DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

15 Common Mistakes People Make When Taking Photos And How To Fix Them

Oct 10, 2014 by Tiffany Mueller 4 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Regardless of skill level, we’ve all made at a least a few of these common photography faux pas. Even pros like Jeff Cable are guilty of a few, which is precisely why he’s here to share his experiences and advice on how you can recognize the mistakes as you’re committing them and what you can do correct it.

The clip is about an hour long, but don’t let that deter you. Jeff is an outstanding educator who knows how to keep it light, fun, and engaging. Watch the video here, then we’ll recap the list for you after the jump…

Drumroll, please!

  1. Mixing Light and Shadows – Cameras are not known for their ability to handle extreme differences between highlights and shadows. If you see dappling on your subjects, try moving them to a different area where the light is more consistent.
  2. Wrong Location – If your subjects are standing in front of an ugly parking lot, don’t be afraid to move them around!
  3. Missed focus – Use focus to draw the viewers eyes to the part of the image you want them to be looking at. For example, with portraits, the focus should generally be on the eyes.
  4. Wrong Aperture – Learn about all the ways you can use aperture to create interesting images–break away from the point and shoot look!
  5. Poor Composition – Study photo magazines and other resources to find inspiration behind the composition techniques of your favorite photographers
  6. Shooting Tight – “Cropping” an image can actually happen when you are framing the shot in your viewfinder. Don’t be afraid to get in tight when taking portraits.
  7. Wrong Use Of Flash –  As much as we’d like them to, flash heads cannot light up an entire city nor should they be used through glass. Flashes are also really great to use when it’s sunny outside to balance shadows.
  8. Unaware of Shutter Speed – Yes, shutter speeds help you control your exposure, but they also can be used to create or eliminate motion blur. Shutter speed can make or break your photos in more ways than just exposure.
  9. Bad Camera Basics – Hold your camera properly for steadier handheld shots.
  10. Shooting At Night Without A Tripod – It never works as well as you think it’s going to.
  11. Looking In The Wrong Direction – “The best shot isn’t always in front of you.”
  12. Standing By Walls  & Bushes – Don’t stand your subjects next to walls (even though they will naturally gravitate to them) if you don’t want flat looking images.
  13. Taking Too Few Frames – Memory is cheap and capacities are large. You don’t need to spray and pray, but make sure you got the photo you wanted to take.
  14. Lacking Creativity – Think outside the box, be different, and break the rules. (Even these rules.)
  15. Uneven Horizon Lines – Yes, technically the earth is round, but the horizon line should look straight!

Some of these are rage inducing pet peeves of mine, but, I have to admit, I’m also guilty of several of them, too.  What about you, how many are you guilty of? Don’t be afraid to share with us in the comments!

[ via B & H ]

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Five common portrait mistakes and how you can fix them These eight portrait mistakes are so common, but so simple to fix How to fix eight most common boudoir photography mistakes [NSFW] These are the most common ways people die while taking selfies

Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: composition, flash photography, memory cards, photography rules, shooting basics, shooting guide

Tiffany Mueller: from diyphotography.net

About Tiffany Mueller

Tiffany Mueller is a photographer based in Hawi, Hawaii. You can follow her Twitter here and her personal life here.

« Thieves Target Camera Sellers; Make Off With Over $1 Million Worth Of Blackmagic Cameras
Understanding Full-Frame vs Crop-Sensor Impacts on Depth-Of-Field And Perspective »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Here’s a bullet time video booth you can build yourself
  • Ricoh has discontinued the HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited silver lens
  • This “stellar flower” unravels the twilight’s evolution in 360 degrees
  • Strobes vs Continuous LEDs – Which is right for you?
  • Wave goodbye to Apple’s My Photo Stream next month

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy