I agree tina. I think its unfortunate that Bob feels that way, and was
even more disappointed in Chuck's "Tell 'em it's a trade secret" response.
Part of being a successful photographer is that amateurs and students will
want to talk to you about how you do your work. They're not 'using' you,
and certainly not hurting you. If the gallery was busy that day, he could
ask them to come back later to chat so he can help people who are buying
stuff, but it sounds like he had nothing else to do anyway.
I get emails almost every day asking for advice on everything from what
camera to buy to how to develop a film the person has never tried before
to what to buy to set up a darkroom, to how to do something in photoshop,
etc, etc. No only am I happy to help them, but I even created several
pages of tutorials and even gave away FREE my tested film speeds and
processing times for a number of BW films and developers I have used.
Doing this has not just been a nice thing to do for others, it has been
good business. Many of them have bought prints, given donations through my
Paypal Donation button (placed on the tech info pages on my site), and a
few have even come to Fort Wayne from other places to pay me for one on
one instruction. I've made some money that I'd not have made if I'd done
what these guys would do by telling amateurs to piss off when they ask
questions and 'waste' my time.
When I was getting started, a lot of people were nice to me and helped me
with advice, information, and even free equipment. Even if it made no $$$,
I enjoy talking to other photographers and would feel like I was paying it
forward by helping those starting out, just as I was when I was getting
started.
--
Chris Crawford
Fine Art Photography
Fort Wayne, Indiana
260-437-8990
http://www.chriscrawfordphoto.com My portfolio
http://blog.chriscrawfordphoto.com My latest work!
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Christopher-Crawford/48229272798
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On 6/20/12 8:55 PM, "Tina Manley" <images@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>Dear Bob,
>
>It never hurts to be friendly and answer questions. They may come back
>some day and buy a print or two or even mention your gallery to their
>friends. I doubt any information you gave them will ever be used to
>compete against you. They probably have no idea how to actually use their
>cameras or print anything. Don't worry about it. Be friendly. Answer
>questions. Karma will catch up with you.
>
>Tina
>
>On Wed, Jun 20, 2012 at 8:15 PM, David Young <dsy@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> > So, today was Opening Day at Whitmire Gallery. No fanfare. No ads.
>>Just
>> > an OPEN flag flapping in the breeze.
>> --
>>
>Tina Manley, ASMP
>www.tinamanley.com
>--
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>
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