The 6 most common mistakes made by amateur photographers…and the simple tips to help you avoid them
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by: Corey Smith1
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The 6 most common
mistakes made by amateur photographers…and the simple tips to help you avoid
them
Many photos fail to capture the moment or the mood of the
original experience for a few simple reasons. Sometimes it’s the lighting, or
the cropping, red-eye or a boring, uncreative pose. How disappointing to see
your photographs and wonder “what happened?”. We see hundreds of everyday
photos from our customers in our digital printing business (www.ThePhotoArtPeople.com)
and have created this short guide to help the novice photographer take
significantly better photographs by paying attention to a few simple basics.
Mistake #1 – Trying to
fit too much in each photo
No doubt about it, the most common mistake everyday
photographers make is to try to include too much in each photo…the kids playing
with the dog, the grassy field, the buildings in the background and the sunset
just to make sure we haven’t missed anything. The problem is that while
our eyes can take it all in at once and capture all the ambiance and feeling of
the moment, a camera cannot. The main subject, the kids playing with the dog,
is lost in all the other stuff in the photo. So zoom in on the main subject and
include just enough of the background to provide a reference for the photo. If
you want to shoot some other pictures of the buildings, grassy field and sunset
by all means do so, but for your “money shot” concentrate on your main subject.
Mistake #2 - Improper
lighting
Most inexperienced photographers are surprised when they
get their photos back and see that the subject is too dark…not at all how they
remember the scene. The reason is that our eyes, a truly remarkable piece of
“technology”, can see in deep shadows and bright sunlight simultaneously, and
reveal all the colors and subtle detail with ease. A camera cannot do this and
must choose between the two extremes…either the shadow detail is properly
exposed or the bright background, but not both. So-called “automatic” cameras
choose which part of the scene will be properly exposed, leaving the other parts
often too dark or light. So what to do?
When shooting outdoors try to avoid direct overhead
sunlight as this casts deep shadows on your subject and can be quite
unflattering. But if you have no other choice use the Fill Flash feature on
your camera. The Fill Flash forces the camera’s flash to fire and “fills in”
the subjects that are close in, compensating for the camera’s inability to
properly expose for light and dark areas simultaneously. It’s a good idea to
always use Fill Flash when shooting people outdoors on sunny days. Oh, and one
more thing. Never shoot into the sun. Your foreground subjects will be lost in
the shadows, and even the Fill Flash may not be able to help.
The same situation applies when shooting indoors. A
subject sitting in front of a brightly lit window will tend to be in the dark
because the camera’s sensors are being bathed in bright light, thus
underexposing the main subject (they will be too dark). So once again the Fill
Flash comes to the rescue as the subject is “filled in” with light.
Remember, a flash’s range is only 12-15 feet, so anything
beyond that distance will not get any of the flash’s light. A flash will not
help you get a shot of Mick Jagger on stage from the top deck, sorry!
Mistake #3 - Boring,
repetitive compositions
Boring, posed photos. We all have them. “Here’s the
family standing in front of a busy street somewhere, and here’s the family,
again, standing in front of some buildings somewhere, and here’s …” This
is where experience and an eye for the aesthetic can really help you take more
interesting photos. Here are a few basics to get you started.
- Minimize distracting backgrounds which don’t contribute
to the photo...a busy street, ugly overhead telephone wires, billboards etc. If
you can’t change the setting, then try to change your vantage point to remove
them from the background.
- Moving in closer and focusing the camera on the subject
will have the added effect of throwing the background out of sharp focus while
keeping your subjects in focus. You will be amazed at how much that alone will
improve your portraits.
- For scenery shots try to put something in the foreground
to provide scale…a tree branch, a winding road leading to the distant mountain
for example.
Experiment with moving your subject out of dead center in
some of your photos. Try having your subject looking off into the distance from
one of the lower corners for example. Mix it up and then pick the best one for
the photo album.
Mistake #4 – The dreaded
Red-eye
First of all, what causes red-eye? The back of the human
eye is saturated with red blood vessels. When your flash bathes these blood
vessels in bright light, the resulting reflection is a bright red spot instead
of the normally dark pupil.
Fortunately, today’s cameras make it very easy to eliminate
red-eye. Most cameras have a red-eye mode which bursts the flash a fraction of
a second before the actual picture is taken. The first flash shrinks the pupil,
thus reducing the amount of red reflected from the back of the eye. Just be
sure to warn your subject to sit still until the second, and final, flash goes
off.
Mistake #5 - Not taking
enough pictures
Back when we used film, you could forgive the photographer
for not taking more shots of that special moment, or that gorgeous sunset.
After all, film cost money. But with film-less digital cameras there is really
no excuse for being miserly.
Professional photographers will take dozens, if not
hundreds, of photos at a portrait sitting or wedding. I know a photographer
that routinely takes over a thousand at a wedding! Why? Because you never can
tell when someone will blink, or look away at the last moment and ruin what
would otherwise be a great shot. If you catch your kid doing something cute,
shoot a dozen photos from different angles, just to make sure. Chances are one
or two will really standout.
Mistake #6 – Over posing
– just say “no” to cheese
About the Author
Corey Smith is author of this article on Canvas Photos. Find more information about Photo Tips here.
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