Fauxtogs who should end up on the main page…

[iliketag]

Like, seriously, you sound like a condescending ass.

[dont.care]

No one rightly gives 2 shits about what lenses you use.

However, in my decade or so (thereabout) doing photography as a way of living–I’ve come to meet many, many other professionals and I’ve met many professional clients that would simply turn you away just seeing a crop body camera being used as a primary. Most of my pro-clients require an APS-H or 35mm FF sensors. Notwithstanding they generally will require you to use “professional level” gear. Your hobbyist consumer gear can vary GREATLY in respect to IQ from lens to lens. Canon L or Nikkor Pro grade lenses may have a slight variation, but generally maintain quality throughout. Which really applies to ANY and EVERY product available on the market.. Except this comes at no end for photographers.

Your clients may or may not see a difference, because generally your clients are typically happy with whatever “looks ok”. iPhone, cybershot, whatever.. It’s a photo to them. I’ve had one say, “Well, I don’t know much about quality.” — Right there, I can say “Well, I guess I don’t need to pack my pro-gear and just use a P&S”.

I use the logic that, IF my clients were so inclined to hang a photo I’ve taken, and then invite a friend over that knows about photography and notices the portrait, or whatever.. I don’t want my name being branded on something they’re going to say, “that’s a terrible photo, I could’ve done 10x better.”

I realize gear is half the battle, but he who has the better gear, generally wins the battle (considering they have a mental and knowledgeable aptitude for photography). .

That is all.

[dont.care]

I actually have clients where I turn over final printed images and they immediately retrieved a loupe and literally scan over the photos for an hour or so.

Generally speaking, if it weren’t for my already being OCD about pixel-peeping and having quality pro gear; I would’ve been nervous.

[fstopper89]

I agree with iliketag. We all put as much emphasis on pp, posing, composition, lighting, etc. as you probably do, but you’re using that as justification as why you don’t see the value in better gear. I do not have a Canon L lens. I renred one for a wedding (the 1st version 24-70 f/2.8) and it rendered colors and contrast so nicely. I’ve done multiple tests and experiments pitting my sigma against the telephoto zoom and especially when zoomed in all the way, the quality severely diminishes and becomes very soft. And that IS with adequate lighting and fast shutter speed. You’re right that it’s not just the gear, it is the person behind it. I was feeling severely limited using the kit gear. maybe you lucked out with an abnormally great copy of that lens, and maybe I got a bad copy, but the general consensus of people here and on review sites is that that lens really falls short in most situations. If I hired  a photographer and they showed up with kit equipment I’d get nervous.

[warrenjrphotography]

I’ve never heard of clients that go to such extremes……also if clients cared about gear so much we wouldn’t be hearing about photographers using micro 4/3rds and Iphones on paid photoshoots.

If a client really cared about gear than I’ll just pull out a prime lens but honestly, the clients where I live don’t care about your gear they’re more amazed about the lighting equipment.

I get comments all of the time from clients and random people saying stuff like “wow you bring all of that fancy lighting equipment with you on all photoshoot’s?”

Most could care less about what lens you use…..heck if they care so much why don’t they make you use Medium Format Digital Body’s and Leica lenses?

I have already shot paid gigs and they don’t care about which gear they use, one guy had a 1Dx and he was using on camera flash. Me and another photographer had a good lighting setup inside the venue. Guess who made the money? Us the one with better lighting.

If a client doesn’t want to work with me because I don’t use the most expensive Canon gear than I don’t want to work with him anyways as his understanding of what makes a good photo is that of a beginner (most beginners think that gear makes the photo).

Also, I’ve compared a photo taken from my 40D to a 5Dc and 5Dmkii in a direct comparison and could not tell the difference at iso 100 & 200 so again, a client that bases your ability on what body you use is uneducated or has been mislead ed to believe in non sense.

The #1 most important thing when it comes to the quality of your photo is the LIGHTING, not the lens, not the body, not because your lens has a red stripe around it.

I’d rather have a cheap micro 4/3rds setup and a really good understanding of lighting a long with good lighting equipment vs a 5Dmkiii and an average understanding of lighting.

You can take a photo with a cheap 6MP P&S but if you know your way around good lighting and what looks good you can produce photos that look absolutely amazing especially if you use a low iso.

Also iliketag personally I don’t like this website at all.

All that it is, is a bunch of photographers with inflated egos taking crap on other photographers or people that post their photos online or charge money for their photos.

I’m not into all of that negativity or making fun of people on the internet sitting on my ass when I could be doing something positive or productive (not that this conversation is productive anyways as it’s just going to be “I’m right because my clients……” or “You’re wrong because my clients…….”  and so forth.

It’s actually pretty stupid of me to keep on going on with this conversation.

[bitchslapoftruth]

Not only is this terrible, but it is VERY dangerous! HOW do some photographers not know these images are supposed to be done as composites?!

 

https://fbcdn-sphotos-h-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/182141_10150905980687919_167548110_n.jpg

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash3/165923_10150905980757919_1229380354_n.jpg

[nesgran]

Right, let me put this in a short sentence. Having good gear gives you options that you don’t have available with the kit lens.

And finally, why come in here acting like you are when several professional photographers have said positive things about your photos but telling you that you are wrong about the gear? Get off your high horse and act like a professional.

[bitchslapoftruth]

Can we move the gear conversation to an appropriate thread?

