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How To Stop A Gear Snob From Bullying You

by 12 Comments

As a photography enthusiast, chances are you’ve run into someone like this guy. The guy who likes to brag about all his expensive equipment while belittling everyone else’s choice in gear. The guy who genuinely thinks having an expensive camera makes him a better photographer than anyone else in the room (and he’s almost always embarrassingly wrong about this).

If you’ve ever heard about this special kind of photographer, or seen one live in action, you’ll really appreciate this clip from the television show, Veep. When an especially obnoxious man, played by Timothy Simons, confronts an event photographer, questioning him as to why he’s shooting with a Canon 5D instead of a 1D, the annoyed event photographer quickly turns the passive aggressive insults back onto the offender.

 

Fun Fact: Timothy Simons, who plays the jerky photographer in the clip above, is actually a humble amateur photographer in real life. His dad was a professional photographer and Timothy now owns a collection of his father’s film cameras–all of which he knows how to use. He told the AV Club, “I’m not a great photographer, but I really do love it.” You can see some of Simons’ work on his website, ElevatedTrain.com.

[ via Reddit ]

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About Tiffany Mueller

Tiffany Mueller is a photographer based in Hawi, Hawaii. You can follow her Twitter here and her personal life here.

  • Tell them: “Huh, so that’s how you finally caught up to me”

  • Kay O. Sweaver

    !!!!!!

    Well played sir. Well played.

    I can’t stand it when I’m shooting an event and some random walks up to me and starts name dropping all the cool gear he has. To which I have to respond “Right, nice. So I have to get back to taking photographs for money now. Bye.”

  • “Did you take that with an iPhone? “

  • For years I had a basic camera but must say I got to know it very well , I took some good pictures with it even if I do say so myself, along the way Ive met a few guys just like this so when it was time to upgrade I went out and got myself a D810 with a 14mm 24mm lens , that seemed to shut most of them up :)

  • Thanks for the elevated train shout out!

    • Tiffany Mueller

      You’re welcome–it’s good stuff!

  • Iain Mack

    Brilliant. :)
    My next body is going to be a 6D.
    People keep asking why not a 5D iii.
    I reply I mainly use centre point focus so don’t need the extra focus points and the extra £1000+ price tag.

  • mike

    Do gear snobs really exist in the real world as opposed to internet arguments? And one would one actually strike up a conversation?

    I spend a lot of time with my tiny little Olympus camera and the only time I ever had any questions about gear was when when I was using a Radian to do a timelapse. Which is a valid question, as the thing looks odd as heck.

    Though I suppose with the 20mm pancake lens, it could easily mistaken for a point-and-shoot, so the gear snobs simply overlook me as a tourist?

    • Jim Johnson

      I’m here to tell you they do exist, but I think you are right, they will only talk to you if they judge you “worthy” of bragging to. I also think there are other factors such as context. Weddings are particularly bad, so are some of the more touristy areas where wannabes hang out.

  • Ralph Hightower

    I was at a post launch celebration party of the final Space Shuttle launch and one woman came up to me and asked “You shooting film?” “Yes” and she said “Cool!” and we exchanged fist bumps.
    When I was evaluating what DLSR to buy, I compared the frames/second with my Canon A-1 with the Motor Drive and the F-1N with the AE Motor Drive; both can shoot at 6 fps. The Canon 5D Mk III has a similar fps. Could I afford the Canon 1Dx? No; the 7D Mk II was just a rumor when I bought the 5D. Yes, the 7D II has blazing fps, but it was not available. I call that “Analysis Paralysis” where one hesitates on a purchase hoping to get something that won’t be obsolete next month.
    I still shoot with both film cameras. Today, I photographed a car show with the three; one was loaded with color, the other was B&W, and the other was loaded with an SD card.
    I’m sure that Carly Simon was probably thinking of the guy with the 1Dx when she wrote and sang “You’re So Vain”.

  • Jon Peckham

    It truly is not about the gear. My portfolio speaks for itself on that. tahoeshooter.com

  • Heart Of Zion

    Gear snobbery exists everywhere… Science, Photography, audio, film, even in the art world with medium. It can be defeated.

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