Photographer's Jargon for Everyday People

wallstreetoneil wrote in post #17546990
Again, the last two responses are clearly proving my point and why again I think the original blog post is not a bad idea; this belief, by what appears many, that what professionals of other industries say has to be completely dumbed down because it is just too difficult to grasp by 'clients' is an attitude which I don't live by (yes less is often more in marketing but you have to know your clients). I haven't always been a photographer. I have family member that are doctors. I have written and sold software that prices exotic fixed income and equity derivatives, built extremely complex programs for Actuaries to value pension plans and for Portfolio Managers, who I was one for a long time, to value companies using many different methods.

Your opinion is interesting, and I don't really want to comment on the original blog post. It is hard to imagine me as a person who doesn't know the jargon talking to a photographer. That being said, your opinion does have a significant exception. If I spoke to a patient or patient's family using the same language that I use to talk to a physician then I would never get my point across and would be doing a disservice to the patient. I am not treating them like morons, I am using language that they already understand. Medicine uses a lot of precise words that are important when talking to each other and totally pointless when talking to a patient. This is why I also start every conversation I have with my family's doctors by telling them that I speak the lingo. I can use all the medical terminology I want when I talk to patients, but usually it only serves to confuse them and make me sound smart. The fact that you have family members that are doctors doesn't necessarily mean that you will be able to "talk the talk."

I'm a Master Technician. My customers have no problem understanding what's going on when I explain it to them, yet I don't use industry jargon. My wife is a doctor. Again, she can explain to people what's going on with their bodies without having to use industry jargon. That doesn't mean "dumbing it down", nor does it mean "treating the customers like morons". It simply implies that you use language they can understand without the need for a translator or a reference sheet. I would dare say that you have to be smarter because you have to possess such an understanding of the concepts you deal with that you can explain them in straightforward terms without falling back on jargon. To paraphrase Einstein "if you can't explain it to a child, you don't really understand it yourself".

"Dumbing down" isn't even in question. To dumb down a subject means to simplify one's presentation of ideas. The OP's post is only about vocabulary. Most clients won't know what strobes are, and the photographer's job doesn't include teaching them the word. Just say "I'll set up some big lights here and here." If you're shooting outdoors and you want to move your subjects into the shade, instead of talking about blown highlights, tell them the bright light would make the pictures look washed out. You don't have to lose meaning when explaining things. Just use ordinary words instead of technical ones.

OhLook wrote in post #17547198
Most clients won't know what strobes are, and the photographer's job doesn't include teaching them the word.

Such an excellent point.

If I go to a doctor, and have a problem that she has discovered, I don't want her to use industry jargon, and then teach me what that jargon means. I want her to explain my ailment to me in terms that I already understand (which is not "dumbing it down" in any way whatsoever). In fact, if a doctor did use jargon and then explained the terms to me, I would think that doing so would be weird, and I would wonder if perhaps the doctor was socially inept.

If that doctor wants to have a blog in which she explains jargon, then that would be cool - I could go there to learn something. But to speak to a client or a patient with jargon in face-to-face encounters would be really weird.

I was in sales for 8 years, nothing makes a potential customers eyes glaze over quicker than techno-babble. I always kept things simple unless they started asking questions in technical verbage then would respond in a like manner.

Wilt wrote in post #17544378
What you want to say, to sound 'professional' vs. what you really mean or say instead

• "Hi, you're here for a portrait sitting, right?" = "Hi, you came to have your picture taken today, right?"
  
• "I'm gonna adjust the aperture for less Depth of Field" = "I'm gonna make it so you ask me why the tip of your nose is out of focus, along with your ears."
  
• "I'm gonna adjust the shutter speed" = "You're later gonna ask me why your mouth is always blurred, and it's because it is always moving when I shoot"
  
• "I'm gonna adjust the hairlight" = "This light is sticking up from the back of your head, so I'm gonna move it, so it only highlights the mole on your neck"
  
• "I need to adjust the Main light" = I don't know what the heck I'm doing with lighting, but this looks like H*ll so I need to try something different"
  
• "I need to adjust these barn doors" = I still don't know what the heck I'm doing with lighting, but this looks like H*ll so I need to try something different"
  
• "Let's put a different gel on the background light for a different apearance" = "Since I don't know how to pose you better, maybe if I change the color of the background that will distract you from how similar the shots are, while you are viewing the previews"
  
• "Let's take that one again" = "oooooh, sh*t!"
  

"Let's see how these photos that I have just taken look on the computer" = "oooh-oooh, ah-ah-ah..oooh-oooh-ooh, aaaahh!"

I like this one better!

Imagine a surgeon using strict medical terms to describe an upcoming procedure to a patient.. ?

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #17547304
Imagine a surgeon using strict medical terms to describe an upcoming procedure to a patient.. ?

https://www.youtube.co​m/watch?v=_jl4iL6hCqs

"we're going to cut you open and tinker with your ticker"

I'm not sure that the blog post will help you land any new clients, but if you decide to keep it, I would definitely have someone proofread it...i.e., "Sun falls down on your face and causes the shadows from your eye bras."

Just for the record the majority of the terms on the list are actually from clients who inquired about portraiture service and mentioned these terms. I was amazed by how much information is actually online and people read nowadays before talking to a photographer.

As the 10.7 million references of "flash guns". Million it is: https://www.google.com …sh+guns&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8

Some even call us "togs" short from phoTOGogrpherS, in case this is considered new term. Anyway. Thank you for the feedback. It gives me good pointers. Appreciate it.