Do You Feel Out of Place With Your Gear?

[Designer Dale]

This is mainly a question for the hobby shooters here.

A lot of my friends have cameras, but I'm the only one with a dslr and a passion for the art. When I show up with my XSi and hefty Tammy on my R-Strap, I feel a little out of place. I could just bring my P&S, but that is not my nature. My girlfriend thinks I could take just as good photos with a small camera and doesn't really appreciate the quality of image that can come from good hardware.

Anyone else ever feel the same, or am I just self-conscious?

Dale

 

[flosseR]

I know what you mean... it gets even worse when you shoot in a public place like on the street with a big DSLR. I already got yelled at twice when i shot some pics of friends of mine with the 70-200 in downtown.
I felt really out of place or "oh its him with his big camera" for quite a while but nowadays I do not care.. When I look at my photos I KNOW that they stand out WAY above anything that my friends produce with their gear. Also my wife and friends have come to appreciate my shots.. this will happen once you nail a shot that your girlfriend really loves...

My passion is night photography so when I created my "lighting up the night" shot, most people were stunned by the effect. Personally I dont think the shot is that great but it really turned my reputation around..

So The advice I would give you... keep shooting and eventually you wont be the odd person or feel like one, you will become the person that people rely on for good photos

 

[luminosity]

No, because I feel like I know what I'm doing, and also because I often see other DSLR shooters. If you clearly know what you're doing, people usually accept you. It may help that none of my lenses are bigger than my 180/2.8, and it's not particularly large compared to a 70-200 of any iteration.

 

[MattSepeta]

Sometimes

It really depends on the situation... I have a 70-200 f/2.8 rented out right now, and was photographing ducks at the lake yesterday when I guy like ran up to me and was like "Oh my god is that the 2.8!!! I have always wanted to see one!!!"

So I let him shoot a few off and he said that he made up his mind he needed to get one lol.

But the biggest lens I ever walk around with is a 17-55 2.8, which I don't consider too big. I guess I might be used to it though. And so are my friends and family!

 

[toxic]

I only take my equipment out for specific jobs. one of these days I'll get a mirrorless camera for the casual stuff...it's just not a priority, since I never really walked around taking pictures of everyone and everything.

 

[iBookG4user]

Unfortunately I tend to stick out with my gear. I wish that I could blend in as well as the people with P&S cameras, that way I wouldn't be bothered when I'm shooting. As for do I feel out of place, I don't really think about that because I'm focused on trying to get the shot that I want.

 

[heesey1010]

I only take out my DSLR in situations where I feel there's a least likelyhood of getting it damaged (e.g.: nature/wildlife/landscape/cityscape/some people-watching photography). I NEVER take it out to like a party or the club because I KNOW something will spill on it for sure, or it'll take a bad fall, etc.

As for being out of place...yeah, I do feel slightly out of place, but I don't care in the end. Noone there will remember me for being out of place, and I come away knowing I had (probably) better shots.

 

[a.jfred]

I somewhat feel out of place with my gear, but that's more because I shoot Olympus in a predominantly Canon/Nikon crowd

 

[Designer Dale]

An interesting note on this is that when I go to either Mt. Rainier or the Nisqually Delta Wildlife Preserve, I feel in my element and no one bats an eye. The birders all haul long lenses on FF cameras mounted on CF tripods. On my last hike in Mt. Rainier, a young gal asked me to take her picture and pulled my camera (XSi) out of her bag.

I'm sure it's just my personal perception of things, especially when I'm with folks who are not really familiar with photography. Another aspect of this may be that my GF isn't comfortable with me and my gear.

Dale

 

[leighonigar]

I suffer from this terribly in social situations! I've often left my proper cameras at home and taken nothing or only my little lumix compact because I feel somewhat berkish with the full works. What I have found helps a bit is smaller lenses, and I think really common consumer SLRs help too - I know a lot of people with nikon D40s for example, they're small and plastic and light, they don't to me scream like my metal cameras do.

 

[Designer Dale]

I'm surprised at all the responses. I thought it was just me...

Excuse me, I gotta go shoot...

Dale

 

[pukifloyd]

I don't...most of my friends are excited and want to use my camera (i am 17)

 

[Schtumple]

I can't take photos with my P&S anymore, it takes so long to focus it drives me nuts. I don't care if I look out of place, at the end of the day it doesn't matter what you shoot with, I've shot with my vintage SLR before, I never notice if anyone's staring because I'm too busy taking the photo

 

[G.T.]

I read the thread title and wondered, is it what I think it is. And yes! I was like I'm not the only one . I suppose as I don't like calling myself a photographer and think (assume) that the professionals out there never feel out of place in public with their gear, but I suppose they can. I think basically you just have to learn to ignore it (or not feel so important ). I mean I thought to myself there are people around but am I really making a note of their face, or judging them, or really just caring. No you just go about what ur doing, so its the same, most people won't even notice you and if they do your forgotten in 10 mins. Obviously some people will stop to watch someone whatever they are doing but they are just curious so don't worry.

On another note thats why I love my GF1 with 20mm f1.7 prime, the bundle is quite discrete but definitely produce better than a P&S.

 

[GyroFX]

a friend of mine only swears by film Leica, nothing digital. You can really tell a difference though. Digital can appear very contrived a lot of times

 

[Cliff3]

I use a Canon S90 when taking photos in social settings as I don't really want to attract attention to my camera when I'm mainly there to spend time with my friends. Other than that, if my goal is to harvest photographs then I carry whatever is appropriate. If anyone reacts then it is usually something along the lines of 'oh my, what a big one you have' (fwiw: http://www.coates3.com/docs/photo_gear.html). I would like to see Nikon produce a small mirrorless camera that integrates with their system (F-mount, i-TTL, 10-pin connector) as there are many times when I would like to travel light but have greater capability than what the S90 gives me.

