Showing off your camera?

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John.D

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Does anyone else do this? I seem to hear a lot about people not liking to take their big camera to events or social gatherings as they do not want to attract attention, I seem to be the opposite. I like people looking at my camera, I like the idea of people knowing i'm a photographer when they see it go off. Hey you may even get people come up to you to ask what stuff you do and they end up wanting a photo. Maybe i'm just a camera whore!
I like it when I see other photographers at work too, and I often end up having conversations about shutter speeds while people around me start to fall asleep (y)
 
In the very beginning I was like that. People definitely do take attention if you show up with a lens longer than your average arm, but even this is becoming less common as more and more amateurs take to the streets with higher end gear. In the end, it's all about work and art. That gets attention.
 
I'm a bit in between really. It depends what sort of event it is I am attending as to what camera I will take with me. If there are others using DSLRs then I feel quite comfortable being parked up next ot them shooting the same subject. If I were to go for a night out in town or for an informal dinner I'd be more tempted to take my P&S. That said, there are times it is nice to see everyone taking photos with cheap cameras and then you float up alongside and whip out the SLR :D
 
Isn't this just bigger than yoursism in a different form?

I hate waving my big lens about, but if its the one for the job it'll get used.
 
People always ask me if I do weddings, which is a shame because I'm not really into people photography. I've been asked a few times.

I've found that the bigger the lens, the worse the response. In Leeds, I was called a paedophile with a 70-300mm. Since I got an f/2.8 zoom I've definitely got more funny looks. I've now bought a 24mm prime for crowded situations.

The funniest thing is the way photographers check each other out. I've got good peripheral vision, and I can always see people having a sneaky peak at my gear. But I must admit, I do it too.
 
The Matt said:
Isn't this just bigger than yoursism in a different form?

I hate waving my big lens about, but if its the one for the job it'll get used.
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I agree with you on this one, and I really don't like to be terribly conspicuous with my camera. I used to do a lot of live music photography for a while and you always got one richard head coming up and trying to chat you up because of the camera.

I like to be as discreet as possible.
 
Always keep it in the bag until I really need to get it out, even though as DSLR's go it's quite small. The last thing I want is for people to think that I'm just another spoilt child who got their parents to fork out for a "big camera", which couldn't be further from the truth because I worked for the money and it took ages!
 
John.D said:
Does anyone else do this?
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Not really. It'd just make me look like another one of those "my camera's bigger than yours" bumholes, and I don't care what other people think of my gear.

Yammer said:
People always ask me if I do weddings, which is a shame because I'm not really into people photography. I've been asked a few times.
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I like shooting people, and also keep getting asked all the time, but I won't do weddings either. :)

Amythyst said:
you always got one richard head coming up and trying to chat you up because of the camera.
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"**** off mate, I'm working" often does the trick in clubs. You can substitute "**** off mate" for "sorry" in more polite shooting situations. :)
 
personaly it doesn't bother me, i take my camera out no matter what i dont care what people think, but i also think it makes a difference what you look like, no offence to anyone one on here as this next remark is not intended for anyone, but i think if you are walking around with a big camera, cream shorts, white legs with jesus creepers and white socks then your gonna get branded a p****...

If i want to take decent photo's i will take a decent camera, you wouldn't buy a Ferrari and not drive it would you?
 
I don't feel the need to either show it off or hide it. I'm happy to chat camera or photography related stuff if someone's interested but don't generally start such convos.
 
Indifferent.

And, at this stage, I'd rather not have people think I'm a 'photographer' - it's very much a steep learning curve, and I do it for my own interests, not to please others.
 
I find it more often a blessing than a curse, having a big camera. I often take shots of strangers - sometimes with their blessing and I think it adds credibility having a pro-looking bit of kit. I feel most self-conscious with a large kit when around friends and family - can attract more attention than a P&S when trying to get informal snaps.

Phil
 
If I turn up at any family without my main setup people complain so I do tend to bring a bag with my decent kit.
 
I don't worry about it, if I have the kit with me, then it gets used no matter who sees it
 
John.D said:
Does anyone else do this? I seem to hear a lot about people not liking to take their big camera to events or social gatherings as they do not want to attract attention, I seem to be the opposite. I like people looking at my camera, I like the idea of people knowing i'm a photographer when they see it go off. :
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But you only have a little camera. Look at mine it's HUGE go on, LOOK AT IT.....:)
 
SamuelHearn said:
Always keep it in the bag until I really need to get it out, even though as DSLR's go it's quite small. The last thing I want is for people to think that I'm just another spoilt child who got their parents to fork out for a "big camera", which couldn't be further from the truth because I worked for the money and it took ages!
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I agree, some of the looks I get make me feel like that :rules:
 
I spend so much time with a camera attached to me that I tend to not be aware that it changes the way I'm perceived.

there are times it is nice to see everyone taking photos with cheap cameras and then you float up alongside and whip out the SLR
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I do enjoy this one the other way round though. It's a great feeling to walk through a crowd of big lens wavers, all bustling with self importance and whip out the teeniest P&S you can find.

