photiesto wrote:
Am I some sort of "concept thief" for studying other artists?

God I hope not.  I would think that just about every concept, every pose, every lighting technique has been tried many times over.  If we weren't allowed to reproduce things we've seen in more experienced photographers' works, what else is left to shoot??

I would say the photographer who was rude to you was probably a bit insecure about his work.  Perhaps he thought you might do it better?

Heck, if you can do one of my photos better, I'd be asking you to share your secret so I can learn!

photiesto wrote:
Just curious.. I saw something in another photogs' port I thought was cool. I tagged him, said I really liked his work, complimented him and said his photos gave me inspiration and that I'd like to try to give the technique a try myself.

He replied with a somewhat curt and rude tag, telling me to get my own ideas, and not to copy him.

So.. Drawing inspiration from other photographers is forbidden nowadays?

Sorry to say it, but I often get the creative juices flowing by studying new trends and other photographers work (in addition to other mediums as well...) to get new ideas and spin them into my own vision..

Thoughts? Am I some sort of "concept thief" for studying other artists?

~R

Don't worry about other togs.  He probably wouldn't want you to shoot any of the models he shoots either, since he shot them first!  Sounds like he has real insecurity problems.

Miles Chandler wrote:
As I've said many a time to other artists: if you EVER think you've done something unique, it's just your ignorance showing. There are and have been too many millions of people working in these mediums to avoid duplication. I run into photos even on MM that look eerily close to my own.. did we copy each other knowingly? Nope. Does that change the pictures? Nope:-) Just use ideas you like- your take on a shot will always come out differently anyway.

I've always (should I say, since I first saw it) loved your avatar. Had you seen anything like it before? From where do you draw your influence?

It'd be really neat to have a study of what pushes the creative juices through out heads and see what we produce with others works in mind. To see the mentor's and student's works, side by side, would be a study in itself.

photiesto wrote:
Well, for what it's worth... The guy DID send me a message, apologizing for his curt reply. He apparently misunderstood my comment, and has extended an olive branch. (On his own, as he hasn't mentioned this thread)


So.. here's to big people who can step up and admit to being wrong.


Cheers to him.

I love happy endings~!! *wipes tear from cheek*

photiesto wrote:
Is it "theft"? Are ideas or concepts exclusive?

enters into that gray area attorneys are often working on: intellectual property rights ...

... but thus far it's been a battle just how to define ownership of an "idea".

F

photiesto wrote:
Ok, good. That's pretty much where I was coming from too. I mean, lord knows, I have no intention of copying someone elses work, verbatim, but when I see a technique (in this case, a photoshop effect) that I think I could apply to my own work, and put it into effect with my own stylings, then hell, that's not inventing sliced bread, that's inventing a better bread slicer.

Anyways, the guy went from "a good photographer who inspired" to "guy who thinks he has exclusive rights to an idea or concept". *shrug*

A model I use a lot told me she had to sign a nondisclosure agreement with a photographer she worked with concerning his lighting and techniques. I had mentioned that I liked a certain image he had done of her and said he was probably using HMI's to achieve it. I was originally surprised that a photographer would use lights more associated with the movie industry until she replied she couldn't comment. I laughed but she was serious. So there are apparently people out there who think they are original and that some light or technique makes them that way. To quote Mr T.."I pitty the fool!"
Mike

Mike Walker wrote:

A model I use a lot told me she had to sign a nondisclosure agreement with a photographer she worked with concerning his lighting and techniques. I had mentioned that I liked a certain image he had done of her and said he was probably using HMI's to achieve it. I was originally surprised that a photographer would use lights more associated with the movie industry until she replied she couldn't comment. I laughed but she was serious. So there are apparently people out there who think they are original and that some light or technique makes them that way. To quote Mr T.."I pitty the fool!"
Mike

These are always the most boring photographers anyhow...

Vegas Alien wrote:
Someone stole my caution tape idea...

LOL Too funny...

Dredful Jaymz wrote:
I've always (should I say, since I first saw it) loved your avatar. Had you seen anything like it before? From where do you draw your influence?
It'd be really neat to have a study of what pushes the creative juices through out heads and see what we produce with others works in mind. To see the mentor's and student's works, side by side, would be a study in itself.

Well, thanks! Yes, that idea was a partial steal.. I saw an image of a model with a long silk banner held to her body by wind on a cliff and decided to try it. Red being the best contrast for a blue sky.. A friend of mine wanted me to try doing fashion/port shots of her and I agreed to try if she'd buy me 20 yards of red cloth and let me do a few shots (couldn't afford silk!). I soon realized I'd need a hurricane to keep that whole cloth in the air, though, so I had to arrange it and hold up the end with my left hand while shooting with my right:-) Luckily, she's a dancer and managed to give it more implied movement.
I have another idea for that cloth which I haven't gotten around to yet, but it's all my own (I think!). A waterfall in winter, or snow covered cliff, with the model lying on top and the red cloth a straight fall cutting the landscape in half vertically- the only colour in the frame, almost. 
I get my ideas from books, websites, paintings, movies (I did a great PillowBook shoot once).. I save almost striking pic I look at on line (a bad habit, since 90% of the time I barely glance at them again), and see thousands of variations on great concepts.

Vegas Alien wrote:
Someone stole my caution tape idea...

I used duct tape instead. Poor model's skin is still healing...

Scribe of Souls wrote:
Don't worry about other togs.

Anyone who would copy and steal someone else's work is definitely a "tog."  But since there is no such term in the biz, and quite frankly, I am getting tired of seeing it, I really don't think there are many togs out there.  Get the hint, tog is not a term you will here in the biz, but there have been plenty of threads on the topic and I am sure you didn't mean antying by it.

Two guys are standing on a road.  Both guys pull out their cameras and set them up side by side and take a photo of an incredible looking bridge.  They are standing so close together that the pictures look almost identical.  The guy on the right fired his camera first so does that mean the guy on the left made an illegal copy?

The answer is, of course not!  There are only so many ways to shoot an inanimate object and there are problem 500,000 photos that look almost identical of the Eiffel Tower or Golden Gate Bridge.  That fact that guy two got the idea to shoot the bridge from guy one means nothing either.

We all, either intentionally or unintentionally reuse inspirations from other artists.  There is nothing wrong with looking at a photo, seeing that it is a kewl concept and then coming up with your own unique variation using the original as your inspiration.  It has already been written in this thread, you can't copyright an idea.

Now, if you saw a photo and tried to duplicate it in every detail, that is a different concept.  However, if you saw a girl wrapped in "caution tape" and thought that was an interesting idea.  So rather than putting the girl on a white background you instead put her on a railroad track, no foul.

Come to think of it, if it was a copyright violation to shoot a girl with caution tape or on a railroad track, half the guys here would be in court.

Miles Chandler wrote:
I save almost striking pic I look at on line (a bad habit, since 90% of the time I barely glance at them again), and see thousands of variations on great concepts.

Same boat, Brother. My reference files are continually growing.

Thanks for the elaborate reply. I do a lot of the same things, but haven't (since deciding to shoot models and upgrading my equipment). Lack of time is rough. Always working for someone else, never myself, ya know?

I also love the ribbons and cloth under water, but way over done at the moment.