'Sorry, sir. Just doing what you asked me to': Photography newbie insists that his camera is broken, ignores photoshop employee's advice

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Aug 10, 2024 5:00 PM EDT

No one likes a know-it-all all! I know it's tempting, especially if you're a really bright person who picks up on things quickly. While working at a photo shop, u/CatDadMilhouse talked to quite a few customers who thought they knew everything there is to know about cameras and photography.

In current year, almost anyone can take fantastic photographs while barely trying. You can hand your phone to a three-year-old and they can take a great picture! There isn't much hand-holding needed when the camera is built into your phone, and all you have to do is click one button. 

For professional photographers, though, using professional camera gear is totally worth it. They can take photos with different depths of field or gorgeous lighting to create a piece of art that couldn't necessarily be recreated without that type of camera. But of course, there's a learning curve with all things, and it seems like cameras tend to baffle people. This person, as well as commenters, shared stories of what usually happens. The person will buy a camera, start trying to photograph their dog or their grandma, and then they're confused why this pricey camera is doling out blurry photos. 

Check out this person's story below. Then, check out a specialty print shop employee who was told to "Just print out the order. Don't mess with it. At all." And so they did just that! 

Advertisement
  • 01
    Nikon 05100
    via ThrowBack Graphics on Unsplash
  • 02
    Prove that you're just a bad photographer and your new camera is great? If you insist.
    via u/CatDadMilhouse
  • 03
    This was over 15 years ago, when digital SLRs were first becoming somewhat affordable to anyone who wasn't either wealthy or a professional photographer. I was in high school, had been a budding photographer for years already, and working in a small retail photo supply shop.
    via u/CatDadMilhouse
  • 04
    I had a customer who appeared to be in his early 60s come in one Saturday and spend over an hour demoing just about every camera we sold. I honestly looked forward to those customers because it made the time go faster and I generally enjoyed talking shop with people.
    via u/CatDadMilhouse
  • 05
    Eventually, he settled on one that we both thought would suit his needs and I rang him up. A few nights later, he comes back. I've already been given a heads-up by the store's owner that this guy has called ahead, and he is 1. When the customer arrives, he immediately accuses me of selling him a camera that's either broken or simply not good enough
    via u/CatDadMilhouse
  • 06
    for what he wants to use it for (taking pictures of his grandkids, who - like most tiny children are not - always sitting perfectly still). It's too slow, it takes the picture after the kid's already done something, every photo is blurry, etc. I take him at his word (I have no reason not to) and examine the camera, changing some settings and
    via u/CatDadMilhouse
  • 07
    snapping a few pictures as I go. I genuinely cannot find anything wrong with it at all. As gently as I can, I try to tell him that it may be a combination of using the wrong settings on the camera for what he's trying to photograph (while teaching him the right ones), and maybe a bit of slow reflexes that will develop with practice. Keep in mind that I'm young and
    via u/CatDadMilhouse
  • 08
    terrified of losing my job, so believe me when I say I'm as delicate as I can be with the whole situation. But that was the wrong answer, apparently. His solution: "okay hotshot, let's see you make it work. I'm going to wave my arms back and forth over my head, and I want you to take pictures when they're straight up." He insists this
    via u/CatDadMilhouse
  • 09
    will prove that the camera is too slow and can't take a sharp picture. He hands me the camera, and starts doing his best "wave your hands in the air like you just don't care" right in the store. Snap, snap, snap. I hand the camera back and let him review the photos, each one showing the exact moment he wanted me to
    via u/CatDadMilhouse
  • 10
    photograph, perfectly sharp and in focus. He didn't say another word. He huffed, hastily shoved everything back into his camera bag, and stormed off. Sorry, sir. Just doing what you asked me to.
    via u/CatDadMilhouse
  • 11
    R3dl8dy I wish I had realized it was my camera settings. I thought my pictures of blank carpet and random settings was because my niece wouldn't stand still long enough for the camera to take the picture.
    via u/R3dl8dy
  • 12
    stillnotelf This shakes loose a memory of my late grandmother. She would carefully pose us for pictures and then complain we didn't look natural enough. I loved her but her thing with photos drove us all nuts.
    via u/stillnotelf
  • 13
    CumulativeHazard It took me a while to get comfortable enough with camera settings to even know which one was off. Reminded me of a funny story tho. My grandpa gave me an old Nikon SLR (this was like 2013), nice camera and I was excited to use it for my high
    via u/CumulativeHazard
  • 14
    school photo class but when I tried to use it, it was jamming somehow, like I'd pull the handle thing to advance the film and it wouldn't pull all the way. Photo teacher gave me the name of a local photography shop. Went there and the guy said he didn't know, but he was about to make a trip to
    via u/CumulativeHazard
  • 15
    an older photo/camera guy down the road who might know and I could follow him there. Got to this tiny shop and this old man with a fantastic mustache and a European accent looked at it, dragged a (magnetized?) screwdriver over the bottom of it, then flipped it over and pulled the little handle
    via u/CumulativeHazard
  • 16
    perfectly a couple times. Guy from the first shop says "Well I could have done that!" Old European guy says "You don't have screwdriver." Didn't charge me anything. I still have no idea what the he did. But I'm grateful I can use my grandfathers camera now.
    via u/CumulativeHazard
  • 17
    Photodan24 I worked in a camera shop doing sales and repair for 11 years and I have a good idea what his problem was. He probably wanted to just jam the trigger button at the exact moment he wanted to capture without giving it time to focus. Passive AF systems just don't work that way.
    via u/Photodan24
  • 18
    [deleted] I repair camera lenses for Canon, and we get things like this all the time... people say the equipment is broken, they want a new lens, but it turns out to be their settings... many times it is the gear being jacked up, but sometimes it's the
    via u/[deleted]
  • 19
    customer not understanding their camera settings, and I get to write a very carefully worded customer letter detailing what they're doing wrong and how to correct it...
    via u/[deleted]

Want More? Follow Us and Add Us as a Preferred Source on Google.

Tags

pictures malicious compliance malicious-compliance-reddit camera cameras Photo malicious compliance reddit photographer retail customers
Scroll Down For The Next Article