If you own a camera and you like taking pictures and you’re wondering about snapping pictures then this is the right articles for you. This post is targeted towards beginners or people who are not necessarily pros when it comes to taking pictures. In this post, I will share with you the top ten photography mistakes beginners make most frequently that you must avoid taking great pictures.
So, if you’re ready, let’s get into it:
Top 10 Photography Mistakes Beginners Make:
Mistake #1: Not Using the Histogram
One thing I recommend that most beginners pay attention to is the histogram. The far left of the histogram represents the blacks and the shadows, and the far right of the histogram represents the highlights, whites, and anything that is overexposed. The middle of the chart is your mid-tones.
So, you never want to see the histogram spiked in one direction. If the histogram is all spiked to the right, then it means that your image is blown out, your image is damaged and there is just no detail- there is too much white, light, and brightness. Whiles when the histogram is all spiked to the left, it means there is no detail because you’ve crushed those blacks too much. It’s just too dark and there is so much shadow.
So, when you look at the histogram, it tells you the kind of image you’d get without even having a look at the photo. Don’t trust your eyes, and don’t trust the back of an LCD screen. So, you want your histogram having an even nice flow and trust me, looking at the histogram for 5 seconds will save you a lot of time editing.
Mistake #2: Not Moving
This has to do with you settling for a photo when you could have made it so much better by either moving yourself to a vantage point or moving something in that frame out of the way.
For example, you’re taking a photo-shoot of someone and there is a chair in front of you and you still take that photo, I mean you could have moved the chair two inches to the left, and it will no longer be in frame, making that photo way better because the focus is now on the subject. Or maybe it’s just moving you’re subject to the left so that the garbage can isn’t in frame anymore, and you wouldn’t have to worry about photo shopping it. Or even if you have to move down a hill or up a hill to get a better vantage point. Sometimes, these little tweaks will give you a great picture.
Mistake #3: Not Bringing a Tripod
No matter how much you hate tripods, well, you have to start loving them. This is because tripods give you longer exposure and more clear in-focus images. Because sometimes even if you think your shutter speed is fast enough, you’d get a better quality photo if you lock it with a tripod. So, go get a tripod if you do not have one, and always bring it with you.
Mistake #4: Not Being Thorough
Another mistake a lot of beginners make is being thorough. So many times a lot of beginners grab their, shoot what they thought they needed and be done. Most beginners do not take the time to check their settings because they think they know it. But trust me, if you do not check your setting always, you’ll make the mistake where you’d shoot JPEG instead of RAW or small JPEG instead of RAW. So, make sure you check you to avoid the smallest things ruining incredible photos.
Mistake #5: Not Giving Your Subject Enough Breathing Room
This is a common mistake by beginners and sometimes professionals. If your subject is facing off to one edge of the frame, and they are also closer to that edge of the frame, this can make your image feel a little boxed in and give off scenes of claustrophobia. This happens because the viewer doesn’t know what’s outside of the frame.
So, the edge of the frame acts as a sort of barrier between the subject and the exterior of the image. To fix this, turn your model in towards the image or recompose your shot so your model is facing the edge of the frame with more space.
Mistake #6: Giving Your Subject Too Much Head Room
This happens when you crop too high leaving too much space above your subject’s head. Either move in a little bit closer or adjust your composition and place your subject along one of the third lines to give your image a little more sense of balance.
Mistake #7: Amputations
Cropping and framing people can be quite difficult especially with all the parts of the human body that you can chop off. Cropping your image at the joint of your subject can look very unnatural and look as though your subject has been amputated. To fix this, you can try shooting wide including more of your subject in the frame. Also, if you’re shooting a headshot, include your subject’s shoulder in the image as well, to avoid your subject just looking like a floating head.
Mistake #8: Not Being Cautious When Coloring Your Photos
Now, everyone has their style or they will find it, it might be super-saturated vibrant colors, or it might be desaturated moody filmy looking photos. But the one thing you want to be careful about is when you start pushing your saturation too high, this is because people will notice including yourself.
Mistake #9: Not Taking Photos Of The Moment
Let’s say if you are on a Safari in Africa, and you see a Cheetah and you just snap a photo of it sleeping in the grass, cool- you’ve got a photo of a cheetah. Now, imagine waiting until sunset or sunrise until the lighting was perfect and that cheetah happens to get up and find a little bit of prey, and stock it and wait as it runs through. And right as it pounces at an animal, you snap the shot of its face, its animal instincts, and intensity, and when you show that photo to people they feel the energy of the picture of what it was like to be there. I mean that’s what photography is all about.
Mistake #10: Not Painting With Light
Now, if you’ve ever been on a photoshoot and your biggest concern is just making sure the person has light on their face then you’re in the beginning stages of photo shooting. That’s a very exciting time because now once you’ve mastered just taking someone’s photo you can start getting creative. If you’re a black and white photographer, then you know shadows are a very cool way to make a black and white photo stand out. So, instead of just taking out your camera and just taking a picture, try pulling a palm tree off of a branch, put it in front of the lens and get creative.
This sums it up for my top ten mistakes beginners make, I hope these tips help you and make your photos look more clean and professional.