Stephen Walton Photography Workshops

A list is incoming! I love a good list, and this one is my countdown of the Top 10 Common Photography Mistakes and pet hates I repeatedly see photographers (new and experienced) make.

Disclaimer – I’ve made them all myself at one time or another.

10. Overexposed Highlights

A problem so easily fixed by paying attention to your histogram and knowing when you’re clipping. Cameras literally have zebra warnings to show you when you are (or about to) start clipping. Turn that damn feature on and never be outside of dynamic range!

9. Not Getting Photos in Focus

Focus is as important as exposure. If you screw up one, no matter how good the other is your photo will still be subpar.

Use the right focus mode, point and placement to tell the story of the shot and draw the attention of your viewer to the right place. It’s not always a case that the centre point focus gets the shot sharp where it needs to be.

While a 3-inch LCD screen doesn’t give you a great level of detail I’d recommend using the magnify feature after you’ve taken your shot to review it and ensure it’s honestly sharp where you need it.

8. Shooting at the Easy/Lazy Angles

Be purposeful with the angle you hold your camera at. Eye level or chest height isn’t always the best, or most inspiring take on a view. This is what I call the ‘lazy angle’.

Bend those knees and get down low to deliver something more unique. Use the tilting screen if your knees are creaking like mine, that’s what it’s made for.

Try out dutch tilts (they aren’t amateurish) and points of view others avoid. They may not always be the right choice, but at least they’ll keep your mind thinking for when they’re perfect.

7. Check the Edges of Your Composition

Over and over again I see this photography mistake whether its by newbies or oldies. Focusing all your attention on your subject and not considering the background is a recipe for disaster.

Even as your set up your shot and compose your frame in-camera quickly scan the edges and corners. Make sure nothing is accidentally included that you’ll either have to edit out later, or discard the image because the distraction is too hard to edit out.

6. Tidy Up The Details in Post-Production

This mistake follows on from the previous point. Spending ages getting your colour and style look perfect means nothing if you don’t pay attention to the tiny details in your shot that could improve it.

Whether it’s removing a stray branch, loose threads on clothing or even a glaring reflection in the background. Most things can be edited or masked over in Photoshop these days. If you have the skills then there’s no excuse as to why your image isn’t perfect.

5. Why Black and White Photos Need More Contrast

I am so dead from seeing photographers doing a -100 desaturation to photos and thinking they’re done. You ain’t.

Black and white photos require a little more tweaking to enforce the contrast that works well with this medium. Raise the contrast and exposure sliders slightly to make the whites a little crisper and blacks a little deeper. You obviously don’t want to lose detail in doing this so your image needs to be well exposed first.

4. Don’t Over Saturate Colours

While black and white does require a boost in contrast try not to go too heavy on the saturation slider when it comes to colour photography. Instead, I prefer to use the luminance slider in Lightroom to make colours a little more vivid.

3. Leave Photography if You Have Wonky Horizons

This probably should have made it to the number one spot, as it’s vital that if you have a clear horizon in your photograph it NEEDS to be straight – unless its part of the style (dutch tilt etc).

There’s no workaround with this, or excuse you can pull – our eyes are balanced to spot a wonky horizon a mile off and it will spoil the enjoyment of the photo if it’s even 0.5 degrees out. With in-camera levels, and the chance to correct it in post-production there is no excuse for crooked horizons in photography these days.

2. Does Your Photo Have a Point?

“I’m taking a photo because…..”

You need to fill in the rest of this sentence every time you press the shutter. What is the point to this photo you want to capture? What made you lift the camera to your eye to begin with?

Keep the point of your photo at the front of your mind when composing the shot. Is the main subject clear? Is it obvious what the image is about? Is there anything of similar size, colour or detail that could distract a viewer?

But not having a point to a photo is much worse than not fully communicating the idea when you have one at least. Taking snapshots are all well and good, and they serve a purpose. But making a photograph, something artistic at heart needs to have a story.

Think of it like a movie poster; it’s clear from the subject, colours and composition what the mood of the film is and your photography uses the same foundations to tell a story. If you’re trying to capture something at distance, use a longer lens or position yourself so there isn’t lots of things in the way.

1. With Photography More is More (no it’s not)

And my final entry on this Top 10 Common Photography mistakes is images that are overstimulating. What I mean by that is that there’s too much in the frame and the primary subject isn’t really clear.

This follows on from my previous point about having one clear message or story to tell in the shot. By including lots of surroundings that only make your subject either smaller in the frame, or less important will cloud the message you’re trying to get out.

They say less is more in art, and they’re right.

Did You Enjoy This?

Have these 10 common photography mistakes made you sit up and listen to things that you could be doing wrong? What is your pet hates in photography? I’d love to hear from you and find out other mistakes that we can put an end to help new photographers reach their goals faster.