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13 COMMON PHOTOGRAPHY MISTAKES I’ve made + Tips to AVOID doing the same
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- čas přidán 1. 08. 2024
- Over the years there are a few photography mistakes that I keep making. In this video I go through the main ones to check before you press that camera shutter button.
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Fujifilm X-T3 - geni.us/fujifilmxt3
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OTHER PHOTO GEAR
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The great printer I use Canon P1000 - geni.us/cIIc
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Super light Benro Travel Tripod UK - geni.us/Benrotravel
A must have for tripod (L bracket) - geni.us/myLbracket
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Paper I use for all my prints - Fotospeed - geni.us/fotospeed Use DANSON10 to get 10% off your paper.
Screw on ND filter - geni.us/polarproND
My fav filters - www.formatt-hitech.com (USE NIGEL10 for 10% off)
#photography #mistakes #landscape
1. Wrong ISO (1:10)
2. Wrong Aperture (3:00)
3. Wrong Focus (3:55) ; make sure you don't forget to use AF and check for correct focus before and after taking the image
4. Not using RAW (4:50) ; if you ever put your camera on "JPEG only", make sure to put it back to RAW later
5. Auto White Balance (5:50) ; use Cloudy/Shady WB all the time to get consistent color
6. Uneven Horizon (7:00) ; try to get the horizon as straight as possible so you don't have to rotate and crop later
7. Bad Edges (7:30) ; check the edges of your photo so you don't have unwanted elements there or objects too close to the edge
8. Unwanted Shadows (8:50) ; make sure you and your tripod don't cast shadows into the image
9. Unclean Filters (10:00) ; clean your filters
10. Wrong usage of Polarizer (10:15) ; Polarizers work best if used orthogonally to the sun and not at all (on the sky) if used into or opposite of the sun. They also are unidirectional, meaning the light is filtered only in one direction.
11. Tripod Legs (12:30) ; with a small focal length, be careful not to get your tripod into the picture
12. Failing to charge batteries (13:00) ; number your batteries for usage order and separate them between "charged" and "empty"
13. Not emptying trash (13:40) ; when deleting your photos on your SD card, you might have to "empty trash" to actually free the space
WurstRELOADED well thanks for this! Should be pinned lol
Thank you
@Louis Sanderson any modern camera defaults to autofocus. So, you pick it up expecting it to be on auto. Then you take a shot and it's not in focus because the AF wasn't on and you expected it to be. If you're taking landscapes, not a big deal...mountains don't really move (and if they do, you've got bigger problems than your AF). The issue comes if you're trying to photograph a bird or boat, something moving. Then you waste shots out of focus that you just can't replicate.
Every day, a hero is born 👍
@Louis Sanderson Pretty sure I heard Thomas Heaton saying in a vid he uses MF not AF. I always use MF to make sure the focus is exactly where I want it to be (view on LCD and zoom in). Used AF recently and rechecked with MF - the AF was off a touch.
Re batteries, someone left a great tip on James Popsys. when you charge your batteries, wrap a rubber band or hair tie around each one. When you're out in the field you have both a visual and tactile clue to which batteries are charged and which aren't.
Awesome idea!
Great tip...rubber bands it is. Thanks
definitely one of those "why didn't I think of that" ideas. :-)
I’ve been using rubber bands recently because of him!
Great tip! Thanks a lot.
Can I add a couple of classic mistakes I have made;
1) Settings - check exposure comp is back to zero. You would probably notice once you started shooting, but can be missed if you are in a hurry.
2) Composition - if like me you dump your camera bag, then move about to improve your composition make sure you don’t include your camera bag. Have done this a few times, and even had it reflected to me. Adam Gibbs did the same earlier this year.
It's been more than 50 years since I looked at polarising as part of a physics course, and I had no idea the filters were unidirectional! Thank you!
Simple things, but very relevant. I check some sometimes, but not all always. Great idea with the checklists.
Such a useful video!!! Thank you! Nice to know I'm not the only one to forget this stuff! I really need to make a prep work flow that includes cleaning the camera and lenses (filters) , formatting the cards, recharging batteries, and resetting the settings, each and every time.