[nesgran]

Probably not much point, the deceased equine has very little skin left

[JustAndy]

Stop.  Seriously.  IS/VR is a damned joke anyway.  Use a tripod.  This guy is ok and should have just stopped talking, you’re OK, Not Bad (which is essentially a compliment in this type of forum!), just not the sharpest it seems when it comes to certain things; ie; dragging the shutter to stop the action, dragging the shutter works for balancing the ambient, fine and yes can stop the action with flash, but, dude, seriously, turn the I.S. off, plant it on a tripod match focal length to shutter speed for hand held and move along…

 

 

[fstopper89]

I don’t believe anyone here thinks the gear makes the photographer. You said yourself you don’t see a difference in the quality from a 40D vs. a 5DMII at low ISO… exactly! The 5DII offers excellent sharpness and focusing at extremely high ISO, which is necessary in many situations. Try lugging a nice lighting setup around a church at a wedding (flash isn’t even allowed in many cases) or through the woods on a senior shoot. Using available light well is a talent, as is using lighting equipment.

If a photog showed up with an iPhone, sorry, but I’d fire them.

[warrenjrphotography]

I’m not on a high horse. I know that there are a ton of photographers out there that bare way better than me and I even said this in my first post.

I will NOT however sit on my ass eating doughtnut sticks while talking crap about other photographers/people on the internet.

It is downright disgusting & rude to talk crap on others especially on the internet as it is hurtful and just plain ignorant and personally I could care less about what you think about me, my photos, my articles, my website, or my opinions.

Also kit lenses could be the 24-105L lens which costs almost $1,000 on it’s own so pretty much any lens could be labeled as a “kit lens”.

Having good lighting and the knowledge of how to use it will give you better photos than any lens is capable of on it’s own with a camera body and good PP technique.

The lens that you use is the second least important aspect of your photography right behind which body you use.

So I could care less about what the so called “professionals” on here think about my photos or my opinions as far as I could tell most people on here are just crap talkers that sit on their butts eating ding dongs.

The fact that I’m posting on a website called “yournotaphotographer” almost makes me sick.

I won’t be posting back on here again have fun talking crap on others.

[bitchslapoftruth]

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zknYzUsI7yc/TlzqdT6jkRI/AAAAAAAAAVc/HvSEwU0xZ8c/s1600/Beating+the+dead+horse.jpg

 

[JustAndy]

On side note, that was my first post.  Done so out of frustration.  I think your clients may very well be different than some of the clients “dontcare” has…

“’I’ve never heard of clients that go to such extremes……also if clients cared about gear so much we wouldn’t be hearing about photographers using micro 4/3rds and Iphones on paid photoshoots.”

My clients are astute, while Alien Bee’s are great lights I personally know a photographer who lost a good account for table-top/commercial work because the client saw those and thought he was an amateur… he now has Profoto’s.

Point is, a clients perception matters and can impact your bottom line, even what you use is, in fact more than capable of achieving desired results…

[dont.care]

Lol.. You carry on with your bad self. When you move on from your local clients and start getting more of an industrial/commercial client base–You’ll change your attitude. Or, you’ll never get beyond those low paying “gigs”.

As far as clients not caring what you use.. They only don’t care, because they don’t know. As far as your clients never asking, is just because of that very reason. I can safely assume, that your ‘clients’ are not my targeted client. I target clients that have money, and a lot of it. I like money so I can have nice things. I like nice things that cost a lot of money so I’m required to have professional tools that assure me that I’ll 9x out of 10 I will not have to worry about quality and reliability. .

 

As aforementioned in a previous post; People market their products accordingly.. I.E., Canon markets Consumer gear to amateurs and hobbyist because that gear is generally unacceptable in the professional market. I realize you think that because your clients don’t know the difference you seem to think it’s ok.. A client who hires a plumber doesn’t know two shits about what that plumber is doing.. He could be replacing your SCHD 40 (thick wall pipe) with Schedule 20 (Low pressure thin wall).. It’ll work, but you don’t know for how long–And, it’ll probably be after that plumbers taken your money and is LONG gone that it’ll start leaking or burst.

Which goes to say, people hire professionals because, well.. Professionals have PROFESSIONAL gear, PROFESSIONAL skills/knowledge and the courtesy, professionalism, insurance, etc you’d expect . You wouldn’t hire Stanley Steamer to come clean your carpets with a carpet cleaner YOU can buy from Wal-Mart for 120 bucks and do it yourself cheaper than you could to hire the Professional to do it, would you? No.

In the end, it’s all about $, I would be like you–If I wanted to do this as a semi-pro amateurish type of business venture.  I’d venture to say having only 1 year in, and that theory that the glass isn’t important–that you’re not professional.. At least not ethically just because of the, “They don’t know the difference, why does it matter?”.. It matters because you know the difference and you repudiate it as nothing.

As far as lighting goes, I have 8 canon 600 ex rt’s and an ST-E3-RT.. I generally use 2 or 3 and sometimes just 1. Hardly ever do I use all of them.. I have them because you really never know what’s going to happen. I just find it funny that you equate lighting as more important–I’d say it’s equal, but not more so. There again, larger aperture lenses suck in a whole lot more light requiring less artificial/ambient light for good lighting.. Which means I can get a whole lot more flash from a battery pack with much faster recycle times vs. slower lenses. Which is hardly important considering many L lenses are f/3.5 – f5.6 or more.. Trying to compare a $299.00 lens with a $2,299 is pretty much kicking dirt in the eyes of every professional that actually takes this shit seriously.

If it were so simple, if only. I could’ve saved an ungodly amount of money just buying consumer gear; why didn’t I think of that.

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