 

[CK Williams]

You're exactly right Dale. The photo quality (D-SLR vs. P&S) makes it worth it. With all the stuff I end up lugging around at work, just carrying my camera is really a minor thing. A R-strap also helps keep the equipment less obvious.

 

[Designer Dale]

I don't...most of my friends are excited and want to use my camera (i am 17)

And I'm your daddy...or grand daddy, depending. (i am 62)..

Seriously, there have been threads over in Design and Graphics where a teacher said his school had Nikon D90s for their photo classes.

Dale

 

[M-5]

When I had just got my D5000 about 9 months ago, I wanted to take it with me everywhere. I loved it but quickly found that I couldn't take it with me much when I went out because it was relatively large. I then transferred a lot of photos to my computer, and now I have this sort of anxiety from having so many photos and fear of running out of space. I only have around 22GB of photos right now, but I deleted something around 2,000 photos this month. I know I can always use an external HD to keep everything, but I just like having everything on my laptop with me at all times.

Since I got the iPhone 4, I've been using that much more since it's convenient, and I've been enjoying apps such as Hipstamatic. It's really fun to use, and the photos aren't huge.

I really want to process my photos and save them in really small file sizes to replace the ones I have so I can save space. Then I'll probably take my camera out and shoot in a lower quality setting (unless it's an important event of course).

 

[HarryPot]

When with family or friends, I don't really mind using my dSLR. In fact, they like that I have the camera because this means there will be good photos of the party/reunion/whatever.

I really don't know how they do it, but the photos they take are horrible. It's like they don't mind even in the least about composition.

The only downside about being the only one, or of the few with a dSLR, is that I don't appear in most of the photos.

I really want to process my photos and save them in really small file sizes to replace the ones I have so I can save space. Then I'll probably take my camera out and shoot in a lower quality setting (unless it's an important event of course).

Don't do that! With external drives being so cheap right now, there is no excuse of not shooting in RAW and keeping the RAW file.

What program do you use to process/store your photos?

PD You have some very nice photos in your Flickr!

 

[M-5]

The only downside about being the only one, or of the few with a dSLR, is that I don't appear in most of the photos.

I know how you feel about this. That's what I hate about being the one with the camera. Sure, I don't generally like having my picture taken all the time, but it's nice to at least be in a couple of photos to actually be a part of that event. Also, since getting my camera, I've taken photos of several of my friends who have put up their photos on Facebook, and it's unfortunately difficult to take photos of myself, so I don't have many nice ones up.

Don't do that! With external drives being so cheap right now, there is no excuse of not shooting in RAW and keeping the RAW file.

What program do you use to process/store your photos?

PD You have some very nice photos in your Flickr!

Yeah, I suppose they are really cheap now. I just feel like I have to have everything in one place, and that's my 250GB hard drive on my laptop. I have an external drive, but I just use it to backup my computer.

I've been using CS4 to process my photos, but I just use iPhoto to store them. I have Lightroom, though I tried using it and didn't really like it. That's not to say that I enjoy the workflow with iPhoto. It's such a pain using it with CS4.

And thank you.

 

[heesey1010]

When with family or friends, I don't really mind using my dSLR. In fact, they like that I have the camera because this means there will be good photos of the party/reunion/whatever.

I really don't know how they do it, but the photos they take are horrible. It's like they don't mind even in the least about composition.

The only downside about being the only one, or of the few with a dSLR, is that I don't appear in most of the photos.



Don't do that! With external drives being so cheap right now, there is no excuse of not shooting in RAW and keeping the RAW file.

What program do you use to process/store your photos?

PD You have some very nice photos in your Flickr!

Haha, I know the feeling about not being in a lot of the photos I take when with family/friends all too well.

 

[cosmokanga2]

Family and friends all know me as "the photographer" so I don't really feel out of place with my gear around them.

When I shoot out on the street I don't really care what people think. When I slap on a SB-900 and 70-200mm on my D80 I look like I know what I am doing, which I do, and most people take me for press or media, which I am. Only when I rented a D3s did people want to look at it and ask questions which was okay.

I'm thinking of renting a 400 2.8 and D3s for an airshow and some bird shooting next week and that might be different. I'll probaly get some looks if I slug that through some parks. Keep in mind I'm only in my late teens!

 

[FrankieTDouglas]

Usually if I'm just walking about, I never have my camera with me. I use my iPhone to photograph those spontaneous moments. I don't like walking around cities with a DSLR around my neck.

If I'm making a "serious" photo, it usually involves lights, battery pack, bags and cords, etc... all arranged on a city street or etc. Can't really blend in with that... in fact, sometimes I get spectators.

So I guess it's all or nothing for me.

 

[El Cabong]

I usually avoid taking anything but a compact to social situations, mostly because I don't like having to keep an eye on my gear when I'm doing other things, but also because of size/weight.

As far as being awkward, I'll always remember the time I was at a bar (somewhere around Lincoln Sq. NYC) in the middle of the day and this guy with a 1D Mk IV and a 70-200 f/2.8 was creepily (and more indiscreetly than he probably thought) trying to snap pictures of my friends and other girls there, while drinking with a couple of his buddies. I never want to be that guy.