I made a few of those mistakes this weekend forgot to check my camera settings. Always look forward watching your videos every Sunday keep up the good work.
Yep, I do these same mistakes quite often, especially forgetting to change my lens from back to Auto Focus Mode! I think it's a great idea to create a CHECKLIST of settings to check before shooting and keep it in my camera bag. Thanks for sharing!
A very simple yet informative video, which I am guilty of most of the time. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks Nigel really great stuff. Good tip I was given for charging batteries when staying in hotels where you need to leave the electronic key in a slot near the room door to get power- is to put a loyalty card in there when you leave the room. You then continue to get a power supply to the charger when you are having your evening meal etc.
Fantistic video Nigel - love the reviews of workflow mistakes - that really helps to remind us all. As a trip leader, you pre-plan an amazing number of tasks, that we, as observers, don't ever see - it would be nice to see what goes into that trip planning workflow. You are great when it comes to camera/compositional workflow. Thanks again for a great tutorial.
Ah there he is, again Nigel your simple way of sharing your expertise and mistakes makes it so comforting to know that we photographers a really all on the same boat. Made my Sunday , oh and I miss pebbles . 😉
I miss Pebbles too! I haven't seen her in 10 days....
Yes. More Pebbles please.
Nigel Danson Is Pebbles an English Field Cocker?
Ugh I forgot my batteries today for vlogging. I always carry a spare but today I decided not to. My other batteries remained on their charger...
These videos and the info is so helpful. Thank you.
Thank you Nigel for more great tips. These will help me a great deal!
I'm not a professional but I've made all those mistakes!! Always good to be reminded of this.
Here's an old school trick when you take those top 1% photographs the ones you want to remind yourself of when you get back to the computer, cover your lens with your hand (without touching the element) & fire a shutter it makes it easy to find your best images or to separate image sets on a wedding day!.
Great and simple trick, thank you.
Stephen Gatley definitely useful! Thank goodness the Sony has rating keys.
Manu B Your welcome it was a popular trick in the film days for conflict photographers!
Moises Lopez Photography The rating system is great also!, but I use my method to separate photo sets at weddings it helps the editor out with selections!.
This tip works also perfect, when starting and ending a panorama shot with several shots to find them in LR.
Great tips Nigel, I follow most already but when you are under pressure it's so easy to forget especially the manual/auto focus. I had to do a corporate shoot, changed lenses and forgot to check, managed to quickly look at images and realised my mistake so all was not lost.
Camera batteries, I use the old rubber band trick, fully charged have a rubber band, discharged don't, works for me.
Hi Nigel, Another top video I can certainly identify with quite a few of those mistakes, especially the one about leaving the Camera settings on from a previous shoot, regards Ian
Excellent tips as always. Thanks Nigel!
Starting a sunday morning with coffee, this simple but most efffective tips and the best images of the Faroe Islands is the ultimate drive to go out!
Thanks for sharing Nigel
Thanks - so kind of you to say...
Really enjoy your videos Nigel! You have a gift of being able to communicate your knowledge to all.
Many thanks Bob
I think I have made almost of those mistakes, you live and learn. Enjoyed the video.
Oh such great tips ... or mistakes ... and I make them all! 😃 Fantastic images, I so love seeing your images printed. I don't know what it is about seeing a photograph on nice paper versus a computer screen. The final image of the road is special. It so does remind me of my trip to the Highlands of Scotland I took last month. I really love the isolation. My wife and I are seriously thinking of relocating back to Scotland. She is from Glasgow but we both really love the North West. I've never lived anywhere but New Hampshire but I really think I would love it up there! Thanks again for the inspiration and the checklist of mistakes not to make! 😃
Great tips! Thank you Nigel! My biggest problem is forgetting to turn off image stabilization when using a tripod...and then forgetting to turn it back on again after...
Very nice video with mistakes everyone made somehow, great!
Great watch as always Nigel
Done almost all of them myself. Only the SD-Cards are not formatted but changed to new ones always when they are full, to have a 3. Backup next to PC and NAS
Great video. Been there and done that on the subject of forgetting to reset iso----so frustrating!
One of your best ever videos Nigel, and the info about the use of the polariser, unless the sun is directly in front of you its easy too forget about effects of the suns rays on your image, I think we are all to eager to capture the shot with the light etc that we can easily forget the elementary things, Regards Colin. (what a wonderful place)
colin clewley shooting against the sun with a filter can result to terrible outcomes. I learned the hard way.
Thank you Nigel looks a beautiful place never been that so I should interesting tips I have one on my camera I said landscapes on custom control one wildlife on custom control to that way I’m always in the right ballpark when I get there thank you for your time very much appreciated
Another good video.
Congrats Lucas!
I’m a total beginner but so happy to learn I’m not the only one who forgets to check iso and if auto/manual is set on lens. Or I forget that I switched to a back button focus. 🙄
Another thing I have started doing is writing a date on my batteries when I get them so if I'm not getting optimum performance, I know that it might be time for a new battery(especially if it is a couple of years old). Good tips.. Thank you Nigel.
Excellent one Nigel..... Always good to be reminded of the mental checklist.. So often forgotten especially when blown away by an awesome location or conditions 👍 (or distracted by a four legged friend!)
Thanks Claire - especially 4 legged friend
it would be interesting to see how you processed the last photo that was captured in flat light, as it does look amazing.
Interesting video because we all make mistakes. I've made most of these. For me, leaving bracketing on is probably one of the most irritating. One focussing suggestion that worked for me: switch to back button focussing and say goodbye to having to select manual focus / auto-focus all the time. Then you can manually focus on the lens OR hit the back button OR (on my Nikon) touch the rear screen to get the focus you need.
Regarding the SD cards, I always format my card as soon as it goes in my camera. I developed this habit from reading online that you should always format the card in the camera you’re using it in - not on the computer. Also deleting images in camera is not a good thing to do, apparently.
Great idea Chris. Thanks a lot for sharing
@@NigelDanson This is a professional workflow practice that is good to make into habit & doing it that way helps to avoid corruption of files!
Thanks for this. I just checked my card on my camera and 1/2 the space was being used on what I thought was an empty card.
Yeah I do like this tip! Thank you 🙏🏻 (I will remember to format the SD card in the camera that I am use if). Cheers from Western Australia ✌🏻
I started having the trouble with Lightroom not recognizing the lens I used so I started formatting in camera and I haven't had an issue since.
Thanks Nigel. Very good tips, as usual. Regarding tripod-leg position, sometimes I find it important to actually have one of the legs directly under the lens. Sometimes this can make a notable difference in the stability of the setup (especially if the lens is pointing down, or the ground is very uneven or on a downslope). And if my composition is such that a leg under the lens doesn't enter the frame, I'll set up the legs that way from the start.
Hi Nigel, Thanks for sharing. I’ve made most of those mistakes but find with the Fuji X-T3 it’s so easy to see the settings from the dials as opposed to menus or looking through the EVF. That’s one of the main reasons I like the X-T1, 2 & 3 so much.
Just a personal opinion of the photo print at 18:10; I masked out the person standing on the rock with my finger and preferred the breathtaking natural view without the human interference. Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder I suppose.
Greeting Nigel,
First I enjoy viewing your presentation, and the fact that you've pass on tips. I can relate to the one tip about watching your edges. I was out returning some library book, when I happen to see that a local car club was have a club meet at the same park that the library was located. That gave me a opportunity to work on shooting close-up and some long shots. However I must confess I was paying more attention to the cars and not thinking about the edge's or the background. I photographed some beautiful cars with some NOT so beautiful backgrounds or edges. One image was a car nicely positioned, sun hit the car perfectly, the edges were nice and clean, but to my surprise when I reviewed all the images. I didn't even see the pot-a-job in the background. Some might say I was car struck.
Thanks for the hint with the polarizer 👍
Thanks for the great video..
Great tips to remember. A mistake I constantly do is forgetting to switch on/off VR on the lens when I take shots on a tripod or not. Maybe because I started photography before such things existed but you should turn off VR when on a tripod (almost all the time) but you want the benefit of VR when hand holding.
Larry Rudnick you’re absolutely right. This is arguable my biggest mistake lol
Just curious as a noob what this actually does? Is there a reason the VR would effect a more stable shot if it doesn't have to compensate for any vibration?
Great video Nigel, really enjoyed it.
Mike
I had to keep reminding myself to check the settings shown on my D810 screen. I now have the Sony A7Riii and the screen info is enormous. I know that I can change that but, in the early months, I am not sure which data I need to display - yet.
This is a great list. I used to do a lot of landscape photography but now do more wildlife so my comments here might not all apply. First, if you shoot raw then I might suggest that you ignore white balance in anything other than really extreme conditions. I have the camera set mine to 5800K, which probably has more to do with the light in the room I do my processing in than what is in the image itself. A big mistake I keep making is to forget to take pictures of a gray card when you sense that color balance is going to be critical. One gray card image per camera shoot is usually enough unless you, say, go into a church that you encounter while hiking. The gray card doesn’t have to be all that big. I have a small plastic one on a lanyard. Oh, if I only remembered to use it!
Since you use a mirrorless camera, I would suggest you show a histogram when composing and shooting. This is much more informative than any single meter reading. You can get this in live view on a DSLR. I know this is more a sports/action thing, but I would use back-button focus even in landscape. Even if you know you are already focused, a quick tap on the focus button will confirm that the camera isn’t going to latch onto something extraneous. For difficult situations, most mirrorless cameras have a focus assist function where if you touch the focus ring and twist it slightly then you go into a temporary manual mode with a magnified view.
Good tips to keep in mind. Rock on!
2 more from me: turn of vibration reduction when using a tripod and check exposure delay when hand held. I have often ended up taking hand-held with a 2 second delay after using a tripod and missed the thing I was trying to photograph!
This happens to me so many times! The 2 second timer drives me mad
I’d like to see how you edited that last image :) thanks, keep it up!
The beauty of the Sundays has just completed 😊👍🏻
many thanks
My favourite is to leave the bracketing setting on, then next time out wonder why exposures are eratic!
Awesome thank you
Thank you Nigel for the tips ..... it's become a permanent checklist in my head. Hopefully i don't suffer from amnesia :)
I love the sunset image of the stacks. It’s a wonderfully dramatic image. The person on the left adds scale beautifully. I wonder if cropping it in a touch to remove the object cutting the edge of the frame would improve it? Or perhaps clone it out to keep the person closer to the third while losing the distraction.
And there's me thinking that only a novice like me could make a mistake like not checking the ISO. Thanks for sharing Nigel.
Thanks for the video.
What about a video about pol filter ?
Have a great day!
Great tips, thanks Nigel. I think I will make up some laminated Quick Reference cards to use in the field until these become second nature.
Some of the other viewers have also contributed useful items such ass the rubber bands around your batteries to indicate charged and discharged state. This would help to minimise fumbling around in the camera bag on a night shoot.
Thank you, I take some tips with me on my trip to the Canary Islands. especially the white balance.
Thanks and good luck!
Nigel, good points … every one !
Sad that i didnt get to win but im really excited for the new competitions and new videos. This is a really great video!
RE SD cards, I always format the SD card when I put it into the camera. This wipes the contents of the card
Andrew Scott Which is precisely why cameras have the option to format a memory card. I’m just clueless why someone would format their memory card using their computer.
I also format the card in the camera.
All useful tips. The one I consistently miss is the 2 or 10 second timer. I set the 2 second timer take the tripod shot than go to take a hand held shot and realise that it's on and get the bleeping when i release the shutter.
As far as "emptying the trash," I format each card when returning it to the camera.
Great common sense tips today.
Thank-You,
Mike
Same here Mike. When I get home from a shoot, the battery and card come out and doors are left open. When I get the images off the card and the battery has charged, both go back in the camera and the card gets formatted immediately. That process has never failed me.
