No, it's not just you. I'm in your space, too
this post was submitted on 17 Nov 2023
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Photography
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A place to politely discuss the tools, technique and culture of photography.
This is not a good place to simply share cool photos/videos or promote your own work and projects, but rather a place to discuss photography as an art and post things that would be of interest to other photographers.
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Not weird. They want to be paid for their knowledge. Whether people pay is a different discussion.
They're under no obligation, of course, but it is unusual for a photographer to put gear info behind a paywall.
I never realised how many beginners are looking to replicate shots, I was more just trying to ale some friendly conversation with the photographer
download one of their photos and look at the metadata thru exif viewer :)
I could although I wonder if threads strips exif data. It’s just weird as it’s a normal conversation topic, I didn’t really have any intent of replicating anything
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I was interacting in a discussion on the threads all and asks the question
wut
I didn't quite understand that either. Do they mean a thread in a post that was on r/all?
Threads the app
New twitter
If they have a patreon where that's part of the specific deliverable on whatever tier, they have to kind of keep it behind the paywall so they don't piss off their paying customers by giving shit away for free that they're paying for. Understandable.
Definitely weird though, seems like a bit of stretch to have that specifically behind a paywall (unless it's full details/exif data/edit methods full breakdown on everything)
I doubt his policy is specifically "the lens type is behind the paywall" and everything else is just open season. I'm sure it's more along the lines of "I discuss my gear and methods with my Patreon subs." If you start answering one guy who just wants to know one thing, it opens the floodgates and makes you seem like an ass if you don't answer everyone.
Now, whether it's sad that people have to resort to this method to make money from photography now is a whole different conversation.
some people wont tell you anything at all, so there is that. But if it bothers you and makes you think differently of that person, then perhaps you should just unfollow them and maybe follow photographers who are more open to teaching for free.
whoever that photog is , he/she is smart AF
they're capitalizing on a certain category of people who want all their information pasted into their brain.
whoever wants can find almost infinite amount of information on any lens , a ton of material to find how a specific lens looks.
Asking what lens did you use in this shot, puts you into that category
As a photographer it's up to you to chose the lens that fits your vision , asking another photographer WHY he/she chose a lens is much better than WHAT lens
my 2 cents
Dunno that I agree. Sounds like trashy gatekeeping for less than beer money.
Not everyone has the experience to recognize a lens (especially the more obscure ones), or even to have a vision for their shot. We all started by looking at other photos, asking around how they were achieved, just general photography conversation, trying to copy those shots, keep some techniques, leave others, adapt. That's how we all develop our own styles.
Dunno. I dislike the idea of monetizing conversation about topics I'm passionate about. I prefer to discuss openly and with mutual curiousity. I still cherish road trips with photog friends,hours in the car "oh I shot this like that, I kinda like that effect", "did you see so and so, using that stuff there? I used this other, have you tried so and so". Learned so much. Expanded my passion tenfold. Made life long friends. I can't even fathom passing that over for a few pennies, how sad. Both for the experienced and noobs.
Kinda have to agree… and not only because I am doing the same thing.
It was more of just a passing comment, I was praising her work and just thought I’d ask the question, I had no intention of trying to replicate the shot, I’ve got my own style and gear I use for specific looks. Had just never seen anyone paywall technical info although I see the business model side now after reading more comments that if she’s already set up that mode she can’t give anything out for free as it would make her model fall apart
They're not only asking to be paid for their labour (completely valid!) but they have an easy and convenient way to access those payment plans for you. This isn't weird. This is capitalism and knowing your value. The number of us out here doing free labour like chumps...
This is the mindset of modern greed, where every exchange must be transactional, and if it’s not, you’re not hustling hard enough. Wring as many people for as much money as possible.
Fuck that attitude and those people.
Expecting everyone to teach you for free, and a answer your personal questions, isn’t modern greed? Interesting.
You just spent more effort typing out your response than it would’ve taken that guy to write the name of a lens. Writing a lens name isn’t teaching. I actually teach photography for a living. Explaining a concept is teaching. Stating something from the metadata isn’t teaching. Paywalling the metadata is hustle bro greed.
Nobody owes anyone the information on their process for free.
You don’t want to pay? That’s fine. You aren’t entitled to that information. Period.
Calling a photographer “that chick” is just another reason why your opinion doesn’t count.
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I can't believe you gave us this insight for free. Blessed.
I used to run a lawn care business that was really successful and had no issues making over 10k a month. I quit that business to pursue college and photography. I learned so much and that taught me the in's and outs. Like being a grandmaster chest player. You don't want to just give out the secrets because your information is very valuable. I could turn your starter lawncare company into $100k a year easily. Why would I give out the information for free taking time out of my day to answer you? Pay the guy the $5 and get all that info and more if you want to shoot like him. It's just $5 and supports the creative.
How did you ever find time in your busy and incredibly productive day to grace us with this soulless response? Are you going to be invoicing us for the effort?
Really weird imo. Knowing what lens someone used doesn't at all mean you can take photos like them.
Its a lens, ill tell you absolutely everything about all my gear, just because you buy it doesn't mean you'll take photos like me.
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Strange, I suppose I see both sides though. I personally probably wouldn't use these services from someone with that sort of mindset, but I also don't see the entire interaction.
