Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some of the questions I often receive about myself, this website, and other things people love to ask.

Questions About Me

How can I get in touch with you?

Well, the easiest way is probably through my Facebook page. You can do this either using box on the right of this page or from directly within Messenger.

Will you photograph my [something] for free?

I don’t think so.  I am happy to work on mutually beneficial collaborations, but it absolutely must benefit everybody involved.

If you think you have such an idea in mind, please do get in touch.

But it’s for charity?

And some charity CEOs are some of the most highly paid people in the country.  I may reduce my fee for a charity, or even donate my fee back to the charity, but I do not work for free.

Please don’t get me wrong, I have donated my work and time to charities before, and I shall do so again.  But, I believe in supporting charities that are important and personal to me, and I will generally contact them and ask how I can help.

Can I get it cheaper?  So-and-so will do it for a quarter of the price.

My advice?  Go speak to so-and-so and get them to do it.

Remember, though, that there may be reasons they don’t charge as much as they should.

They perhaps don’t have the equipment or experience to adequately handle the job and any unexpected problems that may arise (which they almost always do).

Maybe they’ve decided to not waste money on needless expenses like liability insurance, backup equipment, or “expensive” software that they can find on less reputable parts of the Internet for free.

I don’t compete on price, and I will not compromise on quality or service in order to meet a low budget.  If they can deliver what I can, for a lower price, then go for it.

It doesn’t matter what the profession, you typically get what you pay for.

Questions About The Blog

How can I keep updated on new blog posts?

Well, you can subscribe to the RSS feed or you can follow me on Facebook or Twitter.  New posts are announced to both the Facebook and Twitter feeds as they are published.

How often do you post to the blog?

At the moment, I am writing for DIYPhotography.net full time. This doesn’t leave me with a lot of time to write for my own blog. So, for now, I post when I have something to say that doesn’t belong on DIYP.

I am presently working on a Vlog and web series to be published on YouTube. Blog posts will be made here to reflect on, or extend upon, that content.

Will you review my [insert product here]?

The short answer is maybe.

The longer answer really depends on what the product is. If it’s something that’s useful to me or my audience (either here, on YouTube, or on DIYPhotography.net), then maybe.

You will almost certainly not be getting the product back. Products can take many hours over the course of several days or weeks to fully review, and are tested in a working production environment. And they’re treated the same as any other piece of kit.

I have to learn about the product itself, test how it compares with similar products I may have access to. I have to try it “working as intended” and then push its limits to see what it can really do.

If you were to hire me to do all this and put a video production or written review together at the end of it all, it would cost you far more than the value of your product. Not to mention the fact that the review would be going in front of a targeted audience who are specifically coming to learn about these types of products.

If you send me your product, and I do not like it, think it’s just plain awful, it breaks because it’s badly made, or I don’t think it will be valuable to my viewers, then I won’t be posting a review. In the event of this, the product would be returned to you at your request and your expense.

I don’t do reviews because I need gear. If I want something badly enough, I’ll just buy it. I put the time into thoroughly researching and testing products then posting a review because I believe it will help my audience.

Questions About Other Stuff

Nikon or Canon?

It makes no odds to me.  I own both Nikon and Canon, as well as cameras, lenses, flashes, and other equipment made by a bunch of manufacturers.  I use whatever gets the job done with the least amount of fuss.  If the job requires something I don’t have, I rent as needed.

PC or Mac?

I’m a PC guy, sorry.  It’s nothing personal, I have nothing against macs, I just prefer PCs, always have (unless you count the Apple IIe). For me, they give the best performance bang for the buck, and I tend to build them myself.

I use both Windows and Linux (mostly Debian, but it depends on my mood).

iOS or Android?

Since picking up a Nexus 7, I’m updating my answer here. I have both iPhones and Android phones, as well as iPads and Android tablets.

For something that goes in my pocket, gets used to make phone calls, quickly check emails, Instagram, etc. then iOS all the way. It’s fantastic.

If I want to be a bit more productive and use a tablet, Android, definitely. Unless I pull out the Windows tablet.