When I clear my SD card I always check it in camera. If it says it has space occupied I format it in camera
Good set of points Nigel, I"m guilty of a few of those myself. Though wouldn't it be better practice to format the card within the camera after transferring the contents to the computer?
Great video again, thank you! But I have a problem: if I forget to check ISO or aperture (and I do forget quite often), I'm damn sure I'll forget to check the checklist. So that's probably the sacrifice we have to make to the photography gods. But to be more relevant to the subject, one more mistake I do quite often - is forgetting to shade the lens from the sun to avoid the lens flare. Shooting directly to the sun, it's quite difficult to see it on camera, and I find it problematic to correct afterward.
Outstanding tips. At one time or another, I’ve done each of these errors. Thanks so much. But you threw me with 13 and not 7....
Excellent video as always. Great tips. I never delete my SD cards though. I use them as back up for the photos. Does anyone else do this too?
M A G N I F I C E N T location, thank you for all the coolest tips. Cheers from Outback country Wild Western Australia 🇦🇺 ✌🏻
iSpike cheers from San Diego, California!
Amazing place❤️❤️
Off to Faroes in April so every time I see you there I am taking notes lol. What is the small travel Benro you use on trips
And again I hear that lady playing fantastic music in the background. I would like to hear who it is?
But your educational video is of course welcome again.Thank you for your dedication and time that you have all spent on this for us and yourself, of course.
Since I use Nikon Z7, I assign one of the user-predefined U1-U3 to set it for JPEG only snaps.
Best advise the check list.
I take landscape and other photos while backpacking. I shoot with an Fuji X-E3 attached to my shoulder strap with a Peak Design clip. Works well. However, when I set my pack down, the focus type and exposure settings often get bumped off their settings. Shooting on the move means you don't think to check before every shot. Argh.
Coming from Canon to Nikon, I learned the hard way that auto exposure compensation does not reset back to normal when turning off the power switch on the Nikon!
I metered a scene to be shot but couldn’t figure out why every other shot was coming out over and under exposed!
So from now on, I always ensure my exposure is set back to 0! Lol!
Interesting video Nigel, love the fact that when you talk about straight horizons the video has a definitely wonky horizon, intentional or not?
Yeah,about forgetting to change ISO back...I made that grave mistake whilst in Australia in 2011. Had done some night-sky shots at Gibson Steps / 12 Apostles, so ISO was up at 2000 or 3200. Came back next afternoon after the fog had lifted and shot most of the late afternoon (not checking dadgum images or settings). Any shots I have of the 12 Apostles for that AWESOME sunset are trash and kept only in my memory. :( Alas, I will return to that location at some point in the future!
I format every time I place a card in. That can avoid the hang up on files that the camera thinks is there.
Beautiful Location !!! Loved It... May i know the exact background music/track name in Epidemic, if you don't mind !! I loved it very much..
Nigel..thank you! GREAT tips as I have fallen to many of them...LOL
Hi Nigel, your ‘favourite” image is amazing! Which lens did you use for this image? I am currently looking at the 15mm Laowa F2 Zero-D, but I have also seen that there is a 12mm version, but I’m thinking that is possibly too wide. I am on a Full Frame Sony so not crop factor zooms to take into consideration.
I allways format the SD card in camera before a shoot, just to make sure no data corruption creeps in. Do you have a tripod tip near edges of cliffs - so it will not tumble down the deep ?
I'm glad I'm not the only idiot out there! Unfortunately, my latest battery experience was on a scuba dive. Opening the housing at 10 m under the surface is not an option! Missed some cracking shots too, but had a great dive.
Eek! That isn’t good... feel for you there
My worst battery experience was last August when I went to Iceland and took the wrong batteries AND charger. Too many Nikon
cameras. Thanks to a great Airbnb host I was able to use a universal charger for the remainder of the trip for the 1 battery I did have.
edge control is so important!
Hi Nigel - you shouldn't really be deleting images from the card in your computer. All manufacturers will recommend you reformat the card in camera and it's by far and away the easiest and safest method.
