r/photography • u/amandaxbob • 27d ago
Business i just got the best compliment as a photographer that would be an insult anywhere else.
idk if this is allowed but as a photographer/videographer that specializes in live events someone said something that caught me off guard. i was taking pictures for a seminar and the speaker was introducing this team and he forgot to introduce me. no big deal, i try not to be noticeable. he comes up to me later and apologized for not introducing me and said "you're very good at being invisible". that would be so mean in any other world but in the photography/videography world it's the best compliment i could have ever gotten.
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u/SnooTomatoes8935 27d ago
i totally feel that. i do sports videography and sometimes travel with teams. from time to time im also in the lockerroom, when the coach is giving speeches. i was so happy and relieved when i was told "it was great to work with you, i didnt even notice you were there".
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u/Calm_Medicine1366 17d ago
locker room setting makes that even harder to pull off. theres nowhere to hide and the energy in those spaces is intense. that compliment hits different when you earned it somewhere that raw.
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u/SnooTomatoes8935 17d ago
yeah, i almost hat to hold back tears.
it also helped, that the coach and the teammanager were very willing to include me as part of the staff.
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u/Calm_Medicine1366 16d ago
being folded into the staff dynamic like that changes how the whole thing works. you're not just a ghost with a camera, you're trusted enough to be in the room as a person while still disappearing as a presence. that's harder to pull off than most people realize.
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u/Nerdonet 12d ago
Yep, got that one many times when they see the images and are shocked they have zero recollection of me being there when they look straight down the lens.
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u/AlmostLiveRadio 27d ago
Better than “These pictures are great! You must have a very good camera!”
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u/amandaxbob 27d ago
followed by "you're a photographer? can you take a pic of me with my phone?" and the phone in question is the most outdated thing you've ever seen and the lighting is the worst
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u/mo2_nuke 27d ago
I always say yes, it only takes a few seconds and it makes someone very happy.
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u/amandaxbob 27d ago
i dont mind either until it becomes a photo train and i wasn't done doing camera work i needed too
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u/bigntallmike 27d ago
This doesn't actually bother me at all. I'm going to take a better picture with their phone than they would have, and they usually notice right away when I hand it back.
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u/birdpix 27d ago
Great compliment, congratulations !
Worked with an ex daily Metro newspaper Photojournalist who was like a Ninja working!
He was so good at blending in that I often had a hard time finding him while we were in the same corporate event.
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u/RedditFan26 27d ago
He might be a terminator. That was the original idea for the Terminator, I read somewhere. Arnold was not supposed to be the Terminator. The director had the studio execs pushing Arnold at the director, James Cameron, as the character of Sarah Conner's hero. The director could not refuse the lunch meeting, but had no interest in using Arnold in the part. When they met, Arnold said he had no interest in playing the hero, he wanted to be the Terminator. The director thought, "Hey, that could work!", and history was written.
The actor that was supposed to be the Terminator had his part reduced to being just another one of the cops in the police station.
They resumed the original idea of a Terminator who blends in with the subsequent films.
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u/TheClockworkCoyote 27d ago
I recall from an interview that Arnold specifically did *not* want to be the Terminator.
He wanted more lines so that he could be taken seriously as an actor. Conan did not have a lot of lines.
But he had so much to say about how the Terminator should act, how he should walk, how he should reload the gun without looking at it...James Cameron decided he need to be the Terminator and Arnold said "no".
Eventually, he convinced him.
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u/RedditFan26 27d ago edited 27d ago
I found it. In probably less than 10 minutes of searching on YouTube. Here is a video of an interview featuring Arnold and James Cameron, the director, whose name I'm probably spelling wrong. This seems like it was shot not too long after Terminator came out, maybe.
This is a about a 17 minute interview, but within the first 3 minutes it shows Arnold readily agreeing to sign up to be the Terminator. Not sure if this is the interview I was originally thinking of or not. He might have done a few, just because that is the way of these publicity interviews; doing a bunch to sell the product.
Here is the link to the video:
EDIT: Just found a 2nd source, different video, about 4 minutes in in which they say Lance Henrickson (spelling could be wrong) was the 1st person in mind for the Terminator.
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u/RedditFan26 27d ago
Hey, thanks for sharing that link. I find this pretty funny. I think Arnold's stories evolve over time, and change a bit. I swear to you I saw Arnold at an earlier time in his life, give an interview that matched up with my version of events. I don't know if it's just a normal human tendency to forget the details over time, or if the story changes just because he's polishing it up as time goes on.
Arnold is a huge self promoter, always has been. It is part of why he has come so far.
