Everyone's a Photographer

S

sarita1011

It seems as though in the past year or so, I've seen people at different venues sporting the nice, expensive Nikon brand of cameras, flashing away like paparazzi. That seems to be the trend now.

In any case, I was at a small social last Saturday, and I saw two guys snapping pictures. One of them I know; we're buddies on Facebook, and I know that if he doesn't post pictures there, they're likely to be found on TMS. The other guy, I don't know. He's not anyone I've seen before. I'm aware of two other guys (in addition to the previous two men I mentioned) who do the photog thing in the area. One of the two is a FB friend (so when he posts picture I can see) and the other, while not a FB friend, I can see pictures if a mutual friend happens to tag me (if I'm in an album). So, now I'm curious about the pictures from Saturday from the guy I don't know (of) at all.

Have you all discovered that there are more photographers popping up at venues? More so than the standard videographers that seemed to frequent to large draw dance functions? What are your thoughts on that?
 
sarita1011 said:
It seems as though in the past year or so, I've seen people at different venues sporting the nice, expensive Nikon brand of cameras, flashing away like paparazzi. That seems to be the trend now.

In any case, I was at a small social last Saturday, and I saw two guys snapping pictures. One of them I know; we're buddies on Facebook, and I know that if he doesn't post pictures there, they're likely to be found on TMS. The other guy, I don't know. He's not anyone I've seen before. I'm aware of two other guys (in addition to the previous two men I mentioned) who do the photog thing in the area. One of the two is a FB friend (so when he posts picture I can see) and the other, while not a FB friend, I can see pictures if a mutual friend happens to tag me (if I'm in an album). So, now I'm curious about the pictures from Saturday from the guy I don't know (of) at all.

Have you all discovered that there are more photographers popping up at venues? More so than the standard videographers that seemed to frequent to large draw dance functions? What are your thoughts on that?
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I remember a time when photographers asked permission before taking a photo and also before posting it out there.
 
sarita1011 said:
It seems as though in the past year or so, I've seen people at different venues sporting the nice, expensive Nikon brand of cameras, flashing away like paparazzi. That seems to be the trend now.

In any case, I was at a small social last Saturday, and I saw two guys snapping pictures. One of them I know; we're buddies on Facebook, and I know that if he doesn't post pictures there, they're likely to be found on TMS. The other guy, I don't know. He's not anyone I've seen before. I'm aware of two other guys (in addition to the previous two men I mentioned) who do the photog thing in the area. One of the two is a FB friend (so when he posts picture I can see) and the other, while not a FB friend, I can see pictures if a mutual friend happens to tag me (if I'm in an album). So, now I'm curious about the pictures from Saturday from the guy I don't know (of) at all.

Have you all discovered that there are more photographers popping up at venues? More so than the standard videographers that seemed to frequent to large draw dance functions? What are your thoughts on that?
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was just thinking about this recently.
 
I think the fact that social networking sites allow easy photo hosting has resulted in this happening a lot. I’ve had my photo taken dozens of times whilst dancing, I've never been asked and the photographer certainly isn’t someone I know.

I think promoters think that because it’s ‘their’ venue they don’t need to ask for permission if they want photos for their website or Face Book page. As to why random individuals want to take photos, I don’t know. It doesn’t bother me, but my wife would be very annoyed if a stranger posted a photo of her to the internet, without asking first.
 
sarita1011 said:
It seems as though in the past year or so, I've seen people at different venues sporting the nice, expensive Nikon brand of cameras, flashing away like paparazzi. That seems to be the trend now.
Click to expand...


I have seen photographers at a lot of the salsa clubs I go to ever since digital photography was in vogue. Perhaps since salsa is more of a novelty dance in Europe then in America and the way we dance and dress is so different from regular clubbing, we get photographed more?

I was surprised to find my picture in the photo gallery of several clubs as I had not even realized I was photographed. I have also been asked to do a dance pose by photographers at several clubs so they could photograph me for their magazine or website. The photographers were always nice though, several even offered to buy me drinks after taking my picture. It is always flattering for a girl to get asked if they can pose for pictures for the club website. It means all the effort we go through to dress up nicely and apply makeup got noticed :)
 
What makes me laugh is that there are still some sites that want to charge you if you want a copy of a pic they took of you without your permission. I see less of this now though with the explosion of amateur photographers on hand these days.
 
this actually happened yesterday at a salsa club I was at. what I find funnier is that most of these "photographer's" don't have the right flash equipment so the pictures will come out looking like crap.
 
I mean, I guess it's flattering. Plus, I don't believe that the pictures are being used for nefarious reasons or anything. I just want to be able to see where they're going.

I'm just vain enough to not want to look crazy in someone's photo gallery. ;)
 
Taking a good picture of dance requires an awful lot of skill and the vast majority of these photos are rubbish (especially the ones of me!). Mostly they're just people frozen in a bizarre position with a strange look on their faces. I wish these these 'photographers' would just stop it.
 
ri_jt said:
this actually happened yesterday at a salsa club I was at. what I find funnier is that most of these "photographer's" don't have the right flash equipment so the pictures will come out looking like crap.
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Has anyone seen some funny pictures of themselves?

