photo by AaronAmat via iStock
We all make photography mistakes. It’s a part of the process. But, you’ll make a lot more photography mistakes as a beginner.
Of course, just because it’s a part of the process doesn’t mean you have to just accept them. This is especially true of photography mistakes that people have made before you. Learning from others is also a part of the process.
In order to help you learn from others, we decided to cover a “photography mistakes” video by David Manning, whose video highlights mistakes beginner photographers make.
By reviewing his tips, you can try and avoid some of the most basic photography mistakes in your work. Check out his video above, and read below for a summary of his tips.
Creating False Expectations
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One of the worst photography mistakes is creating false expectations, either with yourself or with your clients. As an optimist, I like to think that I can take on every project that comes my way and that I can say “yes” to just about everything a client wants. But, as we all know, there are only so many hours in a day and overcommitting yourself will lead to either you being disappointed in yourself or your clients being angry with you.
So, one of the best tips for beginner photographers is to under-promise and over-deliver. No client will be upset with you for getting them their work earlier than you promised, but every client will be upset with you for getting them their work late. Until you really understand how your photography calendar works, feel free to give yourself some leeway when talking to your clients about deadlines and deliverables.
photo by Rawpixel via iStock
I think that a lot of photographers fall into the trap of creating false expectations because they are worried that they are going to lose out on business because of a longer timeline. While this may be true, it is a pretty infrequent occurrence for me to lose a client because I told them it would take me a week, instead of four days, for me to get them their work. I have lost clients when I was making lots of beginner photography business mistakes and was running really late because of it.
Not Using Checklists
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Another one of the worst photography mistakes you can make is not being organized enough, which includes not using checklists.
A lot of photographers get into the business because they see themselves as creative people. While most of our work is creative, this doesn’t mean that you get to escape more of the mundane parts of running a business, like keeping a calendar, doing accounting work, and making sure you have everything you need to be creative.
photo by Vitalii Petrushenko via iStock
Checklists should be your best friend as a photographer. You should be using checklists to account for all of the equipment you will need on every single shoot. You also should use those checklists every single time you leave your house or studio. It only takes one mistake for you to be unable to shoot at all, or unable to shoot as much as you would like.
Think about it. If you forget a battery for your shoot, you won’t be able to shoot at all. Or, if you forget a specific lens, then you won’t be able to get the shots that you’ve promised your client. With photography, every single piece of camera equipment is as important as the next. Make sure you’re not forgetting them.
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Not Creating Good Timelines
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Depending upon the type of photography you’re doing, you’ll need to create timelines for your shoots. This is especially important if you’re doing wedding photography, commercial photography, or other event photography.
You’re going to be stressed if you don’t have a timeline at all, I can promise you that. But, you’re also going to be stressed if you have a timeline that is too short. If you think a certain shot is going to take 25 minutes, then you should account for an additional 10-15 minutes on your timeline should something go wrong.
As photographers, we are truly at the whims of other people and of the weather. If a specific shot requires sunshine and it’s a windy, cloudy day, it may take a little bit longer waiting for the sun to come out to get a great shot. Additionally, you don’t want to be stressed because you’re waiting on another person who is running late for the shoot.
photo by miodrag ignjatovic via iStock
Timelines are also of the utmost importance for shoots that are at different locations. You never know how bad traffic is going to be on the day of your shoot. What if the freeway is closed? What if your shoot runs a little late so you’re now driving during rush hour? Creating timelines with additional padding will allow you to have an easy day.
That’s it for our beginner photography tips. We hope that seeing these mistakes on paper will help you to prevent yourself from doing the same thing in the future.
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