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

I get this quite regularly.. I just say "Yes it does but someone has to press the button"..

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just say "thank you" and get over yourself. its not that serious.

jptsr1 wrote in post #8993314
just say "thank you" and get over yourself. its not that serious.

+1 Well said.

I just say "Thanks" and move on. I dont have time to educate the masses about photography. However If someone pushes the subject, and shows that they are even a lil interested, I will talk to them as long as they want, or as long as I can take the time to talk to them. But in general I just about ignore it and keep working.

JoePhotoOnline wrote in post #8988277
and they usually quickly say "Your camera takes great photos. Which one do you have?"...They still don't get the hint.

Joe,

I have a 5dMkII (Roughly $2,500 - plus change), and I use any one of 4 lenses ranging in price from $500 through $2,000, Speedlight, another couple hundred, filters, another couple hundred, and so on.

Point being, at any moment I have between $3,000 to $6,000 dollars worth of camera in my hand. Not counting backup, infrared and small format cameras.

After that investment, if my camera DIDN'T take great photos, I would be pretty f#¢<¡±& pi$$ed OFF

Why climb on a high horse when someone recognizes that?

Usually I say "thanks" and leave it at that, but sometimes when I need a little laugh after a long day of shooting I say "thanks, but yours is probably better. Mine only has 3x zoom!" and they go "REALLY?!?!? No way"

I just say "thanks" and move on.

What the Duck did it best.

Just say, "Thank you, your mouth makes nice compliments."

Just say "Thank you, this is my camera", then show them a picture of the Sigma 200-500mm f/2.8 zoom lens attached to a Canon camera.

Radtech1 wrote in post #8993385
Joe,

I have a 5dMkII (Roughly $2,500 - plus change), and I use any one of 4 lenses ranging in price from $500 through $2,000, Speedlight, another couple hundred, filters, another couple hundred, and so on.

Point being, at any moment I have between $3,000 to $6,000 dollars worth of camera in my hand. Not counting backup, infrared and small format cameras.

After that investment, if my camera DIDN'T take great photos, I would be pretty f#¢<¡±& pi$$ed OFF

Why climb on a high horse when someone recognizes that?

+1

As people have said on this thread, how can you both think that you need thousands of dollars worth of equipment to do something, AND that your equipment is irrelevant? Do people here just enjoy throwing money away? Sorry, but if you actually thought "you" made the pictures and your camera had nothing to do with it, sell it, buy a cheap one, and be happy.

I don't buy the "pots and pans" analogy. If you really want a chef analogy, give this compliment to a chef "wow, this tastes fantastic, what kind of beef is this?". The point is, it's not just the pots and pans we're talking about, it's the ingredients, and the equipment, and everything. Yes, you need to be a good chef to put it all together, but commenting on/asking about the quality of ingredients is not rude! A great chef isn't going to make a 5 star meal with a microwave and some mac and cheese, just as a terrible chef isn't going to make a great meal with all the ingredients and cooking gear at his/her disposal. Same in photography.

So, what would I do? Thank them for the compliment and tell them what kind of camera I have. Anything else is being a self-righteous prick and will ensure people won't want to talk to you anymore (and rightfully so).

Gilthanass wrote in post #8996062
+1

As people have said on this thread, how can you both think that you need thousands of dollars worth of equipment to do something, AND that your equipment is irrelevant? Do people here just enjoy throwing money away? Sorry, but if you actually thought "you" made the pictures and your camera had nothing to do with it, sell it, buy a cheap one, and be happy.

I don't buy the "pots and pans" analogy. If you really want a chef analogy, give this compliment to a chef "wow, this tastes fantastic, what kind of beef is this?". The point is, it's not just the pots and pans we're talking about, it's the ingredients, and the equipment, and everything. Yes, you need to be a good chef to put it all together, but commenting on/asking about the quality of ingredients is not rude! A great chef isn't going to make a 5 star meal with a microwave and some mac and cheese, just as a terrible chef isn't going to make a great meal with all the ingredients and cooking gear at his/her disposal. Same in photography.

So, what would I do? Thank them for the compliment and tell them what kind of camera I have. Anything else is being a self-righteous prick and will ensure people won't want to talk to you anymore (and rightfully so).

Your last comment hits the nail right on the head!

nicksan wrote in post #8992006
No, I expect the fully qualified comment:

Nick... you're getting worse mate!

cheers

Gilthanass wrote in post #8996062
...As people have said on this thread, how can you both think that you need thousands of dollars worth of equipment to do something, AND that your equipment is irrelevant? Do people here just enjoy throwing money away? Sorry, but if you actually thought "you" made the pictures and your camera had nothing to do with it, sell it, buy a cheap one, and be happy....

Excellent point. People obsess over the IQ of their equipment; scrutinize every aspect of their camera and lenses, shoot test charts, batteries, brick walls; micro-adjust their lenses and pixel-peep every image at 200%; accept nothing less than a FF body and bagful of 'L' primes - then are offended when somebody comments that their camera takes good pictures. If the gear is completely irrelevant and the quality of an image rests entirely in the photographer's hands, then why all the obsession and lust over gear? Sure, the photographer him/herself has a lot to do with the image - but it's pretty presumptuous to insist that one's expensive, painstakingly researched/hand-selected, adjusted and calibrated rig have little or nothing to do with it.

The average joe on the street knows little to nothing about the obsession with gear, IQ, sharpness, bokeh, etc....but if they'd ever visited a photography forum and read some of the threads, they'd probably die laughing when a photographer sniffed at their well-intended compliment and arrogantly insisted that their camera had nothing to do with the image they produced.

Cameras certainly don't take pictures all by themselves - but when somebody compliments a clean, sharp, perfectly-exposed photo that was taken handheld in low light at 1600 ISO, I'd feel pretty arrogant insisting that it was "all me". Sure, I selected the settings, framed the image and used proper technique in taking the shot, but I wouldn't have gotten that remarkable image with a P&S, or a Rebel with a non-IS kit lens.