lisy78 wrote:
Some of you people are being pretty ridiculous.
Since your post immediately follows mine, I guess you're including me in the above. Yes, I'm being silly. I'm not commenting on bringing a camera, I'm commenting on the idea that I need to bring a camera in case the hired professional doesn't measure up to my standards and I feel the need to "step up".
To continue being silly, I've eaten some pretty crappy wedding cakes in my time. No professional bakers seem compelled to bring a cake and have it in the car in case they need to "step up".
If the B&G hire a bad photographer, it's not my problem to fix even if I wince and have to bite my lip.
Alot of you guys need to chill... dang the brother had his camera with him because he said he doesn't like to leave it in the car. I am the same way.
Its not like he intentionally brought it to show it off or upstage the hired photog. He shared some criticism about the photog, and you guys are ripping the guy.
Personally, I wouldn't have taken any shots, but thats me. He was trying to do something nice. Give the guy a break.
To the OP - BTW, the XSi and 17-55 are capable of taking nice pics. I'm sure he had room for improvement, like we all do. At my younger sisters wedding, my sister hired a photog couple. They had a XT & 40D with a kit lens and a few other inexpensive lenses, flashes and tripods. I was shocked, by their equipment. My little sister had no clue though, I talked to her about their equipment a few weeks after the wedding but she no clue what I was talking about. All she cared about was the pictures. She got them and loved them, they were PP'd to death and thats what she wanted. They were not to my liking, but of course it didn't matter because they were for her and her hubby.
dmacmillan wrote:
Since your post immediately follows mine, I guess you're including me in the above.
An unfortunate geographic coincidence. It was pretty clear to me that you were specifically addressing the "Step up" thing which is an even sillier position to take than the position that Pro photogs shoudln't bring cameras to weddings. So no, you were not really included, sorry.
animal-chin wrote:
Alot of you guys need to chill... dang the brother had his camera with him because he said he doesn't like to leave it in the car. I am the same way.
Well then both YOU and "the brother" are two putzes.
Why the heck do you or him feel the need to justify why you bring your camera wherever the heck you choose to bring your camera?
The day the collective "wisdom" in the forum (and I put that in quotes with good reason) buys my camera equipment, is the day they can determine where and when it's ok for me to bring my da#n camera along.
And they better make it a couple of 1Ds MK3 with appropriate L Primes otherwise they can kiss my butt!
No seriously... the whole upstaging the hired pro, or getting into their shots is definitelly a no-no ... but this nonsense about "pro photogs should leave kit home" is absurd. I finally find a way to make money doing what I love and what? Now I supposedly can only do what I love if I'm being paid? Bugger off!
lisy78 wrote:
(feeling left out now?)
Thanks for the explanation. You can include me in the ridiculous column any time, since I'm fully capable of being so.
It's interesting that UB seems to be getting so much press here recently. It's not restricted to weddngs. Just when digitals started to catch on, we had a party for my grandson's birthday. I brought a Canon G2 and I think one other person had a disposable film camera. The next year, almost everyone had a digital camera of some description. There must have been six cameras firing away!
RedWhiteandRed wrote:
Since Michael Jackson died the media has been wandering in a daze looking for any story to fill the time slot.
The media will be provided with years worth of fodder as the vultures sort out his estate. I'm afraid we won't be shed of him for some time to come.
liSy78, its a free country. You have every right to take your gear and shoot where ever it is legal to do so. I personally do not like to take pics at weddings I'm attending unless asked or paid to. But thats me, if you want to carry your gear and maximize every photo opportunity, than more power to you. You may offend some in the way, but thats because they have an opinion of whats proper and acceptable, just like you have an opinion of whats proper and acceptable. You feel so strongly about your view, you shouldn't bash others because they have a different one.
Name calling may offend some, but to me it only shows your maturity. But again, its a free country and you have every right to express your opinion.
animal-chin wrote: liSy78, its a free country. You have every right to take your gear and shoot where ever it is legal to do so. I personally do not like to take pics at weddings I'm attending unless asked or paid to. But thats me, if you want to carry your gear and maximize every photo opportunity, than more power to you. You may offend some in the way, but thats because they have an opinion of whats proper and acceptable, just like you have an opinion of whats proper and acceptable. You feel so strongly about your view, you shouldn't bash others because they have a different one.
Name calling may offend some, but to me it only shows your maturity. But again, its a free country and you have every right to express your opinion.
if by "name calling" you're referring to me jokingly referring to you and the op as "putzes" then please take note of the giganto icon next to that.
If you take the position that any view, no matter how ridiculous is deserving of respect, then I guess nobody should be bashed.. not even those who might be offended by the fact that I chose to go to work wearing brown shoes today rather than green which according to them is the appropriate color for a Tuesday that falls on an odd summer day.
Apparently there is a subculture of wedding photographers that are not only (rightfully - at least IMO) upset when guests with cameras get into their shots and ruin them, or (again rightfully IMO) when wanna-be-wedding photographers attempt to steal the setups they create... some are apparently irate at the mere presence of cameras in general, and some more specifically appear to be upset by cameras only beyond a certain sensor size, the presence of interchangeable lenses, the lightness in color of such lenses, the color of possible rings on these lenses etc.
