Five worst pieces of advice you’ll get as a photographer

As a photographer, you’ll hear tons of advice on how to do your craft. They all come from a good place, but to be honest – not all of them are useful. In this video, Andrew Boey of Beyond Photography gives you five pieces of advice that he thinks are the worst. Would you agree with him?

1. Buy expensive lenses

There are no universal lenses for all purposes and genres. Some models will be cheaper, some more expensive, but the high price doesn’t mean a lens is perfect for your needs. So, buy the lenses that suit your genre. Also, buy vintage lenses: many of them are cheap, yet high-quality.

2. Use only prime lenses

Prime lenses are generally considered sharper and higher-quality than zoom lenses. And sure, you should use primes, but not only them. If you shoot in fast-paced situations like weddings or events, you’ll often have no time to change lenses. And we can all agree that it’s better to have photos or footage that aren’t perfect, than not to have them at all. So, use a zoom lenses in cases like this, and don’t worry, the shots will still be good enough if you know what you’re doing.

3. Upgrade often

You should upgrade your gear, but how often is too often? You shouldn’t just upgrade for an upgrade’s sake. Andrew suggests working with other photographers and learn from them, see what gear they use and what their workflow is like. And then, buy a new piece of gear only if it will make your workflow faster, easier, and more efficient.

Another way of determining whether you should upgrade is the return of investment (ROI). If a new piece of gear will help you earn more and it will pay itself off in a time frame that works for you, it’s also a good idea to upgrade

Finally, it probably goes without saying that you should definitely upgrade if an old piece of gear breaks after a few years of use.

4. Don’t return the deposit

As far as collecting deposit goes, many people feel ashamed to ask for money upfront. But it’s definitely something you should do if a client books you and your time. The amount of deposit can vary, from 20% all the way up to 70%. But in any case, its main purpose is to ensure you get some money even if the client cancels the shoot.

Now, some folks will advise you not to return the deposit if the client cancels the shoot on short notice. If there’s no pre-production (meaning that you haven’t started your work before the cancelation), Andrew considers that you can’t get away with keeping the full deposit.

On the other hand, if there’s any preparatory work, make sure that you notify your client that you’ve started working and what you’ve done. This way, you have yourself covered in case you need to refund a part of the deposit.

5. Just shoot good photos

This is actually what most people think is enough for being a good photographer. However, it’s far from the truth and we’ve discussed it already. If you want to make a career in photography, it’s not enough to just be a good photographer. You also need to know how to run a business and be kind and fair to your clients and co-workers.

Now it’s your turn. What was the worst piece of advice you got as a photographer or from other photographers? Let us know in the comments.

[TOP Bad Advices from Photographers | Beyond Photography]