The truth is it's tough out here for those of us trying to make a living, and you have to draw the line somewhere about what to charge for. I don't think it's the end of the world to answer a question about general focal length in a community forum though.
I think I found it weird because she demanded that more people follow female photographers because apparently threads is a “male dominated space”, which I would disagree as it’s a bit of an even split (at least for my feed) and then pushed her print store and patreon in the same post, I can see her not wanting to divulge information if she has a specific business mode around that but I don’t think it’s necessary if she’s selling as many prints and she’s claiming she does.
I kinda get it. Only sharing details with people who actually support them rather than Joe Public.
Plus I feel that letting the art stand alone without specifying the details of its capture has its merits. We shouldn’t expect every photographer on social media to teach, most just want to share their work.
Just find other sources... there's plenty of places where people will share that kind of info with you for free. Not gonna knock people for trying to make a buck out of their podcast but it seems kinda silly to pay for that when you can learn similar things elsewhere for free until you can recognize it yourself.
But if you like their content as a whole and feel like there is more to learn from them than just that? Im a believer in supporting what you like and what you want to see staying in existence.
I run a business and have been asked for advice, it's never crossed my mind to say 'pay me first' when a simple question is asked. I had mentors and pay it forward. Lotta greedy folks in this thread.
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He's probably trying to make a living exclusively from taking photos and reaching how to. Quite meh.
I saw someone ask a trainer a question in a gym (while he was working with a paying client), he told them "That is a $35 question".
Wtf is going on here? Photography is not rocket science. If one understands basics of exposure triangle and light and has a modicum of creativity, they're off to the races. Vision is all that's left.
Why would anyone see a photo and be like "What lens did you use?"
It’s more just to have a friendly conversation whilst praising their work (was more Wondering if they used a filter or did the effect in post) and it caught me off side, I’ve been shooting photography for 10 and skating for 23 years, I wouldn’t dream of paywalling someone if they asked me how I do a specific trick, always happy help others
Sounds super weird. Link the picture here and there are probably a lot of people here who can give you a good guess at the focal length.
I have a good guess, seemed like a 100mm with a low f stop, possibly with a pro mist 1/8 filter as there seemed to be some smoothing although it could’ve been done in post, was more a passing question as I was praising her work, had no intention of trying to replicate her work, just trying to be friendly and show interest in their work
I like to keep the mystery when it comes to my photos. So when they ask questions like "who are you?" and "how did you get in here?" I don't like to spoil the magic, ya know?
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Don't let the weirdos convince you it's normal.
Having tiered information reveal is such a weird cash grabby thing to do. Like, not only do you think about it, but implement and enforce it too. Ugh, it's so gross.
This emerges from the need to monetize.
Just like airlines no longer offering first checked bag free (that used to be free) or seat choice (that used to be free) or flight meals (used to be free).
Instead of adding something more to the paid tier, they exclude something from the free tier.
How my Pateon members does he have? I might try a side hustle showing people how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I'll give out the name of the bread, jelly and everything. Even sell a group of custom knives "specialized" for cutting loafed bread. Put my business name on them.
/s
Personally, I would answer that question with no problem, regardless if I charged for teaching or not.
It’s not giving away anything special to say I shot something with X lens at Y aperture; there’s usually a lot more to getting a particular shot than what that information would give someone. If that’s all they need to reproduce it, they could likely set their camera to full auto and get close enough.
To me there’s a big difference between telling someone a basic technical aspect of a photo and actually imparting some great knowledge. Besides, chances are good you could reproduce most shots with a different combination of lens and settings, which I would also tell someone asking that question.
Most of the time (for my work at least) what I do in the editing stage is much more important than what I did at the time I took the shot. When someone asks me that is when I usually tell them the truth: It was a lot of hand editing.
It’s not weird, they clearly sell their advice so that specific information is only available to certain paying customers.
photography attracts a certain type of person sometimes. I can’t stand talking about cameras with those people. guitar shops are the same sometimes. just forget that person.
You’re not entitled to that information. They want to sell it, you don’t want to buy it, that’s life, and commerce. People do Patreon to make a living, not to be mean to you specifically. Being butthurt about it is weird.
Weird....because with just a little bit of training you can pick apart most photos and make good generalized determinations about the shutter speed and focal length.
Also, are they wiping the exif data away...that would have all the details you need.
I have a patreon tier like this so I kinda feel the other side. I put in a great deal of effort to write down the process of editing or developing, used gear, location, models, lighting etc.
I used to answer questions like these, but I do try to point people towards my patreon nowadays. Sure, happy to have a discussion, but honestly if you don’t value my insight to “buy me a coffee”, than go fuck yourself, I am not chatgpt.
Location and model questions are more annoying… its a lot of effort to scout them out. If someone wants to learn, happy to help, but to copy? Pay first. That was my rant :D
That sounds like a great reason NOT to support someone’s Patreon
Who are you talking about? It’s not clear
I think a lot of people don't understand the effect focal length has on an image. I also think a lot of creators can struggle with differentiation when it comes to perks for supporters as opposed to viewers. So there might be some value in that. However, I think if that information were part of the content the creator would get much more value from the content possibilities.
So, I wouldn't call it wired, but it is maybe a little desperate and misguided.
That’s strange…
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