It may have some influence, but I’ve run into plenty of these people in person. When I said I don’t talk to photographers in general anymore, I meant IRL as well.

That’s photography in general.

I’ve been shooting pics for about 50 years, and while there have always been egotistical douches, in the last 20 years or so I’ve encountered innumerable photographers who seem to live to crap on other people’s work, refuse to help newbies unless they are getting paid stupid money to do it, and generally think they are insanely talented and most everybody else is a hack. It’s why I don’t talk to a lot of established photographers, and only pop into the photo forums to help people.

If you already had your IG page before you started working for them, then keep it to post your personal work and create a second account for posting shots related to their business. Anything you post on the account associated with them you can use their presets and logos, but your work is your work and they don’t get to tell you what you can and can’t do with it.

Realize you may have to quit if they’re going to try and force the issue, but you’re going to be better off in the long run if that happens. Remember that you own your personal pictures, not them. They have a claim to the stuff you shoot for them, but acting like they own your personal work as well is just going to cause you problems later on. If you plan on ever running your own photography business, even on the side, you have to draw a hard line between your personal work and work you do as an employee for someone else.

Personally, I would answer that question with no problem, regardless if I charged for teaching or not.

It’s not giving away anything special to say I shot something with X lens at Y aperture; there’s usually a lot more to getting a particular shot than what that information would give someone. If that’s all they need to reproduce it, they could likely set their camera to full auto and get close enough.

To me there’s a big difference between telling someone a basic technical aspect of a photo and actually imparting some great knowledge. Besides, chances are good you could reproduce most shots with a different combination of lens and settings, which I would also tell someone asking that question.

Most of the time (for my work at least) what I do in the editing stage is much more important than what I did at the time I took the shot. When someone asks me that is when I usually tell them the truth: It was a lot of hand editing.

I’ve had a few Canons in my shooting career. Never had a single one fail. I don’t even keep track of the shutter count anymore. Just know that someday it may quit working and you’ll need to either get it repaired or buy a new camera. Chances are you’ll be ready for something much newer by the time it dies.

So. Much. Wrong.

No real model likes working with a GWC. They may do it because they have to, but I promise you they hate it and make fun of you behind your back.

Nobody is going to tell you how to shoot models. You have to learn from someone, even if it’s from watching a video. Giving them basic commands like they’re trained dogs just pisses them off and tells them you have no clue what you’re doing. Don’t. Do. It.

Find someone who shoots models regularly. Work with them and learn what you’re doing. And always, always, ALWAYS treat the models like people.

Source: Shot models for fashion magazines, artwork, ads and more for years. Have many model friends. Have been dating a model for years. Most GWCs just creep them the fuck out. If you really want to do it, learn to do it right. You will have a much better experience, and so will they.

To answer your copyright question, yes, you own the copyright on every picture you take. The only exception is if you’re explicitly doing work for hire and a condition of the contract is transfer of copyright. You are not required to have registered anything with anyone beforehand, though some people will tell you that it must be registered with the copyright office to be valid. (Not true.)

If you don’t want them using your pictures for any reason, I would send them a certified letter plainly stating that they don’t have permission to use your pictures, and if there was any implication or expectation of such that they can consider it withdrawn. Make sure you keep at least two copies of the letter with clear dates. Notarize it if possible. If they do it anyway, you will have an easy case for a lawsuit.

It’s noticeable, but the advantage you’ll get shooting sports is the faster shutter speeds you can get. If you’re serious about what you want to photograph it’ll be worth the extra money. Just make sure you’re going to use it enough to make it worthwhile. The last long zoom I bought I ended up selling because I rarely actually needed it.

I would do that from time to time when it was a friend of a friend/client situation. There’s nothing inherently bad or sketchy about by itself. If he’s charging you, he’s just drumming up business. If he’s offering TFP or something, he may just like your look. That’s not to say there’s zero chance he may ask you out afterwards, but that’s just interactions between people in general. Don’t expect it to happen.