I had a friend contact a club to ask them to take a photograph of them down. They were dancing innocently enough, but the photograph looked like the two were dancing with their hands in very inappropriate places for the meringue :rolleyes:

Let's just say we got a good laugh out of it after they took down the photo!
 
I think there are two separate issues.

The first is when promoters are taking photos randomly of people attending their parties. I've requested on several occasions that the photographer stop taking photos of me, and that usually resolves the issue. The motivation behind these photos is obviously promotion of the parties, and the photographers are a little less concerned about the way in which they present people...

The second issue is more interesting. One of the best salsa photographers from the Metro-Detroit area just moved down to DC-Maryland...and I was sad to see him and his talent leave. Now I can fairly confidently say that this guys motivation for taking photos at (large scale) salsa events comes from his love of salsa, his love of photography, and the fact that he wants to give people something they might enjoy. And you can tell through his work that he only wants to show people in their best light. I've seen him thanked several times on facebook, etc. for taking pictures (even from those who might not personally know him). A lot of people come and go in salsa scenes, but he's one of the people I miss most in mine.
 
I personally find it kind of annoying... I don't like being blinded by a flash bulb in a middle of a dance, neither do I like being tagged in pictures where I look awful. I always have to go to facebook early in the morning after I go to a salsa event to untag myself from any unflattering pictures.
 
It does seem like a blatant violation of privacy to take someone's pic without their permission, and then to post it for public view. It is, however, just plain insulting to be asked to pay for a picture of myself taken without my permission - the only way I can explain it is that so many people do it, that everyone now thinks they are a bonified photographer and can do it too. That said, I always assume that I am watched if I am out dancing, so the picture-taking itself doesn't bother me any more. And I have come across some great photos and a couple of videos of me dancing which I wouldn't have gotten any other way besides from a wannabe paparazzi.
 
Reminds me, I remember seeing Yanet Fuentes with a black tee shirt that said in big white letters something like "No fotos, please"
 
I think in the UK there is some sort of implicit acceptance that you can be photographed in a public place without your consent.* If there are TV cameras present there is usually a notice at the entrance saying that by entering the club you are automatically giving permission for your image to be shown on TV.

*Be very careful about photgraphing public buildings though if there are police around. There have been stories of them demanding people delete images from their cameras under the new "anti-terrorist" laws.
 
ri_jt said:
this actually happened yesterday at a salsa club I was at. what I find funnier is that most of these "photographer's" don't have the right flash equipment so the pictures will come out looking like crap.
Click to expand...

Some of the worst salsa photos I've seen have been taken by people with all the 'right' gear but no idea how to use it. People seem to think that spending money on equipment magically turns them into photographers.
 
Hmm, am I the only one who doesn't mind people taking photos at salsa venues and putting them up on public sites? :?
 
It's not that I mind. I just want to know where I can find them. Like I said in the original post, of the photographers I've seen in the area, I can track three of them (two of whom are FB friends, the third who, while not my FB friend, has friends in common with me. Meaning, should I end up in an album of his, a mutual friend will likely tag me). It was really the other photographer that was at a venue this past Saturday that I was talking about. I don't know who he is. One of the promoters of the function says he doesn't know who the guy is, and I'm simply curious about the pictures. (Where they ended up. Where I can see them. That sort of thing).
 
AndrewS said:
I think in the UK there is some sort of implicit acceptance that you can be photographed in a public place without your consent.* If there are TV cameras present there is usually a notice at the entrance saying that by entering the club you are automatically giving permission for your image to be shown on TV.

*Be very careful about photgraphing public buildings though if there are police around. There have been stories of them demanding people delete images from their cameras under the new "anti-terrorist" laws.
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They have no legal power to do this. You have every right to take pictures in a public place. See http://tinyurl.com/yau3mjd
 
In Canada, except Quebec, or if the promoter and the venue say otherwise, photography is permitted as these are 'public' places with a 'reasonable' expectation of privacy. We've been running SalsaTO.ca, a website covering and profiling Toronto's Salsa Scene for seven years. IF we use any images for commercial purposes, we secure a Model Release.

We always get permission from the Promoter and from the venue before photographing or video'ing anyone.

Occasionally we get requests from various people either to take their picture or not to take their picture or to remove their picture from our website. In *all* cases, we comply with their wishes. And we get lots of requests to photograph or video birthday dances and performances. Our imagey has turned up on instructor's business cards, posters, banners and more and mainstream media sites.

We are a no cost version of www.imambo.tv or NuevoTec Productions.

Venues and promoters use our material as a draw for more clientele. We use it to promote the entire scene.

Occasionally we get requests from various people either to take their picture or not to take their picture or to remove their picture from our website. In *all* cases, we comply with their wishes. We show the fun and the enjoyment and the vitality of Salsa. And we get lots of requests to photograph or video birthday dances and performances. One of our YouTube videos went viral with 120,000 plus views.

And we don't always use a Nikon and a sack of lenses. Often we use a pocket camera such as a Canon G10 in the crowded confines. And we're not in their faces... we sit back 10 or more feet at times, so the flash is in the room, not in somebody's face.

We fit in where the person that the member "Black Mambo" talks about in an earlier post.

In Canada if you do not want to be photographed or video'd, and you see someone with a camera, catch their eye, point to the camera and nod your head "no." We will respect your wishes.
 
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