It's like those times when a porsche driver goes to really rub your nose in their exhaust gas off the lights and stalls it. :)
 
I have found that doing alot of motorsport events that when i have my 100-400 l attached I have marshalls approaching me to let me know if I go and see so and so they will give me a hi viz bib to give me unlimited access to the track.it has happened quite alot BUT only with my big lens attached.
 
stumac said:
I have found that doing alot of motorsport events that when i have my 100-400 l attached I have marshalls approaching me to let me know if I go and see so and so they will give me a hi viz bib to give me unlimited access to the track.it has happened quite alot BUT only with my big lens attached.
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So size really does matter then? ;)
 
No.
Unless I'm actually taking photos it all stays tucked away. I think the overt displaying of kit just for the sake of it is horribly ghey...
Even at a gathering of like-minded individuals - like the Joe McNally seminar on Friday - the D3+35mm f/2 was there but hidden away in a non-photographic looking backpack.
I thought I might take a shot or two of the set-ups, or maybe spot something out around Islington during the lunch break.
In the end I never even took a single frame, though there were those who were clicking away so fervently during the seminar itself, I doubt they even heard a word of what was said...lol
 
stumac said:
I have found that doing alot of motorsport events that when i have my 100-400 l attached I have marshalls approaching me to let me know if I go and see so and so they will give me a hi viz bib to give me unlimited access to the track.it has happened quite alot BUT only with my big lens attached.
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But taking the 100-400 to a christening just to get better access to the baby is a little silly ;)
 
I did go through a phase of showing off my camera but I was three years old and my camera was made of Lego.
 
I never intentionally show off my camera when I'm out and about; but I also don't care about the looks I get when using the 24-70 beast.

Basically, I do what I do and I let others do what they do.

Having said that, I did my own "stare down" of a guy with a camera yesterday - he was walking around with a Leica M9. Yum!
 
OneTen said:
I did go through a phase of showing off my camera but I was three years old and my camera was made of Lego.
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Now he just attends large gatherings pretending to be Bill Oddie instead.
 
John.D said:
...and I often end up having conversations about shutter speeds while people around me start to fall asleep (y)
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Not surprised they fall to sleep then... :)

I don't ever show off my kit, because I know when I see someone showing off their kit, they look like a prat.

If I need it, I use it.
 
I have noticed that tourists with DSLR's will look at my camera if I've a white Canon lens attached.

I don't really care but sometimes I wish they weren't white.
 
I really don't care! :)

I'm shooting a city centre wedding in prime shopping time in a few weeks and I'm quite prepared for a few comments. I don't suppose it's every day you see a couple of photographers with 4 cameras and a lady in a big white dress in a shopping centre! I really don't give a stuff so long as people don't get in the way of me doing my job.

When I go to the exhibitions though it's hilarious. I was at Focus last year and had to give a bloke an earful for resting his lens on me during a seminar. As Rob says, listen to the bloke, you might just learn a whole load more!
 
I try to keep my camera hidden by an item of clothing or similar.
Too many sticky fingered dodgepots about.
 
Hey Phil as a Nikon guy and a tourist in most places you are right I do look at Canons with white lenses as i know they are usually something a bit special! :)
 
BlackCloud said:
Hey Phil as a Nikon guy you are right I do look at canons with white lenses as i know they are usually something a bit special! :)
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As in 'Special Needs'? :LOL:

I look at Canon owners and laugh:

"hahaha - you mad, impulsive fool - you bought a Canon..."
 
Depends where I am and what I'm shooting. It can be annoying the attention it gets if you are somewhere just minding your own business but it doesn't bother me so much if I am somewhere with lots of other photographers.
 
arclight said:
I try to keep my camera hidden by an item of clothing or similar.
Too many sticky fingered dodgepots about.
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I'll admit that, that is a big factor for some people, which cannot be a nice thing to think, that someone is going to pinch your kit.

Not for me though, that sort of thing doesn't bother me.
 
Aw, Phil's my friend, i was trying to make him feel included and not feel too bad about having a Canon...I do lie a bit though :)
 
I like to take my camera with me most places I go, but I do admit that sometimes I just wanna be girlie with a girlie handbag etc etc.

Cause it's easier to keep the camera out and around my neck, I often do that, but put it away inbetween "maybe's" (maybe's being places where I think I'll get a shot).

People look at me anyway, putting a camera round my neck just gives them something else to look at....
 
Nowadays I tend to keep the dslrs in the bag.
But I must admit, I will sort of peek at those who carries some big lens! lol..curiosity I guess?
 
A friend of mine spent his savings on a new dslr, lens etc and decided to go out for a shoot around London. 2 hours after acting like the proverbial prat, "Look at what I got", he ended up in hospital and his "gear" gone never to be seen again....and noone saw a thing.

So folks please beware.

Martin
 
I don't give a F*** what people think, I just get on with it.
At the end of the day it's only jealousy.
 
every man and his dog has an SLR. I used to feel stupid until I realised everyone else had one to.
 
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