buy a $5K camera if they have the money. But they will quickly get frustrated because their pictures don't turn out like yours.

 

[smatterchu]

I like the reply from "What the Duck": "Thanks, your mouth makes really nice compliments."

OMG - I love this!! WTD is too funny!

 

[wenrob]

A fellow photo enthusiast just posted this in my thread, lol:

Whenever someone comments on how nice my camera is, I love to use this little story.....

One night a well known photographer decided to pop in and have dinner with some friends of his while he was traveling the country looking for new photo opportunities. He sat down and spent some time catching up with the man and his wife. All the while they were going through albums of his work over the years. The wife says politely "Wow, these are amazing photos, you must have an incredible camera." The photographer just smiles and says thank you. The woman excused herself to go finish dinner. After spending hours in the kitchen, they all sat down to a nice meal. This was one of the best meals the photographer had enjoyed in a very long time. At the end of dinner, he told the woman "Wow, this meal was amazing, one of the best I've had in a really long time. You must have some really amazing pots and pans."

 

[boBQuincy]

sorry not saying you don't take good photos but doesn't this prove the point? are you saying her point and shoot should be able to take the same kind of shot as your d300???????? a $200+ camera should be able to take the same photo as a $2000 camera?
if so, lots of money is being wasted on lenses and dslrs

Maybe so, maybe not. Here is an interesting article on that topic:

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/kidding.shtml

 

[jann1033]

Maybe so, maybe not. Here is an interesting article on that topic:

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/kidding.shtml

i had read that before....however in the situation above, the poster was saying ( or what i took him to be saying) that if the woman had known to raise the iso on her point and shoot she would have gotten the same photo as he was able to get with his d300.... which is known for good high iso shots and fast continuous speed, the 2 problems she was having with her camera. i know i can not rely on my xt and the only low light lens i have to get consistently good shots in that type of situation( ( i don't have a good low light lens and basically can't go above 400 due to noise restrictions so fast fish in low light are out of the question. i know how to do it but i don't have the equipment to do it) so to say she would get the same shot with a point and shoot as he can is imo kind of stretching it

sorry but every time i hear a version of this "it's the photographer not the camera" it makes me laugh. it's both. that is why every time someone on here (or any other forum) gets an upgraded body or lens, once they learn the new equipment, their photos' quality increase . it's not they didn't have the talent before since as far as i know, equipment doesn't come with spray on talent, it's that the body/camera/lens they were using before didn't have what they needed to really use the talent, be it fast speed, better focus system, better iso, sharpness, what ever. when they got better equipment, the photos improved.

point and shoots have improved for sure which i took to be the point of the article ( especially when he says he's not selling his hasselblad.) and someone can take a good photo with a point and shoot but i don't think it's a stretch to say if they can do that they'll take even better ones with a 5d.

 

[boBQuincy]

...every time i hear a version of this "it's the photographer not the camera" it makes me laugh. it's both. ..

Of course you are correct, it is both! Better equipment does help but only once we are to the point where the equipment, not our talent, is what is holding us back.

I 'downgraded' to a Canon Rebel mainly for the lighter weight but it is interesting to have someone mention what a nice camera I must have to get the photos I get, then notice they have the same camera!