Re. tripod orientation: I think that this one comes with a little bit of an issue/tradeoff. Depending on the amount of gear you put on top of it you may actually want a leg to stick out in front for better support (if it was 'front heavy'). So maybe you want to use the focal length instead for getting it (or its shadow, for that matter) out of the picture in that case or at least hang sufficient weight from the hook to have it stable.
That being said: I love that benro tripod (have that particular one myself), but i wonder how it performs for you and what tripod performs best for your landscape needs.
Or when you leave the timer on and miss the shot due to a 10 second delay 😳
ARGH, been there done that. I'll have my camera setup for intervalometer shooting and grab it to shoot hummingbirds in my yard. Damn, 10 sec delay and the birds are gone.
I need to start storing my settings into memory, that way I can just set the knob to spot 1, 2 or 3.
I was in LA on a hill overlooking Dodger Stadium and Downtown LA and this hawk flies up over the hill and just floats RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME and is lit up by the setting sun (the BG was all in shadow) and I hit the shutter and the timer starts. The hawk, of course, then flew away. Ugh.
Hello Nigel .. that were great hints .. perhaps you've forgot on some, maybe the most important one ... to keep hydrated !!! .. otherwise brain won't work correctly and will do crazy stuff like taking photos with grubby filters, forgetting the iso from previous session, disabling raw and shooting only in jpeg, messing discharged batteries with more discharged batteries and so on ...
I always format the SD card when i put it back in the camera after downloading photo's. When you delete in camera, or on computer, it still leaves a file registry, which is taking up space on the sd card
Aaaaah I cringed at the moment seeing the shot where you talk about Edge Control. Luckily a few moments later you showed it was intentional to let us see what not to do 😂
Love your photography and content Nigel! 💚
Thanks - appreciate the kind words
Wrong ISO gets me a lot, so do shadows. The XT-3 can record booth Raw and jpg at the same time, which is how I keep mine set to avoid the jpg only issue. Also, if you set back button focus, you can operate the focus mode via both the focus ring and still get single auto focus via the back button when in manual mode. I only switch off manual to single or continuous wen I’m shooting casually or something moving (sports, my kids…).
Good reminder tips video Nigel. Amazing images as usual. One nitpik though. Edge control in the cliff shot. Why did you leave that tiny bit of rock beside the mystery man?. 🤔
That bit of rock got my attention as well! However thanks Nigel once again for your tips. When are you going to release the dates of the workshops for 2020?
just watched both of your recent videos nigel great work, and thanks for sharing your great tips!!! I am doing my best to grow my youtube channel and hopefully one day it will be as succesful as yours!!!
Hi Nigel. I am a motorcyclist as well as an amateur photographer. On the motorcycle, nothing is better than a beautiful stretch of open road. The last photo of the road spoke to me. Is a print available for purchase?
The worst one that gets me when I am using a bridge or point and shoot is macro mode.... Oh the shots I've lost.... I've learned the hard way to always check that you aren't in macro before all else.
Hi, I have done the Jpeg/Raw mistake in one of my last shootings , put on Jpeg to take a Snapshot of the printed guide of the viewpoint and forgot to switch back to raw...so frustrating...
Back button focus fix the autofocus issue. Since then you just stop pressing the back button to keep the same focus.
But to check the lens manual/auto button is always smart. Took the wedding photos for a former collegue and after changing lenses it took me a while before noticing that the button had jumped to manual when put in the bag. It was almost correct focusing distance, so I didn't noticed in the viewer that I was a little out of focus. On big screen this little out of focus was a disaster.
Thanks for sharing, I always say ISO as a word and not I - S - O, is that right?
I have two more errors for the list. As a DSLR shooter, I often forget to close off the viewfinder window when doing long exposures. My D810 has a little flip window and I just have to flip the lever but I often forget. It has been said that light leaks can spoil long exposures thus the need to close off the viewfinder. Honestly, I've never had a problem when forgetting to close it but apparently, it can be a problem. Maybe if I mess up some photos it will make me remember it. The other problem is forgetting to turn off VR when on the tripod. Again, that one has never caused a problem that I have noticed but manuals clearly say to turn it off when on tripod.