7 wrong ideas that stop you improving your photography

martinphili wrote on Monday 3 August 2020 at 19:08  | reply

An article close to my heart I can't think of any additions right now, but what you write here is soooo relatable!

another common mistake: that other person takes much better photos than I do so I don't need to try it.

But you can always do more than you think!

Taking a photo of a subject while everyone else is already taking the same photo of the same subject !! monkeys copy everything !!!

Always photograph at eye level

Finally an article with a somewhat more realistic view of photography in practice. Especially point 5; nowadays it is some kind of fashion trend that every snapshooter has to work in the so-called "burst" mode. Sometimes you imagine yourself sitting in the middle of some kind of war zone, because of all those sounds of rattling cameras, which in my opinion are usually handled by mostly a bunch of insecure, perhaps less knowledgeable, fickle snapshooters, who do not give themselves the time to look properly, observe, and act and strike at the 'right moment'!
I think these kinds of figures are made even crazier when, for example, a brand like Sony releases a camera with a "burst" mode of 20 shots or more!
Personally, I find it somewhat embarrassing to sometimes have to move among them. Or have all these figures perhaps secured themselves a spot in the press stands at the upcoming Olympic Games, ha, ha, ha!!

I recognize myself in some of the points. In my early phase, point 5 is very recognizable. Fortunately, that has improved now. A tip is ... Mastery of your camera. Knowing what the possibilities of your camera are. In other words, being the "boss" of your camera and not the other way around. That can cause frustration.

Guido Bellens wrote on Tuesday 4 August 2020 at 15:18  | reply

One more perhaps: First look around you and find a good spot, think about composition and lines before looking through your viewfinder. Move around if you can and don't keep reaching for that zoom.

In response to the comment on my first opinion.
Now we are talking about the definition of 'good' and 'best'. Especially if you dare to claim that it is never good and never the best you can achieve with 'standard values'.

First of all, it is of course about what you want to achieve with your shot, what are you going to do with it. In my training courses I learned that the result is a personal approval or meets the client's specifications.
And if you want to get the absolute most out of it, yes, then we move towards your points of view and even then it is a personal opinion. The proof is there every time people are allowed to vote on the various photos. To each their own.
Just take a look at the programme 'The Perfect Picture'. Opinions differ and certainly those of the professionals, who, to the point of arrogance, think they always know better and rarely find a photo good or the best that a public jury would also choose.

Everyone shoots with his or her tools. With his or her intention. A lot, a little, in colour and with whatever kind of file.
That is what makes photography ,( the modern painters) so beautiful.
Otherwise we would all have the same ' paintings'.
Tips, what is or isn't good, this and that , and what not to do from someone's experience....is subordinate to your pleasure.

Pleasure, above all pleasure and capturing those moments for perhaps eternity. We forget so quickly, you know!
Keep shooting.....

Photo shooting regards,
Robert

Paulussie wrote on Tuesday 4 August 2020 at 17:12  | reply

Nice piece again, Nando.
Despite my 60 years of photography, I still discovered a point where I also make the mistake. Something new, then it gets better!
I don't understand that other point either, I sometimes read pieces by people who take hundreds of photos in one day b.c. of their dog, or on holiday.
Of course I learned to photograph on film, first roll film 6x6, 12 exposures per roll, then, hooray!, 35mm, 3 times as many, but even then, you thought three times before pressing the button. But I now have an 8 GB card in my D500, (people are astonished by that,: why such a small card, I put one in of 128, much faster, and then you can go on for the whole holiday. Yes, what if it breaks) that holds 250 shots (approximately), but even so I don't take dozens of shots of the same thing, I still first look carefully at how and from where.
And one more thing that sometimes ruins taking good photos: people often still think that the sun is not allowed in the frame....

@Marc Lesage:
Using a tripod has nothing to do with whether or not you are a professional. It has to do with the ‘type’ of photos you take.
I am largely interested in landscapes and nature photography and I don't often have a tripod with me because I can use a camera and lenses with great stabilizers. Photos with a 400mm telephoto lens at 1/25” handheld, no problem, with a 42mm 1/3” … and longer exposures, doable. I also usually do focus stacking handheld.
But for things like long shutter speeds or for real macro photography 1/1 or 2/1 … then I can't do without a tripod. And, I am a hobbyist, not a pro.

kok.f@ziggo.nl wrote on Tuesday 4 August 2020 at 19:54  | reply

Nail on the head. Here’s another one. The idea that with approximately 50mm you photograph “the truth” and telephoto or wide-angle are manipulations. Every photo is a manipulation, because distance (close or far) makes a big difference to the context in which you show the subject.
Furthermore 1000% agree with the comment about photo editing. Every photo is edited, including the out of camera photo. If you want to be more than a picture shooter, you take the trouble to do the editing yourself.

