I know how scouting is one of the most importnat things to do at regionals. Taking photos of opposing robots is a great way to learn and study your opponenets and future alliance partners. Just please dont do my biggest pet peeve… Please do not photograph robots without asking. Come over be polite, ask questions, and talk a little bit. When I was the driver and manager, I always liked talking to scouts. And if you would like a photo of our robot just ask and we will most likely not have any problems with it.
Good luck guys and gals!
I’m curious. What is it about people taking photos of robots that bothers you?
You posted a picture of your robot here. Its already public knowledge what it looks like.
I think his comment is the taking of photos without asking. Not sure why this is an issue, as in order to go take part in a FIRST event, you already signed the waiver which allows photos to be taken of you/the surroundings…
The only reason I ever ask if I can take a picture is if people are in the way.
Why would you care? Your regional is your public unveiling. Everyone knows what it looks like, so what difference does having pictures make?
I think he just wants people to be polite. That’s what I took from it.
Otherwise it might be that he doesn’t want other teams taking pictures of a robot that isn’t finished yet. It would suck if the picture another team’s scouts take is of a robot that isn’t quite done, and thus you don’t get picked because they didn’t know who you were.
The wording of your post also leads me to believe that you view the taking pictures of a robot the equivalent of Microsoft sneaking shots of Apple’s new secret product.
Personally, I love it when scouts come over and take photos of our robot. They’re showing interest in the object of our six-week sleep-deprived building spree.
I really don’t think the robot cares whether or not someone takes a photo of it or not, but do agree that it is proper etiquitte to ask to take a photo of a person, whether or not you have the legal right to take a photo and regardless of whether someone has signed a waiver allowing their photo to be used.
Since the pit areas usually have people in them, as well as a robot, the suggestion that it is polite to ask permission to take a photo is quite reasonable. I don’t think I would suggest that anyone “should have a problem” with it when not asked for the photo, however, if a photographer asks nicely, the people will probably move out of the way and/or pose the robot to give the photographer a much better shot… as well chat about their machine and team.
At the same time, there are great photos to be had of teams in action when urgent repairs are under way, and at those times it is probably inappropriate to butt in and ask for a photo… but don’t go shoving a camera in there or blasting off your flash a dozen times, either. Discreetly take your photo and carry on. If you captured a great shot, come back later and share it with the team.
Although it could, perhaps, have been phrased a bit differently, I think the original post serves a valuable reminder to everyone with a camera to use discretion and good manners when taking photos… at FRC events and anywhere else, for that matter.
Jason
If you are attending this event, you already signed away your rights to be photographed. Weather or not you want your robot to be photographed is simply not up to you. Furthermore, saying that people should not take photos of robots without explicit permission is simply un-FIRSTlike. That last little bit there almost seems like an Ultimatum.
Who knows. Perhaps I’m so offended by this request because 3/4 of my life is witnessed from behind a viewfinder.
True. I think the reason people are asking what his problem is is the “tone” he seems to have used.
If you don’t want someone taking a picture, ask them nicely to return later. Ideally, give them an estimate when you’ll be ready. It doesn’t need to be complete–change is almost expected–but it should be recognizable. This will hope both them and you–keeps them out of your hair, and gives them an idea of when the best picture might come along.
One other note: the photographer might not be from a team (e.g., media, in which case you will be asked permission) OR not be a scout as such. On 330’s scouting crew, I was photographer on several occasions, but pit scout on one or two, and never at the same time. So, they might not have a good reason to ask questions about the robot. What do you do then? Deny them permission? Or let them get a picture of a less-than-perfectly complete robot?
Good grief. It seems to me the sleepless build season has caught up with some of us and awakened the Grouchmonster. When I read Gboehm’s post, it looked like a nice, polite entry, and it confounds me how people can be offended by it. “If you want a picture of our robot, just ask and we’d be happy to have it pose for you,” is what I got from it.
