3 Common Mistakes Photographers Make

In an article over at Digital Camera World they talk about some of the ways photographers let themselves down.

Do you take photos knowing you will need to fix them in Photoshop later?

Do you go the extra mile and take those extra shots to make sure you got the ‘one”?

Which of these photography mistakes are you making and what can you do about it?

We all make photography mistakes. It’s an essential part of the learning process when you first pick up a camera. But it doesn’t stop there.

Making mistakes can also be a trigger for discovering creative new ways to take pictures and developing as a photographer. So, photo blunders are a good thing – as long as you learn from them.

Keep repeating the same mistakes and you’ll just be letting yourself down. Here’s our take on common errors of judgement that many of us have been probably been guilty of repeating far too often.

1. Photographers keep letting themselves down by… relying on Photoshop to ‘fix things later’
It’s a hard lesson to learn, but 30 seconds spent fine-tuning a photo at the time of shooting can save you 30 minutes or more sat in front of your computer later.

When distractions in a photo go unnoticed at the time it was shot, then fair enough. Grab the Clone Stamp tool and get busy.

But if the distractions were spotted when the picture was taken and, with a shrug and dismissive wave of the hand, were consigned to being sorted out later in Photoshop?

You’re letting yourself down. No, scratch that: you’re letting all of us down!

Where possible, it really does pay to get things right ‘in the field’ rather than ‘in the digital darkroom’. In the long run it’ll save you time – and save your pride.

Whether it’s a small shift in camera position to hide an ugly road sign in a landscape, keeping an eye out for stray hairs falling across a person’s face when you’re shooting a portrait, or finding a pristine example of a wild flower rather than the first aphid-chewed one you come across, it’s worth spending those extra seconds to get an image right in-camera.

2. Photographers keep letting themselves down by… packing up early
A lot of the time, photography is a waiting game. Waiting for the right light. Waiting for wildlife to turn up. Waiting for the camera buffer to clear…

It’s easy for doubt to creep in when you’re waiting for stuff to happen. Should you try and find a better location? Is any action really going to kick off? Would it be better to come back tomorrow?

Obviously there will be times when making the call to move on is the right thing to do, but how many times have you kicked yourself when, turning around as you head away from a location, you see the light create magic for a split second?

Our advice? Be persistent and hang in there, and don’t pack your camera gear away until you’re sure you’ve exhausted the photo opportunity.

Make sure you have some food with you too – you’ll kick yourself if you have to leave a great location you’ve travelled a long way to reach because you’re hungry.

3. Photographers keep letting themselves down by… not doing enough research
If you want to be in the right place, at the right time, in the right light, then you need to do your research. If you don’t do some digging, then you’ll probably come up short in at least one of those three areas.

Read the rest of the article over a Digital Camera World and learn about 4 more common mistakes

Source: Digital Camera World