Top 3 Mistakes New Photographers Make

Starting out in photography can be overwhelming. Do you ever feel like there are so many things to learn and it seems like everyone is ahead of you on their photography journey? I have been there, and trust me when I tell you, that this is a good thing. The moment you feel like you don’t need to learn more is when you stop getting better. Personally, I’m obsessed with improving my craft. My view is that there isn’t a specific destination when it comes to photography, and that as you change the way you take photographs, the photos you take will begin to change you. It may sound cheesy, but looking out for the three mistakes I’m sharing here will alter the way you view photographs you see anywhere.

How did I come up with these top 3 mistakes? I’ve been teaching other photographers for over six years, and see the same struggles again and again. I want to highlight these three common errors I see newer photographers make (and some who’ve been shooting a long time!), and how I guide my students to avoid them.

1. Not nailing focus

Looking back on my own work from 2010, there are images that I loved at the time, yet somehow I didn’t notice they weren’t tack sharp. My new students almost all do the same thing. They get so excited that they’ve nailed their exposure and composition, but they miss focus slightly. If that happens to you, know that it is completely normal.

Getting consistent, tack-sharp images takes a ton of practice. It can even take a trained eye to truly notice! The two most common fixes for out of focus images are: a faster shutter speed and a narrower depth of field. Here are two similar images where the subject in focus is super sharp and one where it’s not. You must learn to see the difference and aim to be satisfied only with the former.

2. Awkward Cropping

Have you ever asked someone to take a photo of you with your camera or phone and they chop off the top of your head or your feet? When taking a full body portrait, it’s obvious that you’d want to include everything from the top of the head down to their shoes. But there are specific guidelines for cropping bodies when it comes to close up shots, and you never want to cut off a body part that is telling part of the story in an image. Start paying attention to which body parts are included in your frame, and avoid cropping right on a major joint.

Another important element when it comes to cropping is horizon lines. In most cases, you want them to be straight, so check your background whether you’re indoors or outside.

3. Over editing

Over processing might just be a rite of passage that everyone has to go through when they’re first introduced to photo editing software. I have to laugh when I look back at my edits from when I first started out because they aren’t consistent, some colors are over-saturated and I thought I could fix in-camera mistakes in post. Lightroom and Photoshop are incredibly useful tools, but when getting that first taste of enhancing your images, it’s easy to go overboard. Know that there’s a learning curve when it comes to editing and be forgiving of your old work as you grow. If you’re not currently using any photo editing, I definitely recommend you start with Lightroom Creative Cloud. It’s very user friendly and will give you the tools to give your images that extra polish to stand out.

If you found this article helpful, I’d love for you to leave me a comment and let me know! If you have any photography or photo business questions, I’d love for you to let me know so I can include them in future posts.

Did you know that I send out FREE photography tip emails? Subscribe HERE so you don’t miss out on my best tricks and advice for improving your images.

If you’re thinking about taking your photography to the next level, my DSLR BOOTCAMP Workshop is exactly what you need! Don’t have a big camera just yet? My Smartphone Photography course is the perfect introduction to learning with me!

I also offer even more photograph tips and behind the scenes in my Instagram stories and posts. Follow along HERE so you don’t miss any of them!