Hi Nando,

An article close to my heart. I find that a difficult "situation" requires more patience and time with settings. Often, people don't make the effort then because they are ashamed to "fumble around" for so long. That way you almost never get to better photos

I find opinions here that I can fully agree with. But in my eyes, the reactions of a few individuals are rather bizarre.
There are hobbyists, and possibly more than I can imagine, who, due to insufficient knowledge of both their camera, editing programs and photography techniques, regard better photography as ‘far from their bed’. It is much easier to say that it does not interest them or that they only want to take photographs without editing than to admit that their knowledge is insufficient. ‘Experience’ is an important factor and you need ‘time’ for that. And it is precisely time that many hobbyists lack. I too, as a hobbyist, have only been able to fully devote myself to my hobby since I retired 2 years ago. As preparation for that joyful day (for me, at least), I started photography 5 years ago. My entire life I have not been able to spend any time on this truly magnificent tool. I have only had a few cameras, in my youth one with 35mm rolls, later nothing at all, until I bought my first very simple digital compact in middle age. Purpose? My own travel photography, family parties, … nothing else. Five years ago, a very special world opened up before my eyes: digital photography. Low weight and smaller dimensions were an absolute requirement for me from the start. That is why I bought a crop2 mirrorless with professional lenses. In the meantime I have 4 bodies and a bunch of lenses that I use depending on the purpose and circumstances. I have been self-taught all my life and that was also the case with photography. I have not taken any photography courses. I did enrol in a few ‘online’ courses, but quickly discovered that they were all ‘below’ the level of knowledge I had acquired. So what I am still lacking is ‘experience’. Gaining that necessary experience as a 67-year-old struggling with a few physical problems … that is often difficult.
One thing that was said above stands as a rock-solid fact. Technique is often more important to many hobbyists (and professionals) than atmosphere and feeling. I often see perfect photos and think ‘okay, and now what’? If you are a famous photographer, blurry photos are ‘wow’. If you are not, then you are a loser. That just goes to show.

Absolutely right going y one way great article, regards Ad

@Fernand,
I know my equipment, I estimate, for 70 to 80%. I hope to know what I can do with it to take photos that tell something. I also look for a title for photos that are close to my heart. 99% of my photos are ordinary shots that I try to take as well as technically possible. But I am always looking for that one percent where I can put my feelings. So yes, I consider technique important in order to be able to make that one emotional photo. So the content is also more important to me than the technique. The technique is the tool to be able to make that photo with content.

I'm still missing this one from the list: But it's not nice weather for taking photos; the misconception that you always need blue skies and a few sheep clouds.
The 'burst photographers' without a sound reason should really go out with an analogue camera and a roll of 36 sometime, that teaches you to look and think before you click.
I also have a thing or two to say about social media, regularly you come across questions from beginners who are then flamed by fellow photographers with: take a photography course or read the manual, is it really so difficult to just keep scrolling if you don't have or want to give an answer? A lot of beginners don't dare to post or ask anything because of this, while doing and asking are precisely the most educational things right now

@ Stefanie
With this last point I have to agree with you not 100 but 200%.
I too have the impression that there are quite a few selfish people among our crowd who don't want to share knowledge and make fun of beginners. That is why I started an FB page myself, 'DIY photography', which by now has around 180 members. I am not an all-knowing person at all, certainly not a stubborn know-it-all and far from a professional who knows and understands almost everything, but a simple hobbyist who gladly shares his basic knowledge with others completely free of charge. And by doing so I absolutely do not wish to compete with Photofacts, which in my eyes offers a lot of excellent learning material at a reasonable price ... and offers much more professional and in-depth knowledge. I am a 2, they are a 9.

Paulussie wrote on Thursday 6 August 2020 at 14:28  | reply

@ pixel,
Your comment can't exactly be called friendly, although my remark may be a bit prickly, it is justified. This thread is about misconceptions that keep you from improving your photos. Not about telling us what we have in the cupboard.