how to look like a pro

Looking like a pro, and with the help of a press pass, you can get admission to a truck on a techno parade and explore new perspectives with a 28.
 
Socke said:
Looking like a pro, and with the help of a press pass, you can get admission to a truck on a techno parade and explore new perspectives with a 28.
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Ouch, that looks like it hurts, I'd rather get the vest :)

Todd
 
BTW, where do you keep the film when you wear that outfit...never mind.

Todd
 
Nothing says pro like kevlar!

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just what every photog needs to live out there Robert Capa fantasies
 
I'm sad to say that I spent most of my life never carrying a camera anywhere and never taking pictures -- because being Asian, I was self-conscious about how it looked. (Everyone knows we're born with cameras around our necks and never take them off, right?) Incredibly silly, but you know, you grow up in Virginia with identity issues to begin with and everyone around you automatically assuming you speak Chinese (when you aren't Chinese) and asking what nationality you are (when you were born in Washington, D.C.) ... anyway, the last thing I ever wanted to look like was someone who took a lot of pictures.

It took the advent of cheap digital cameras to get me to carry a camera, because everyone else was and I no longer looked like the stereotype of an Asian tourist. Or at least, it wasn't only the Asian tourists carrying cameras. And because it was cheap and easy to take digital photos, I did it more often. And then I finally got up the nerve to pick up the two classic cameras my father left behind, that sat in a drawer in my mother's house for over 20 years. I thought they'd be complicated and hard to use, but they are wonderfully simple. The M3 lives in my purse (except right now, since it is out for a CLA) so I can pull it out and take pictures whenever I want.

I love my Leica and my Rollei not only because they were my father's, not only because they are classy and mechanical and make cool-looking photos seemingly all by themselves, but because they are beautiful and will never be mistaken for any tourist's camera.

I don't know what a professional photographer looks like. I guess that would depend on how good you are at it, and what kind of a living you are making from it. I do know that 95% of the people who see me with my M3 don't look twice at it (the Rollei gets more looks because I think people can't figure out what it is). The 5% that do look, give pretty significant looks.

I think most pros use DSLRs. So I guess if I wanted to look like a pro, I'd leave the mechanical cameras at home and carry the D70s.

By the way, I do wear a lot of black.
 
MelanieC said:
...The M3 lives in my purse...
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From 1001 Phrases Unlikely to be Used on Internet Camera Discussion Fora by Biggles, Harper & Row 2003

Wear it out, ma'am. Wear it out.
 
Why bother trying to look like a mere professional photographer? What you want to look like is an editor or an art director. They're the ones who hire professional photographers.

I can't be of much specific help, because I've never seen any two art directors who dress alike (including me, when I used to be one.) Editors usually look either like Rotarians or drunks (and yes, I know it's possible to be both!) So, carrying it off is mostly a matter of assertion...
 
From 1001 Phrases Unlikely to be Used on Internet Camera Discussion Fora by Biggles, Harper & Row 2003

I just spent some time looking at the "guys vs. gals" poll thread. I don't know if you'd call me a gear-head (although I do have a pretty bad REI problem), but if it makes you feel any better, this is what I mean when I refer to my purse:

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I bought it because the M3 fit in it.
 
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Todd.Hanz said:
BTW, where do you keep the film when you wear that outfit...never mind.

Todd
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The trick is getting others to undressed! I was the one on the floor in professional torn jeans and wrinkled T-Shirt.
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Get some off- white cardboard and make a huge cylinder to disguise your Leica lens as a 1750 mm Canon L ; Don't shave for three days. Get Socke's lady to lug a large number of mysterious bags and boxes, all beat up with hotel stickers from some obscure hotel on the Amazon or in the Central African Republic. Stand on everbody's toes to get in the front line. Make your own press-pass. (With sincere apologies to real professionals who are often not even recognized as professionals.)
 
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What's wrong with a Tilley hat? :( Gotta keep the head dry somehow... Does it count if you actually use and abuse the Tilley? Mine's been worn and folded and worn and folded so many times that the brim wire is broken in two places. I think the only thing I haven't done with it is to drink beer from it, and that's only 'cause it's got vent holes and I'd just end up wasting! :D
 
>>I don't know what a professional photographer looks like. I guess that would depend on how good you are at it,,,,<<

Thanks for sharing your wonderful post, Melanie.

OT: I've found that, if I'm not carrying my Domke bag or a laptop bag when I'm traveling, then I'm completely disorganized because ... I don't have a purse.

Back On Topic: For those putting together professional photog wardrobes, don't forget to keep some kind of not-quite-clean scarf/bandana tied loosely around your neck so that everyone knows you're ready for an Iraqi shamal sandstorm, even in a major American city.
 
MelanieC said:
I'm sad to say that I spent most of my life never carrying a camera anywhere and never taking pictures -- because being Asian, I was self-conscious about how it looked. (Everyone knows we're born with cameras around our necks and never take them off, right?) Incredibly silly, but you know, you grow up in Virginia with identity issues to begin with and everyone around you automatically assuming you speak Chinese (when you aren't Chinese) and asking what nationality you are (when you were born in Washington, D.C.) ... anyway, the last thing I ever wanted to look like was someone who took a lot of pictures.
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As far as I'm concerned, that racial stereotype is the one of the best thing going for us. Alright, well, at least for me. No one will take you seriously, you won't register as a threat. Perfect the 'lost and confused' look and you can get away with murder (well, almost). Hell, if I were a cute Asian girl, that'd be even better (strictly in terms of sneaking under the radar, you understand)!

It's sure as hell better than looking like a middle-aged white guy with a photo vest and a Billingham or Domke bag ;) But what the hell do I know, I wear a lot of black, carry a bright red satchel bag and wear white headphones; I'm surprised I'm not regularly beaten up on the grounds of pretentiousness.

Hin
 
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