"So, how did you do it..." -type of questions

[shadowfox]

I don't know about you, but it bugs the heck out of me when someone casually asked "So, how did you produce that image/print?"

To me, it shows the lack of respect for other's effort and work.

It's like a guy asking a chef for his/her most prized recipe... for nothing.

Your thoughts? Have you ever been asked a question like this? What's your reaction?

 

[greyelm]

Just answer skill and practice.

 

[antiquark]

I always answer, in detail, any questions about my photos. Never bothers me.

 

[mtargz]

I'll gauge the skill and understanding of the asker. If he knows his stuff, I'll explain everything he wants to know, from agitation-regime to post-processing. If details won't mean anything to him, I'll tell him the rough sketches - camera, film - which is usually too much for them anyway.

 

[ottluuk]

Or, you could take it as a flattery. After all, the person noticed something about the photo that was worth asking about.

I wouldn't worry about giving your magic bullet away. As it happens with chefs, a plain list of ingredients and procedures is not enough for a layman to reproduce fine cuisine. You need experience, knowledge, sensibilities... And after all, without good content any advanced photographic technique is merely a cheap trick.

 

[ibcrewin]

Oh I love questions like that. I usually go in depth and if they are into it it's cool. If not, they tend not to ask again.

You could also just say, "smoke and mirrors my friend, smoke and mirrors."

 

[degruyl]

I wouldn't worry about giving your magic bullet away. As it happens with chefs, a plain list of ingredients and procedures is not enough for a layman to reproduce fine cuisine.

Taken another way: chefs give away the information all the time. By combining what is on the menu with what is on the plate, some people can completely copy a dish. Other people can't.

Photography is the same way. Some people could duplicate your techniques, others couldn't. In neither case is that the hard part of making a photograph. The hard part is taking the right picture in the first place.

 

[gavinlg]

Depends on the context and tone in which it was asked. If they are marginalizing the work I'll be vague. If they're generally interested in the creative process/vision I'll explain in detail.

 

[photo4ls]

Or, you could take it as a flattery. After all, the person noticed something about the photo that was worth asking about. Per Ott Luuk.

Photography is about sharing, we do it here all the time. I'm sure some
of us here are flattered when asked a question about their technique.
Never happened to me none the less. 😉
Nelson

 

[Roger Hicks]

Taken another way: chefs give away the information all the time. By combining what is on the menu with what is on the plate, some people can completely copy a dish. Other people can't.

Photography is the same way. Some people could duplicate your techniques, others couldn't. In neither case is that the hard part of making a photograph. The hard part is taking the right picture in the first place.

Exactly.

But a good reply is often, "Luck."

Cheers,

R.

 

[Mcary]

Simple, pure 100% dumb luck 🙂

 

[rbiemer]

I don't know about you, but it bugs the heck out of me when someone casually asked "So, how did you produce that image/print?"

To me, it shows the lack of respect for other's effort and work.

It's like a guy asking a chef for his/her most prized recipe... for nothing.

Your thoughts? Have you ever been asked a question like this? What's your reaction?

I am a chef and have been asked about my food fairly often. How I answer depends--as others have said--on the sincerity and skill of the person asking. I will freely share what little I know with mostly anyone.

When I ask about how a photo was made, I am not looking to copy somebody's work but to learn another tool/method to apply to my own work.
Rob

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

People ask me all the time, I get emails every day from people on RFF and other forums I belong to. I'm always glad to help unless they need really extensive hand-holding...then it becomes work for me, and I get paid to teach if its work. 😀

My website has several pages of free technical info on how I do stuff, and more are coming soon. I don't feel that sharing that info hurts me in any way, I don't even care if someone photographs the same place I photographed. Their interpretation will be different than mine.

 

[Benjamin Marks]

I answer technical questions when I can contribute something, but no one so far has asked me for the technical details of _my_ image-making.

 

[wilonstott]

Lack of respect? Hardly. Its something more akin to flattery.