I realize we’ve signed away image rights and all that stuff, but if someone was to take my picture, I’d want to be able to prepare for it (lest I become Caption Contest fodder). Depending on the robot’s state, it may or may not be in “competition shape” - this would be analogous to taking a picture inside the fitting room at Target. The subject may not be “decent.” Furthermore, by asking to take a picture, you will engage a team member who may point out certain intricacies in the robot design or functionality you may have missed.
It doesn’t kill anybody to take 3.5 seconds to ask “Hey, do you mind if I take a quick picture?” It’s the neighborly thing to do.
Be polite. That’s all he’s asking.
Certainly it’s polite to ask about taking photos - we’re not paparazzi! But if someone should be taking a photo without being intrusive, there should be no problem.
Incidentally, for those who said “you signed your rights away” - if you look at the form, I believe you gave permission for FIRST to take pictures. Not Team RedABots. Not Local SkyWitness News, unless they are working with FIRST.
It’s one thing to take a picture of something and see how it works… it’s quite another to design and manufacture <insert mesmerglobber here> and make it work for your specific application.
And for my specific purposes… take as many pictures of the robot controller as you like… I doubt many of them will help you figure out how the software works inside. 
-q
(though I do want to post a paper on the autonomous drive system in our robot sometime in the future, along with the quad-ultrasonic driver)
I’ve always asked before I take pictures of another teams robot, but I guess I never considered it anything other then being polite. I’ve never had anyone tell me no, usually they tell me a better angle where I’d get a good shot of <insert mechanism here>.
I too am somewhat saddened by the tone of some of the responses. All I was wondering is why Gboehm was so upset by people taking pictures of robots that he’d call it his “pet peeve”. I’m trying not to read anything into it, or to assume anything about his feelings. I don’t understand the reason behind the comment, and I want to. He didn’t say anything about wanting people to ask before looking at robots. I just want to know why using a camera would make a difference to him. It’s a simple request for information.
The thing is, “polite” is relative. In some contexts, it’s considered rude to interrupt just to say “excuse me”, and it’s considered polite to quietly do something that doesn’t interfere with what others are doing. If someone just wants to take a picture, I would be much happier if they just went ahead and did it than if they had to take my attention away from what I was doing at the time in order to ask for permission.
I still want to know why asking for permission to photograph a robot is something worth worrying about in the first place.
It’s not the actual photo of the robot that is the pet peeve, it’s the manner some people use to get the photo, if people are working on the bot, is it impossible to wait for them to be done, if you’re taking photos of the bots, I’d be willing to guess there are plenty other teams and bots that you can get a snapshot of while you wait, plus talking to the team does usually helps with recon just as much as a photo can, asking about strengths and weaknesses, how things have been going. It works a lot better when you actually try to make contact with the team, at least from my experience.
No, but if you review those often overlooked Amendments, you will realize that any American citizen has the right to take a photo of virtually anything, anywhere.
The Photographers Right
FIRST Regionals are freely open and advertised to the public. Your not in a place with a reasonable expectation of privacy. (IE: Bathroom/ Bedroom)
ThePhotographersRight.pdf (141 KB)
ThePhotographersRight.pdf (141 KB)
We sent a sketch artist around one year instead of a photographer.
That worked out really well and were my favorite scouting mementos. It took quite a bit longer than photos, but it was really cool.
When I’ve taken photos in the past they were not for scouting purposes, but just because I thought the robot was neat. I admit the manners I was raised with lead me to be as unobtrusive and non-disruptive as possible when taking my personal photos. I don’t interrupt people working or ask people to step out of the way.
Sometimes the workers don’t notice me at all, other times I’ll get a glance then be ignored, and of course many step out of the way and invite me closer.
If a team isn’t busy, I usually try to strike up a conversation about whatever mechanism I am trying to photograph. If they are working, I usually just take the picture and I’m on my way. I suppose I can see how it would be annoying to have flashes going off left and right while you are trying to work. If the photo is of a cool mechanism on the robot and not random things or team members in the pit, then its not a problem with me.