DLSR shy
Aug 15, 2019 16:59:22 #
SoTexPhoto
Loc: Kerrville, Texas
It might be me but I wonder if others see this. It seems that I can use my phone and take pictures of just about anything and nobody seems to pay attention. But when I am out with my dlsr it seems like people get shy or nervous if it’s pointed anywhere near their direction. Most recently in SeaTac airport. Just a pic of a lot of flyers that day. With my phone it was like I was invisible. Take out a dslr, even with a small 35mm prime and it was different. My friend just returned from Lisbon. I know he travels with a mirror-less Sony. I asked him about this and he said he experienced the same thing.
It probably can be attributed to millions of phones out there and their hundreds of millions (billions?) of photos. But I am just curious if others see this.
It probably can be attributed to millions of phones out there and their hundreds of millions (billions?) of photos. But I am just curious if others see this.
Aug 15, 2019 17:01:16 #
SoTexPhoto wrote:
It might be me but I wonder if others see this. I... (show quote)
I wonder if people see using a phone as someone taking a selfie instead of taking an image of another?
Aug 15, 2019 17:27:53 #
Dngallagher wrote:
I wonder if people see using a phone as someone taking a selfie instead of taking an image of another?
Aug 15, 2019 17:28:46 #
I never noticed it, but don't really pay much attention to people around me while shooting. A friend once pointed out that if you start looking at people with a camera at the ready, you catch their attention. If you ignore them they will ignore you.
Until I retired I was from N Y where folks tend to ignore each other anyway.
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Until I retired I was from N Y where folks tend to ignore each other anyway.
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Aug 15, 2019 17:37:29 #
I usually use a Panasonic G9 with a normal size zoom lens but I sometimes use a Sony NEX-6 with a 20mm pancake lens and the difference in public reaction is like night and day. I may as well be invisible while using the Sony, but the larger Panasonic draws its fair share of attention. That's not always a bad thing though, as people tend to walk behind me or duck while walking in front of me if I'm using the larger camera. It's as though I'm more official or my pictures are more important if I'm using a "Professional" camera. Too funny.
Aug 15, 2019 17:41:15 #
Almost everyone has a phone - through familiarity they have become almost invisible unless you are doing something outrageous and attention getting.
But a camera, well you can't be doing anything other than taking pictures unless it is just hanging around your neck or in a bag. And even hanging around your neck it is rather prominent. And most camera bags are not shaped to blend in with other types of bag, often have a logo/name of a gear company and to anyone at all familiar with cameras they just fairly scream CAMERA.
The phone you cannot really tell if anyone is pointing one at you or if they are talking or taking pictures. A camera, well the lens is pointing at who or what you are photographing. Many people do not really like people intruding into their lives taking their picture, at least not without asking first. One of the main reasons I have never gone in for "Street Photography". I don't feel I have the right to intrude into stranger's lives that way.
But a camera, well you can't be doing anything other than taking pictures unless it is just hanging around your neck or in a bag. And even hanging around your neck it is rather prominent. And most camera bags are not shaped to blend in with other types of bag, often have a logo/name of a gear company and to anyone at all familiar with cameras they just fairly scream CAMERA.
The phone you cannot really tell if anyone is pointing one at you or if they are talking or taking pictures. A camera, well the lens is pointing at who or what you are photographing. Many people do not really like people intruding into their lives taking their picture, at least not without asking first. One of the main reasons I have never gone in for "Street Photography". I don't feel I have the right to intrude into stranger's lives that way.
Aug 15, 2019 17:41:17 #
Tomcat5133
Loc: Gladwyne PA
I posted this once before. One of the most successful travel journalist photographers wrote a story
about his experiences in many countries. He started with a Canon and a full set of lens.
Eventually he went with a mirrorless and the was OK but in some places sometimes people were wary
or annoyed by the camera. He eventually switched to one of the smaller high quality compacts with
a smaller lens on it. He said it worked in very dicey and interesting places.
That said I think people have become very wary of full size camera's. It is just the culture today.
about his experiences in many countries. He started with a Canon and a full set of lens.
Eventually he went with a mirrorless and the was OK but in some places sometimes people were wary
or annoyed by the camera. He eventually switched to one of the smaller high quality compacts with
a smaller lens on it. He said it worked in very dicey and interesting places.
That said I think people have become very wary of full size camera's. It is just the culture today.
Aug 15, 2019 17:42:04 #
I think people's mindset is often influenced by the movies and tv shows they watch. Crime series are especially popular right now. And in those shows, undercover agents typically use advanced cameras (such as DSLR cameras), rather than phone cameras for surveillance. When people then see a stranger pointing a DSLR camera in their direction, they quickly suspect they may be the intended target subject and are being investigated for some reason. It makes them nervous. And if they do have something to hide - such as a secret love affair, participation in fraud or a crime they committed in the past, then even more so.
Aug 15, 2019 17:51:33 #
SoTexPhoto wrote:
It might be me but I wonder if others see this. I... (show quote)
Many people are camera shy. They might see it as offensive or intrusive. A lot of people and animals included don't like a big black eye staring at them.
One time I was asked to photograph a retiring doctor. I sat and chat with him before hand. He hardly smiled, camera shy and was very stoic. In my camera bag I had a finger puppet and a camera creature. It was a stuffed owl that wrapped around the front of the lens. I pulled them out without him seeing. When I went to take his photo, he laughed for the first time. He asked me if the thing was supposed to make him smile. I replied yes. I photographed a very memorable man who lost a little of his shyness.
The point is some people feel easily intimidated by a camera. You have to make them feel at ease.
Aug 15, 2019 18:09:25 #
Gotta laugh. Most people probably think regular people don't use DSLRs.
Oie!
Oie!
Aug 15, 2019 18:48:55 #
With my Pentax KP, if I’m in what is essentially a ‘Street Scene’ situation - when the reactions of other people matter - I just flip the LCD down, stare down, and at some point press the shutter. So far, none of my images show people staring at me or my camera. I would have to explicitly point my phone at them, so I think this method may be better.
Aug 15, 2019 20:42:48 #
SoTexPhoto wrote:
It might be me but I wonder if others see this. I... (show quote)
That's what makes a cellphone the PERFECT street camera, its universality and small size - plus no one suspects that the zombie walking down the street looking at their cellphone is actually taking pictures or recording video.
Aug 15, 2019 21:05:01 #
Gene51 wrote:
That's what makes a cellphone the PERFECT street camera, its universality and small size - plus no one suspects that the zombie walking down the street looking at their cellphone is actually taking pictures or recording video.
Aug 16, 2019 06:24:50 #
Yes, big cameras and big lenses scare people.
I don’t have that problem with my M43 kit.
I don’t have that problem with my M43 kit.
Aug 16, 2019 06:33:52 #
SoTexPhoto wrote:
It might be me but I wonder if others see this. I... (show quote)
Definitely! It's hard to go out in public without seeing someone taking pictures with a phone. A DSLR, on the other hand, is big and unusual, so it gets the attention of people nearby.
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