Ukuleleman
16th of March 2007 (Fri), 11:14
I guess I should have known better, but it was only a corner sink unit that we were considering for our new bathroom and the salesman heard me ask my wife if I should take a picture of it for future reference and he said nothing, we were in B&Q, a major UK DIY chain, so, with the salesmans tacit permission I whipped out the 400D complete with the unassuming 17-85 and took a couple of shots of the sink.
Big mistake! I was rapidly approached by two female employees of B&Q and asked the inevitable question 'Have you got permission' etc to which I rather feebly replied 'I didn't know I had to have permission', rather than saying something like 'Yes I know I should have permission, but I have temporarily forgotten all the threads and advice that I have been reading for months on the Canon forum.
They then asked me 'Do you work for a magazine', 'No'.
'Are the pictures to be used commercially?' 'No',
'Why do you want the pictures then?' 'To see if this unit would look good in my bathroom'.
The more dominant of the two young women went on to explain that 'Your camera looks very 'Professional', if you had been using a 'Compact' or your phone camera it would have been OK, (The Salesman later told us that people take pictures all the time with phones and small cameras) but your camera looks too professional and I must ask you not to take any more pictures'. I explained that my camera looked 'Professional' because it WAS, there seemed little point in starting a discussion on the difference between an enthusiastic amateur with a cheaper end camera and an actual Pro with a camera worth several months worth of her wages.
I learned several lessons which include remembering where you are when you start to click and the impression (rightly or wrongly) that a few quids worth of fancy gear makes on folks unfamiliar with it.
Incidentally the sink picture turned out to be one of the best shots I've taken with the 17-85, mainly I think because of the great lighting in the B&Q Baths and Showers department, which I can thoroughly recommend, (but only with very small cameras or phones!)
Big mistake! I was rapidly approached by two female employees of B&Q and asked the inevitable question 'Have you got permission' etc to which I rather feebly replied 'I didn't know I had to have permission', rather than saying something like 'Yes I know I should have permission, but I have temporarily forgotten all the threads and advice that I have been reading for months on the Canon forum.
They then asked me 'Do you work for a magazine', 'No'.
'Are the pictures to be used commercially?' 'No',
'Why do you want the pictures then?' 'To see if this unit would look good in my bathroom'.
The more dominant of the two young women went on to explain that 'Your camera looks very 'Professional', if you had been using a 'Compact' or your phone camera it would have been OK, (The Salesman later told us that people take pictures all the time with phones and small cameras) but your camera looks too professional and I must ask you not to take any more pictures'. I explained that my camera looked 'Professional' because it WAS, there seemed little point in starting a discussion on the difference between an enthusiastic amateur with a cheaper end camera and an actual Pro with a camera worth several months worth of her wages.
I learned several lessons which include remembering where you are when you start to click and the impression (rightly or wrongly) that a few quids worth of fancy gear makes on folks unfamiliar with it.
Incidentally the sink picture turned out to be one of the best shots I've taken with the 17-85, mainly I think because of the great lighting in the B&Q Baths and Showers department, which I can thoroughly recommend, (but only with very small cameras or phones!)