Makes me think about this flickr group called Hardcore Street Photography.
They have his image review thread, and the guys are pretty much all pricks.
They are always talking about how cameras don't matter.
But no one will ever tell you what they're using.
Hypocrisy--if it doesn't matter then why does anyone care?
This type of elitism irks me to no end.

Same thing here.

Are you afraid you're going to give away some multi-billion-dollar trade secret?
Afraid you're going to give away the varnish recipe there Stradivarius?

Newsflash. You're not.

The people that ask you those questions want to be able to reproduce what you're doing.
Because they like it.
If gear has nothing to do with it, then you have nothing to worry about.
Tell them what they want to know and let them figure out that it's hard.
Let them figure out how much work and practice goes into creating art.
Let them find out it ain't easy.

Unless...
It really is the gear.
And you're worried about people finding out how easy it really is.
That anyone can do what you do.

 

[Roger Hicks]

I am a chef and have been asked about my food fairly often. How I answer depends--as others have said--on the sincerity and skill of the person asking. I will freely share what little I know with mostly anyone.

When I ask about how a photo was made, I am not looking to copy somebody's work but to learn another tool/method to apply to my own work.
Rob

Dear Rob,

Exactly. What is the threat, after all? That they will open their own restaurant and put you out of business? More likely, they'll say, "Yes, I got it from _______. Mine's good, but his is better."

Of course there's no point in trying to explain something to someone who won't be able to understand, or to someone who thinks they know better than you. Otherwise, why not?

This is NOT an attack on the OP at all, but generally, I've found that those keenest to protect their 'secrets' are merely refusing to pass on something that someone else generously passed on to them. Though in all fairness, this may not be the point he was making.

Likewise, I completely agree with Chris. Whatever they do won't be the same, so what are you giving away?

Cheers,

R.

 

[nikon_sam]

I'll tell them all they want to know and then some...most likely I'll bore them to tears...

Not wanting to teach someone what you know, about anything, is just a Fear that they'll become better than you...Trust me there are a ton of people better than you right now...

When I was Training Press Operators on how to maintain and operate the printing press I was installing some would ask if I was afraid of teaching them all I know and worried I could be replaced by them sometime down the road...
I would reply with this..."I have 30 years experience on these machines and when you have 10 I'll have 40...It's going to take a while for you to catch up..."

As long as you keep learning you have nothing to fear...

 

[shadowfox]

Interesting answers, all.
Thank you.

In reality I gave out information about what I discovered all the time. Almost every time I post pictures here and in other forums, I give out the gear, film, development time, etc.

So it's about improvement via sharing. I got that.

But from time to time, there are people who asked *casually* that even from the tone you can tell that this person isn't asking out of sincere curiosity or admiration, it's that sense of entitlement to get what others has worked hard to achieve... just by asking for it. Again, it's not the asking part that irked me, it's the insensitive part that motivated the asking.

I do like the '100% pure dumb luck' answer 🙂

 

[igi]

Exactly.

But a good reply is often, "Luck."

Cheers,

R.

Agree. I'd rather say I'm lucky than giving them technical details for they must be doing those technical details as well.

I sometimes say "I wait" though...😉

 

[nikon_sam]

If I happen to ask a great Chef how he made a dish and he replies with all the ingredients, the type of pan, how he prepped and cooked, and then what he added after all that DOESN'T mean I can go home and duplicate his dish that would rival what he's doing...
And to top that he knows it...
Now we at RFF do this all the time...when we like a shot someone posts we often ask what film, lens, camera, developer, filter...what we are doing is this...
We see something in that shot that we like and are curious as to how you got that "Look"...maybe I'm doing exactly what you're doing but I'm using XXX film and you're using YYY film...maybe I'll try YYY film next time...
Lately for me it's been "What lens did you use...???" I'm curious as to what all these different lenses produce...it doesn't mean I'm going out and buying that exact same lens but I might explore the reason that lens does what it does...I'm learning all the time...when I know it all I'll say Good-Bye to RFF...