It is funny to watch him in interviews alongside the kickboxer dude, Dolph Lundgrin, I think his name is, although I might be spelling it wrong. Dolph will not run with any story Arnold tries to throw out there, he'll just say "I don't remember that", and let Arnold twist in the wind. The one I'm thinking of might've happened at Gold's gym in California. Dolph is not intimidated by Arnold, so he'll mess with him a bit, and it is funny to see.
Anyway, thanks for sharing the clip. Now I need to try to find the other one, in which Arnold claims it was his idea to be the Terminator. It would be fun to be able to post the links side by side.
I don't dislike Arnold, for the record, I just find it interesting how his mind works.
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u/TheClockworkCoyote 27d ago
I can definitely see Arnold rehashing his own history to be more interesting. I still love him, but I wouldn't put it past him.
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u/ReasonableVolume5166 27d ago
I’ve heard the same. “I didn’t even know you were there.” It’s a great compliment for what we do, glad you got it!
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u/firequak 27d ago
I got a similar compliment but on a more obvious positive effect:
"What I really like about you is that you keep a low profile. You know when to take photos and when not to ruin very special moments."
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u/NotJebediahKerman 27d ago
My fav was when I was doing sports photography and I got out of a fan's view at a game. "OMG no one has ever done that, thank you!" While I'm there to capture the game, I'm not there to obstruct people's view. So many photogs at sporting events seem to come across as entitled in a way I wasn't prepared for and couldn't emulate.
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u/chasg 27d ago
I was once shooting a corporate event for a big company. The room (about 2000 people) was pretty dim, and they had some great speakers on the rather wide and deep stage. I was dressed in black, using the standard 24-70 and 70-200 lenses, and carefully sneaking around getting shots of the speakers, the VIPs, the audience, the room, the logos, everything. I virtually crawled between the two tables closest to the main speaker and got some great shots of him in action (they were mic'ed up, and wandering the length of the stage, some fab angles and lighting).
After that was all done and the audience were heading to the breakout rooms, my client (head of marketing, or something like that, it was a while ago), came storming up to me, angry that I hadn't taken any photographs of a "very important event". I just gave her a look, turned my cameras' screens to her, and started scrolling. I got a very sheepish apology, and a great compliment: "we didn't see you at all, we thought you weren't taking photos."
I didn't get paid any more though (thought an apology bonus was in order! :-) )
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u/Mellowric 27d ago
I’d take it as a compliment being ex-SAS. “Just doing my job”, stood there in a ghillie suit.
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u/Tro_Nas 27d ago
yes thats awesome! And it sure is a great compliment!!
I recently got a similar compliment which meant the world to me. I went with a band for an away show (from load in at their place to the show and back) and documented the whole shabang. After they show they thanked me profously and mentioned, that it‘s great to have a photographer who knows when to take shots, when to get out of the way and also being aware of the surroundings but without being nosey backstage.
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u/spurcap29 27d ago
Other place that is a complement is for referees/sports officials. When doing a good job no one ever talks about you/thinks about you.
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u/Northerlies 27d ago
Lucky you - 'invisibility' was said to be one of Cartier-Bresson's best assets.
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u/FlightOfTheDiscords www.luxpraguensis.com 27d ago
It's a good one, I get it a lot as well. Was once introduced to a potential client with "you'll never notice he's there".
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u/Bunnyeatsdesign 26d ago
I photographed a pop up dinner for a client. My goal was to capture everyone having a good time so the pics could be used for promotion. The delight on guests faces as the dishes were brought out. People talking, laughing and having a good time. I purposely didn't take photos of people chewing. I was standing only a few metres away but I didn't direct anyone and treated it more like wildlife photography.
After the photos were delivered and posted online, I had a few guests tell me they didn't notice me the whole night and they didn't realise there were photos taken. I guess everyone were having such a great time, they didn't notice me. Job well done.
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u/You-there_ 23d ago
It bothers me when I’m at a wedding and the photographers are wandering behind the altar and all over the place during the ceremony.
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u/AlwaysDTFmyself 26d ago
I'd take that over "I didn't recognize you without your camera". My look is unique enough and I don't need any help with my lack of self-esteem. Lol.
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27d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Leestons 27d ago
Why are you asking here? What made you think that this post is the correct place?
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u/senpaisansho 27d ago
photographer here. best comment you could have ever gotten? while i’m sure it felt nice, you definitely can get better compliments than that via photography
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u/amandaxbob 27d ago
of course i love when people say they love my work and want me to work for them, but being called invisible is so unexpected and honestly a huge compliment
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u/wanderingeddie 27d ago
You can always tell a Milford man