7 Photographic Mistakes I Still Make, subtitled: Taking Pictures Seriously, Part 1

You’d think by now I would have learned. I mean, when I began taking pictures seriously, my cellphone had a rotary dial, ISO was spelled ASA and image files were paper folders where sleeves of negatives were stored.

About 10 years ago, I made a list of the mistakes I made photographically. I suggest you make a list, too. I hope yours is shorter than mine.

Welp, time has passed and I’m still screwing up some of these basic steps—not every time I go out, thankfully, and not even every week—but often enough. Do you do these too?

1. Shoot one and think I’m done.
I know better. I know that the “back-up shot” is often better than the first exposure. But I still do it sometimes: click once and move on. Maybe it goes back to the days when I had to spend each Kodachrome exposure with care and deliberateness, because film and processing were dear. Or maybe I’m just a thick-headed schlub. For now, let’s go with schlub.

2. Center the subject.
It’s an easy trap to fall into. It’s not the worst bad habit in the world, but it sure can make your photo gallery boring. Unfortunately, most camera designs encourage this by placing the AF target smackdab in the middle of the viewfinder. But that’s just a lame excuse.

3. Be unkind to my three-legged friend.
I keep a tripod in the trunk of my car. Unfortunately, I usually keep it there instead of putting it where it belongs—under my camera. As a result, occasionally I get a shot that’s too fuzzy to publish. I think it’s a matter of laziness. I’ll work on it, right after my nap.

4. Distrust Auto ISO.
Low ISO may be the way to go in most cases, but today’s cameras are capable of producing astonishing images even at very high ISOs. Many models, including my Fujifilm menagerie, allow you to put boundaries around Auto ISO by setting a maximum film speed level and a default. That’s makes the Auto setting very useful and speeds up the workflow. But old habits are hard to break, and I still start each day with coffee and ISO 200.

5. Leave my money camera at home.
Okay, I confess. Instead of packing a camera that I know is superb in nearly any situation, I often take a classic that’s, by today’s standard, technologically challenged. My Panasonic Lumix L1 is a great example. My other cameras can shoot rings around it ten ways to Sunday (after all, the venerable 7-megapixel DMC-L1 debuted in 2006) but the older L1 feels so good in the hand and is so much fun to shoot…

6. Wander around in oblivion; also called “one-track mind.”
Call it what you will, I lose track of time and just about everything else when I’m in the zone taking pictures. I pretend it happens because I have the ability to concentrate very deeply, but nobody’s buying that story. When I develop tunnel vision, it’s often accompanied by landscape blindness, and occasionally by bruises.

7. Fall into the “Fix it in Post” trap.
This is the worst of these Maleficent Seven. It’s the equivalent of kicking the creative can down the road and dealing with artistic failures later.

Don’t get me wrong: properly applied, Photoshop can work miracles, but there’s nothing better than starting with a clean, sharp, properly exposed image. I truly enjoy using PS; it’s relaxing and fun. But it’s not to be used as a panacea. Avoid the “I can fix it later” mentality and you’ll be a better photographer.

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Conclusion?
I’ve gotten better in 10 years. Marginally. I have a ways to go, and I know I can be my own worst critic.

If you occasionally experience the same sort of bonehead blunders, you can fix things in three easy steps. Identify exactly what you’re doing wrong, articulate the problems, and devise countermeasures.

Trial-and-error only works if you track the errors and don’t repeat them.

—Jon Sienkiewicz