I can certainly accept that those people, with those beliefs exist ... I just have a hard time not snickering at them. Seriously a P&S is ok but a DSLR is not? or... an XSI with Kit lens is ok, but a 5D with L glass is not? WTF?!?!
I do believe everyones opinion should be respected, but of course you do not have to agree with it or accept it. You have that right, just as you expressed.
I agree, I see no problem with people bringing their camera (ps or dslr) as long as they are respectful of the the hired photog.
But Im sure we all have our limits. Would you be okay if the person that brought their 5D/L glass, also brought their lighting setup? I'm sure we all have different levels of tolerance.
Sorry, I do not understand your examples about the shoes.
you make a valid point. Where does the boundary lie? Personally I would take "setting up your own lights" to be beyond my point of comfort.
And it's not just because of the hard to define "it seems a bit over the top as a guest" ... there are also other issues having to do with the risks posed to the guests by the lightstands and the fact that once you put those up you truly risk compromising the hired pro's shots 'cause while you might be able to stay out of the way, your lightstands and/or your flashes will probably not.
Don't worry about my shoes example, it was purposely silly.
Finally, in all truthfulness I have to say that i do believe that everyone's right to have an opinion should be respected, but I don't honestly believe that every opinion should be respected... unless by respected you mean something other than what I mean ... primarily that I feel I should be able to repeat your opinon with a straight face
For instance do you respect the opinion of those who believe Elvis is still alive?
Do you respect the opinion of those who believe that no airplane ever hit the pentagon on 9/11 and it was instead a missile?
That to stay on that day... the Twin Towers were collapsed by building-demolition charges set off by "the government" (or some other Da Vinci Code Illuminati-like group).
Do you respect the opinon of those who insist they were abducted by aliens and sexually molested by their machines? (extra-planetary aliens of course) :-)
But I would never use alkaline batteries, that caused this guy to get no flash for every 4th shot during the event.
I use AAs. Non-rechargables. And what's worse? I get them off-brand from Costco.
But guess what. I rarely miss a shot. Prob because I don't even take a flash out until the reception, and I only use
it when my 85 isn't on my camera. And even when I do use it, and its dark, I'm shooting at 1600 on my 5d. So it
doesn't drain me that much and the recycle time is fine.
animal-chin wrote:
To the OP - BTW, the XSi and 17-55 are capable of taking nice pics. I'm sure he had room for improvement, like we all do. At my younger sisters wedding, my sister hired a photog couple. They had a XT & 40D with a kit lens and a few other inexpensive lenses, flashes and tripods. I was shocked, by their equipment. My little sister had no clue though, I talked to her about their equipment a few weeks after the wedding but she no clue what I was talking about. All she cared about was the pictures. She got them and loved them, they were PP'd to death and thats what she wanted. They were not to my liking, but of course it didn't matter because they were for her and her hubby....Show more →
whats wrong with the XT & 40D plus kit lens? 40D rocks though!!! it's the photographer not the gear.
Nothing wrong with the 40D... but I would expect a professional photog to have a better lens than a kit lens. But its not to say one can take great pics with one, esp. the new kit lens with IS.
In the end, my sister loved their pictures and she couldn't care less what equipment they used as long as they delivered the goods.
So again, nothing wrong with the kit lens as long as it delivers what your clients want. And I agree, it has more to do with the photog than it does the equipment. At the same time, equipment can limit or empower the photog's creativity.
dpun wrote:
I'm sorry that you're taking it that way. The bride is a close friend of my GF, just to give you more context. I would have taken the cake pics and given it to them for free under any circumstance except if the hire pro was still there.
I normally don't get pissed off but you can't relay tone of voice/inflection on a written post. My conversation with the hired pro was not the best. He was incredibly obnoxious to me in the way he said "and we can even use my camera". It did not sit well with me. I don't expect anyone to understand, it was one of those "you had to be there moments".
I did start off with the 40D, a 580 and a 28-135, that lens is still in my closet for sentimental reasons. But I would never use alkaline batteries, that caused this guy to get no flash for every 4th shot during the event.
And I don't know who this "nick" is. Doesn't matter....Show more →
nick = nickname and was having a pun with dpun....
Yep, agree, it's hard to convey the thoughts and emotions in text.
My slant on the whole, I'm a guest and the mention of money/fees for images anywhere in the conversation, post or when bagging the hired photograper-togapapzi and their lesser quality equipment than the god's gift to photographys', is simply wrong.
Yes, bring what ever gear you like but keep the business out of it unless it was your business to be there in the first place to do business.
You sound (read) like a decent chap but there was an egomanic posting something similar a matter of days prior and the tasted REAL BAD. Bummer the thread got locked before it got nice and interesting.
Just responding to your quote dpun and after re-reading your post I now get a different slant on your comments.
40D rocks though!!! it's the photographer not the gear.