How do you guys handle the "Your camera takes good pics" comments on your photos?

Of course people ask which camera you used. We do it too here at POTN. I sometimes see a great looking photo taken with a so-so camera and it makes me appreciate the picture even more. So to my mind, it does matter somehow.

My father in law once said: "Wow, those are great looking pictures! You got really lucky with the light." Even though I appreciate that he thought of the light instead of the camera, it was still I that choose that time of day to take the picture.

I used to care, but now I see that I don't need the approval or praise of people that are ignorant of the control of a photographer. That is where POTN is for: the critics critique you.

ConDigital wrote in post #8988655
Just say -

"Same as a Master Chef, it's all got to do with the pots".

LOL

Just tell them it was a Canon and you had it set on "P" for Professional instead of "A" for Amateur and if they did the same thing, their photos would be equally as good as yours. Easy.

I almost spilled my coffee on that one.

I guess, "M" is for "Master" ?

It is a comment that reveals how little the questioner knows about photography, and it reveals a lot too if the photographer finds it insulting or upsetting. Why are some people so insecure that they go through life looking for ways to become indignant?

To post this question and act insulted in a forum setting where a very large percentage of the threads are about what camera or what lens took what picture at what settings, is a just trolling for "make me feel superior" reinforcement.

My advice is to smile and say, "I'm glad you liked it." Jeez, people!

Hear, hear!

I just go with 'thanks, its a canon'.... then I **** to my wife when they are gone.

Most people who make that kind of comment just don't know any better. And they do usually mean it as a compliment...

I like it better when I hear "I have a Canon 40D (50D, XT, whatever) but my pictures don't look anything like yours... what settings do you use?" For this person, I will give the best answer I can to help them out.

My reaction to this comment varies. If I know the person and trust them, I will ask them if they want to try it, and when they say sure, I will hand over the 1D (after first placing the neck strap over their head and around their neck for safety of course) and tell them to take a shot. Because the 1D is usually on manual and the CF is set to separate focus from shutter, my subject that made the comment will fire a click only to find an improperly exposed OOF shot on the LCD. I then usually get the camera handed back with a look of bewilderment.

Or, if you are in a punchy mood, you can simply say "thanks" and then say "after were done here, how about you come over for dinner because my wife's pots cook great food".

"yah, it's great, ain't it? i just flip the power on, start pushing this here button up on top, and there's some sort of revolutionary chip inside the camera that's sooooo smart it knows how to transform every pic i take into some sort of digital masterpiece! it's so awesome!"

I have gone so far as to say "this camera has built in wifi and GPS that compares the image in the viewfinder to a database of all digital images on the internet, and then it automatically adjustes the exposure and the composition to emulate the best images in the world". If said with a straight face, I will typically get a "wowwwwwwww" back in return. People are amazing.

Yeah, and that Da Vinci bloke must have had some really good paintbrushes.

But your camera does take good photographs. If it didn't why would you buy it?

It's quite funny, really, people bang on and on endlessly on this forum about L series lenses and the awesome capabilities of the Canon EOS XYZ camera and then when someone mentions that their camera takes good photos they get all offended.

I have no idea if this is relevant to anything being said but i think so. My wife is a statistician and when she is giving a talk to fellow statisticians they often ask her about what computers and programming languages she used to get certain results. "Hey that is a great data set what computer did you use?" It doesn't bother her BTW. I was surprised when she told me this but it did give me a different perspective on this often made comment that photographers get.

My camera and lenses do take great photos if they didn't I would get ones that did. My printer makes great prints. None of the stuff works on its own but I think people are aware of that.

The next time I am looking at good photos maybe I will tell the photographer that their camera takes great photos. Sounds like it could be interesting.

hollis_f wrote in post #8989383
Yeah, and that Da Vinci bloke must have had some really good paintbrushes.

His name was Leonardo actually!