Am I wrong for feeling like this?

[vipgraphx]

So today was picture day for our soccer team,( I am a Varsity High School Soccer Coach). This older gentlemen shows up with a couple of bags (his camera gear)

He starts to set up up and so I go walk over to see what he has and doing. I noticed he was using a Nikon D3000 with kit lens for this shoot, with some Strobes.

I thought to myself is he serious? Now I am thinking he is either really good and needs no professional camera OR he is a straight amateur. I hate to sound like a creep but honestly thats what was going through my mind. He even had order envelopes and what not.

Am I wrong, what would you think if this happened to you. Now I am not sure if the school paid him to come (which I am sure they did because the team photo will be for the year book) Or if he was just making money on the players personal orders from their singles.

I was watching what he was doing to see if maybe he was a pro. Maybe his pro camera is in the shop or something you never know. But then looking at his camera placement I thought was poorly thought out. It was on the side of the goal, facing the field with bleachers in the back ground. The poses he was making the players do was sooo crazy..I thought no way could this guy be a seasoned pro.

Perhaps once I saw his camera I immediately started to doubt him..Once again Am I wrong? Am I just stereo typing? This kinda goes back to when people see big DSLR FF Chunky Cameras they think PRO…I know today I fell into that category!

Here was his set up.

 

[fokker]

Hard to say without seeing the photos, but it sounds like you're being a bit judgemental. A D3000 and kit lens is perfect kit for these kinds of photos, really. It's not like you need a 24-70 2.8 and a D800 to get a sharp photo of a sports team, and hey at least he's using some lighting so you never know.

Reminds me of a video I saw a while ago where a guy is shooting a model in his studio using just his iphone, and because he had a good lighting setup the pictures were great.

 

[apaflo]

"To Many People Look For Problems That Are Not There, Just Because They Want To Find Fault In Something"

You do have a great signature line.

 

[Aakajx]

Lol I was just going to quote that.

Yeah I don't think you can judge it until you see the pictures? Maybe they turned out great. I hope for the schools sake they did turn out nice so it wasn't a waste of time and money.

 

[Aakajx]

Do you think he was creeped out you watching him And taking pics of him? Lol

 

[TheFantasticG]

Hard to say without seeing the photos, but it sounds like you're being a bit judgmental.

This.

But, we all do it. It's human nature.

 

[beachrat]

I'd be more judgmental about his lighting equipment and placement.

 

[acparsons]

I stopped judging people's equipment when I got a photo that I took with a 1MP Point and Shoot published.

 

[runnah]

In a well lit setting, any DSLR made in the last 10 years will produce an outstanding photo.

 

[SCraig]

I don't think so to be honest. I expect someone who claims to be a professional anything to have professional grade equipment to do the job with. If I hired a professional photographer and he showed up with a $300 entry-level camera I would start having second thoughts as well.

And I admit it isn't a fair judgement. We all know it's as much the photographer as it is the camera, however there are levels of expectation that professionals should live up to. And, as has been said, there are numerous reasons why he might have been using that camera. Maybe he's just a hobbyist doing a good deed.

 

[imagemaker46]

Why didn't you just ask him who he was shooting for?

As a professional I always look around at the events I go to, even if I'm not working, just curious to see what people are doing, how they are shooting, what gear they have, how they hold the camera and what pictures they are missing. Small side story, I saw a buddy of mine shooting and sent my 8 year old son to go down and tell him his shot would make a better vertical, the look on his face was priceless, I then walked over and he understood.

The point is, why worry about it, did it affect anything you were doing, if it bothered you, you should have asked some questions, not confront him, just be curious. I was hire to do 45 head shots a few years ago and when I showed up there was another photographer there, I asked him who he was shooting for and it was the same people that had hired me, I was curious so I asked the woman that hired me and she said he was hired to do a group photo. I talked to the photographer who was in a panic after seeing me, he started asking me all kinds of questions, we had been hired by separate people. When his question came up about how much I was getting paid I asked him how much he was charging for the group shot of about 45 people, his fee was $600 less than I was charging to do simple point and shoot head shots that took me 20 minutes to run through, he also had the balls to tell me that my set up wouldn't work as the white wall I was using would cause too much glare, he was wrong and I showed him why. He then asked me how I would set up the group, I gave him a simple suggestion, and he then explained to the woman that had hired him, he needed to run out and rent a backdrop and wider lens. It could have been setup and done in less than 15 minutes, but he didn't have the gear or the skills to handle this simple shoot. I guess the $150 he was charging was a reflection on what he felt he was worth.

It's all simple, just ask questions.

 

[runnah]

Small side story, I saw a buddy of mine shooting and sent my 8 year old son to go down and tell him his shot would make a better vertical, the look on his face was priceless, I then walked over and he understood.

Haha.

 

[Tiller]

One part of me wants to say you were wrong for judging, but the other part of me remembers when I saw a guy using a canon t3 and 18-55 at a wedding and judged the hell out of him. I think I may have had a little cause. A wedding has higher stakes than a HS soccer shoot.

We all do it in the moment, but feel bad afterwards.

 

[jenko]

Maybe the guy is just working with what he has. I kinda doubt a high school is paying him big money. Now that our lovely governor cut education funding, I doubt our schools would have the funds to pay anyone.

 

[imagemaker46]

I can't say that I have been judged by the gear I use, but I did get some pretty strange looks using a Canon t2i with a 400 2.8 last year. I'm sure a few of the professional photographers that didn't know me, were wondering, none bothered to ask, which is fine, keep them guessing.

A lot of photographers judge other photographers based on what gear they are using, I look at some and know that they are using company gear so they haven't had to lay out any money for the best that money can buy, and I see the freelancers with gear taped together doing a better job. On face value, who am I to judge what each is capable of with what they are using. If I watch long enough, see how the shoot, and what they shoot or don't shoot, I am now in a position to evaluate their skill level with the gear they are using. I base this on my own experience and skill level. Some have no clue what they are doing and ask me for advice, usually the ones with the gear taped together, the ones with the high end gear already have the attitude of being superior simply because of the gear, this only proves to me they aren't worth my attention or help if they ask. These are the high end photo pretenders.