Photographers Etiquette
I’ve been a bit busy of late, so I’ve not had much time to blog…..
This weekend past, I spent my time in the company of eight lovely people whilst doing a workshop in Glencoe. It was a really nice weekend and I had a lot of laughs with everyone.
Anyway, the reason for this post is about photography etiquette. Have you ever had the experience of setting up your tripod some place (and the landscape can be really big) only to see someone far off approach you and then mussel you out of your location? Well, during this weekend I had a classic example of that. I’d been setting up this shot – I found a tiny bit of ice on Rannoch moor and was busy showing Iain in my group the benefits of getting down really low for this composition when another photographer turned up and walked right in front of me and set their tripod up.
It was unbelievable. It was like we weren’t there. Out of a big landscape like Rannoch moor, this person had decided that the very spot we were standing on was where they wanted to be, and without even asking us, just walked right in front and set up their tripod.
I’ve had experience of this many times before. I can recall one time being in Milford Sound, New Zealand, making a shot of Mitre peak. The landscape was deserted and I’d chosen a location off the beaten path. Standing in the middle of a river leading out to the coast, another photographer turned up and promptly set up their tripod next to mine…. almost invading my body space, and then eventually, right in front of me.
It’s like going into a deserted cinema and choosing a seat, only to find a second person comes into the cinema and decides to sit right in front of you (and they’re usually tall too) :-)
Last year in Bolivia, I had the same experience with a photographer while I was making a picture of the stone tree. The landscape was deserted and out in the distance I saw a jeep racing towards the landscape. When the jeep arrived, this guy got out, came right over to where I had my camera and asked ‘how long have you been here’. And then he promptly set up his tripod at the exact height, with the exact composition, right in front of me.
I’m sure there is good reason for their behaviour and it is this: It is the belief that if they see a photographer set up in some place, he’s probably there with good reason. You wouldn’t of course, go into an empty restaurant would you?
So suggestions welcome as to how to deal with photographers who think nothing better of stealing your location right from under your feet.
A poke in the eye perhaps? :-)
I suggest moving your tripod so it is directly in front of them and pointing at them and saying ‘Thank god you came, I’m a portrait photographer and all this landscape was freaking me out. I mostly do nudes though, I don’t suppose you could oblige? Oh – and BDSM is a speciality, do you do handcuffs?’
I suspect that most people would run a mile immediatly but if someone doesn’t, you can just leave them naked and handcuffed and get on with your photography… :-)
Tim
Comment by timparkin — 10 February, 2010 @ 1:28 pm
I’m speechless Tim, but I think you have some good ideas there :-)
Comment by Bruce Percy — 10 February, 2010 @ 1:31 pm
Flatulence should do the trick.
Comment by Niall Connaughton — 10 February, 2010 @ 1:39 pm
In a crowd trying to photograph Billy Bragg last w/e, caught a bloke’s head with my 70-200’s lens hood. Oh dear. Annoyingly had to clean his hair gel off when I got home.
I just go up and tell them, but rule no 1 is to be absolutely convinced it’s not you who failed to see the other bloke and got in his way.
Comment by john b — 10 February, 2010 @ 1:54 pm
I’d add that there’s little I dislike more than a bunch of people who’ve paid someone for tuition and then think they own that location. Say you lot had been there longer than I judged reasonable, I’d probably have spoken to you first but would have then insisted on my rights to the scene too.
Not a dig at you, but a general principle.
Comment by john b — 10 February, 2010 @ 1:58 pm
Hi John,
That’s a good point…. so often is the case when we’re not aware of someone else waiting to use that location. If there are a lot of photographers around, it can get pretty busy – as Glencoe can be.
But still, I’d say the etiquette is to ask, and she didn’t.
One of the things about being a tutor, is to understand that there are other people around who may wish to use the spots and courtesy is paramount.
My post was really coming from the point of view that others are drawn to a spot if another photographer is there – because they believe that the photographer has found something worth shooting.
Comment by Bruce Percy — 10 February, 2010 @ 2:13 pm
I remember one time I was photographing at Mono Lake. One guy set his tripod right next to mine. He literally elbow me out of my spot.
Comment by DaveL — 10 February, 2010 @ 6:00 pm
I’d go with Tim’s suggestion, it sounds like the most fun.
Seriously though, it would be good courtesy for the invading photographer to show a little respect and wait until you are finished at your spot rather than barge in and get in your way. Asking nicely before getting in the way may also work.
Some people simply have no manners unfortunately.
Comment by christhomson — 10 February, 2010 @ 11:59 pm
I like Tim Parkin’s suggestion most of all!
One problem seems to be that as soon as you have a tripod and anything bigger than a point-and-shoot digital camera, other people think you must be really good and that therefore they’ll just copy what you’re doing rather than using their imagination to do their own thing (it’s a kind of compliment, perhaps!). In your case, Bruce, that is the case, but rarely in mine!
It has happened to me several times, most recently last summer: someone nearly pushing me off a little jetty into the loch – and then asking me what settings I was using to get the reflections on the water. He did get an earful…
Comment by michael — 11 February, 2010 @ 11:07 am
Hi Michael et all,
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head : people think if you have a tripod, you must be a pro (and therefore good – not that I think these two go hand in hand!), and want to copy.
I should stress that this posting wasnt meant as a moan or a rant… it’s so hard with the written word to get a point across sometimes. I just think it’s really interesting that ’spot-hijacking’ is common. I’ve experienced it in Scotland, New Zealand, Bolivia and probably a few other countries that I can’t remember too.
Comment by Bruce Percy — 11 February, 2010 @ 11:16 am
And at the same time, we all made this experience: Several people, all having their tripods set up right next to each other, pointing their cameras in the same direction – and the resulting images couldn’t be more different. That’s why I love comparing images at Bruce’s critiques. All photographers were at the same spot, and yet each one discovered different things and created unique images. So “location stealing” is pointless!
Comment by pboehi — 11 February, 2010 @ 1:34 pm
Someone once called this a photographic gang bang. Anyone who does this is obviously a scum bag, and not worth engaging with in any form, or from any orifice. I’d say: Be a Buddha. Walk away and set up someplace else. When the scum bag leaves, go back to what you were doing. In other words, give the scum bag permission to take your space, but not your mind. Ohmmmmmmm.
Comment by Sam Blair — 12 February, 2010 @ 11:50 pm
I’m so glad you wrote this Bruce. I find most people are very polite. But, yes a few people can be very odd. I was in the middle of photographing a gun emplacement one morning and two women who were walking stopped right in front of my camera, just a few feet away, and proceeded to have a long two minute conversation. I was dumfounded. Being the very polite person that I am I just don’t understand how some people can be so rude and insensitive. But strangely I find other photographers to be the most rude of all…. a few months ago one photographer walked right past me, looking at my camera gear with great interest. He then set up his tripod right on the spot I was trying to photograph. I was stunned. I boldly repositioned myself in front of him whereby he walked off with out saying a word. I can only think that some people just relate to the world around them very differently to me.
I’m very glad it’s not just me.
Comment by Steve Coleman — 14 February, 2010 @ 11:19 am
I hear about this stuff happening but really I never run into it here in Arkansas, USA. The only instance I can recall was a few weeks ago after some snow when I ran into a videographer for a local news channel. We both sort of avoided each other for a while but eventually we ended up talking and basically sharing a spot.
I would assume the people you are attracting to spots are lesser photographers that lack the artistic ability to find their own place to take photos. I would probably just pick my tripod up, move, and tell anyone that butted in on me that “I was about to move anyway, this spot isn’t very good”.
Comment by mattken85 — 16 February, 2010 @ 3:37 am