Photography Mistakes Professional Photographers Should Avoid

Everyone makes mistakes while learning something new. It doesn’t matter whether you are a professional or a beginner photographer there is a possibility of getting things wrong at times. If you are already in a situation where the end results of your photos are not in the way you anticipate, there is nothing to worry about. Because all photographers, even the professionals go through the same. 

Most of the photography mistakes are the common traps professional photographers fall into. With a little prior knowledge and practice, these mistakes can be avoided. That’s why we have come up with the list of the most common photography mistakes that professional photographers make and the expert’s advice to avoid them.

1. Wrong WB (White Balance)

By far the most impactful and on top of the list of our common photography mistakes is not setting the right white balance. The reason for this is that under all the light conditions we perceive white as white but the camera might not in some conditions. That way the photographers have to guide the camera according to the light source of their selected frame. 

For example, your photo will have the bluish cast if the white balance setting is on daylight and if the white balance is on cloudy settings then the photo will have the orange cast. It changes the feel of your photo altogether and that’s why it is one of the most essential photography mistakes to avoid.

Solution

You can capture any scene in the raw mode because it allows you to set the right white balance in your post-processing. Otherwise, you will have to wisely set the right white balance

2. Leaving Everything to Post Processing

Undoubtedly the post-processing tools and software have changed the games. Not only does it save the time but it also helps the photographers to add value to their photos which were once impossible. 

But it doesn’t mean that the photographers should entirely rely upon these tools. It makes the photographers less creative and they slowly lose the ability to get the images right for the first time. When the photographers shoot with the wrong camera setting especially the brightness and light, such photos are useless. Because post-processing cannot fix lighting problems.

Solution

The best practice is to analyze the scene properly and take the right measure regarding camera setting and light source. It allows you to ensure decent lighting and you won’t have to spend too much time on post-processing. It also helps you to plan ahead of time and correct the most common mistakes.

3. Wrong Focus

Any photo which is not sharp enough because of the wrong focus will not work even every other aspect is technically pitch-perfect. Photos with wrong focus distract the viewers because they do not find any point to rest on. Our eyes perceive the objects with sharpness and we also expect the photos to have at least one sharp object.

Solution

There are multiple practices to capture a photo with the right focus to get the required sharpness. One of them is to zoom in the captured photo. This allows you to observe the sharpness and contrast of different colours between the background and subject. You can take another shot after your analysis if you find the main subject with the wrong focus.

4. Being Creative More than Required

Creativity is a good thing but you don’t have to take it too far such as over-saturation, heavy vignette on each photo, high dynamic range, Dutch angles, etcetera. These practices are not always required and they are mostly applied in post-processing. Photographers don’t realize it until they have taken it too far and it is one of the most common beginner photography mistakes as well and fixing it is overwhelming. 

Solution

You have to analyze each scene uniquely and apply only the required features to your photos to add a creative touch otherwise it will become your habit.

5. No Breathing Space

It is a very common practice among photographers to capture the subject without enough breathing space. But many at times the photo with zoomed-in the subject appears suffocated. Moreover, there are also the times when there is a breathing space but in the wrong place which also creates an unnatural feel.

Solution

The best composition technique to fix this problem is the rule of thirds that allows you to provide the photo with enough breathing space around the focused subject.

6. Irregular Horizon

This is yet another very common photography mistake where the horizon is skewed. Even though it is one of the simplest things to notice, still most photographers commit this mistake. It makes an uneasy viewing experience because the vertical objects in the photo do not seem perpendicular. 

Solution

You can fix this problem by using the grid overlay feature that all the cameras have. Moreover, if you have mistakenly shot a tilted image then instead of discarding it, you can use the straighten tool while post-processing. This tool in Adobe Photoshop is known as the Crop and Straighten Tool.

7. Flat Photos

Our eyes perceive objects in three dimensions and that’s why it is imperative to capture the depth in photos. It allows the viewers to actually grasp the real beauty of the scene that you capture. But many at times the photographers fail to achieve it because of the wrong camera setting and point of view.

Solution

There are several ways to achieve the feeling of depth in your photos and one of them is to add the foreground. You can also change your point of view and use the leading lines but you always have to keep in mind that your photographs will be two dimensional.

8. Bad Lighting

Light is by far the most significant aspect of photography but it requires the right direction, quantity, and quality. If you are a professional photographer, you would already know that the golden hours are the best to shoot stunning photos. If you do not take the quality and direction of the light into account, there will be multiple shadows and patches of light in the photo. 

Solution

There is no solid-state rule regarding the light issue because every scene is different and requires a unique approach. You have to learn more about how light works in photography and keep practising. Sooner or later you will reach a point where you can easily improvise for the right lighting conditions.

9. Blurry Photos

The last thing that you can imagine that your photos appear blurry. The professionals and the beginners both fall victim to this mistake. It mostly happens when you try to capture the moving objects from a distance. Additionally, people with shaky hands often face this problem.

Solution

There are multiple ways to eliminate the blurriness from your photos such as shooting a photo with shutter speed. Moreover, you can also use a tripod with slow shutter speed and capture the photo with a remote release. A tripod completely eliminates any chances of shaking the camera. If you are in a situation where you do not have a tripod then using the external flash or increasing the ISO can also help.

10. Not Evaluating the Work

If you want to improve your photography skills you should regularly critique your work. It is impossible to improve the quality of your photos if you think that everything is perfect. For example, if you do not assess your work, you may start following a single pattern in all types of photography without even realizing it.

Solution

You have to take a little time every once in a while, to go through all of your latest work to find out the mistakes. When you assess your photos with fresh eyes you can spot the little mistakes that you could have avoided. It allows you to put extra and conscious effort to eliminate the mistakes you are falling into. If you continue practising the evaluation work, you will observe the substantial and considerable progress in your work.

11. Not Doing the Post Processing

If you wonder that your photos of the same scene do not look as good as from the other photographer, then keep in mind that they are doing a lot of post-work. If you are under the impression that post-processing entirely changes the natural beauty then you are going in the wrong direction. Because the tools and software are specially designed to enhance the quality of your photos. Post-processing now has become an essential part of photography because of its advantages. 

Solution

There are many tools, such as Adobe Lightroom which you can learn to add more value to your work. You can also eliminate common photography mistakes by using these tools.

Conclusion

Whenever you go out for shooting, keep these common photography mistakes with their solutions in mind to produce some stunning results. We hope that this guide will help you to improve your photos. If you want to add anything more to this list, feel free to let us know.