Lessons Learned: Photography Mistakes I Won’t Commit Again
From the day I bought my first camera I’ve learnt many new lessons relating to photography, and I still have loads to learn.
Always bring a camera
I remember certain scenes in my mind, places I’ve experienced, food I’ve eaten, people I’ve met and, while I’m a big believer of living without regrets, I almost regret not bringing my camera. I want to have those moments captured, not merely in my memory.
Backup your pictures every day
While living in London in 2005, my camera, including my nearly full 512mb memory card, got stolen during a burglary. I hadn’t even bothered to copy the pictures, and now I’ll never know how all my photos from London, Paris and Lyon would turn out. Sometimes I still think about that morning shot from Sacré Coure and wonder how it would look on a computer screen.
When developing films in a dark room, double-check twice that you’ve looked the door
In high school I had two full films with images I’d taken during a recent weekend trip to Stockholm. Halfway through my work in the dark room, some guy opens the door. I couldn’t blame him since it was my responsibility to lock the door, but I felt pretty thoughtless for not double-checking that it was locked.
I remember that weekend in Stockholm as clearly as yesterday. I photographed, among other things, an old couple dressed in black strolling along an empty street in Östermalm, two teenage girls who had painted stars in different colors around their eyes, three brats on Stureplan, and a lady watching over her one-year-old granddaughter.
Photograph people rather than places
Taking photos of people make your photographs more alive. I realized this after my last trip to London when looking through my pictures. I’d mostly photographed buildings and empty cafes, restaurants and hotels. I couldn’t help but ask myself, “Where is everyone?”
Make your camera look ugly
One last tip, if you have a new expensive camera, read the part below from My Ugly Camera by Jimmie of Jimmie’s Project Journal to prevent it from getting stolen.
Back in 2005 I went to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to do some volunteer work. Within the first week my camera was stolen. Being that I was volunteering in some of the communities there, I spoke with some people about it. They said that all digital cameras are worth money, but none of the film cameras are unless it’s an SLR.
One of the other volunteers has this model of camera, and I thought that with the LCD closed, it almost looked like a film camera. So I bought one in the US, had it shipped over, and then I covered it in tape and sharpie marker. I also took off anything shiny.
I would take a picture or two, and then check the light levels with the LCD. After that, I would then close it, and would proceed to take pictures with it as if it was a film camera until light levels would change. The camera lasted me the remaining five and a half months in some of the most impoverished areas of Rio. Just about every picture in my Flickr is from this camera.
What’s the biggest photography mistake you’ve made so far ?
7 rolls of film wiped out in the X-Ray machine. And they were great shots too from a trip to Norway & Iceland – stunning aurora borealis, continental divide, blue lagoon, etc.
Needless to say, it was quite painful.
.-= Lola´s last blog ..Fodors.com: Taking Landscape Photographs =-.
7 rolls!? I can understand that was painful.
These tips are the ones that come to mind for me as well. I’ve lost photos which I neglected to back up and have kicked myself a number of times for not having my camera ready at the right time and place.
.-= Anil´s last blog ..How I Got Robbed In Guatemala and Other Hard-To-Believe Escapades: Part 2 =-.
I think many people recognize themselves in that, especially not having their camera ready and missing an opportunity for a potentially great shot.
Very good tips! I often used to go on a picture taking frenzy, capturing every little detail, every brick on the wall. As a result I ended up with hundreds of pictures, but I failed to feel the place and enjoy the moment. The second thing I learnt was that having a expensive camera doesn’t work for me since I endup spending too much time taking care and worrying about safety of the camera. I sold my digital SLR.
.-= Final_Transit´s last blog ..30 hours in Platskartny: Part 2- Journey =-.
Not easy to be in the moment and really experience a place if you focus too much on taking photos. Reminds me of ’2 Days in Paris’. Hilarious movie! Jack (Adam Goldberg) just couldn’t stop taking pictures (I think it was his first time in Paris). His girlfriend (Julie Delpy) was not too happy about that.
As for safety of the camera, I can understand worrying but as I see it, that’s just a risk you gotta take. I rather have a good digital SLR than an old point-and-shoot camera.
My fiance and I take several types of cameras – his digital SLR and my regular digital camera. This way, if we’re just wandering around or going out for the evening and don’t want to lug around his big camera, we can bring my smaller one. If we want a more photographic experience, we each take pictures, backing them up on the computer each day. I also try to back them up by putting them online (flickr, my company’s fan page, etc) so that in case anything happens to the computer in transit, I have them online as well!
Another thing I always make sure to do is have a few spare batteries and memory cards (for my smaller camera as they’re quite small). I can’t count the number of times I’ve gotten out my camera as we reached our destination and the battery is dying or the memory card is full quicker than expected. Just make sure to pack them safely when you travel!
Smart of you to bring both. Like I said to Priyank, I’d rather have a digital SLR than a point-and-shoot camera, but having both would be optimal. They’re both good but for different purposes. And yes, it’s best to also have the photos online. I like that you can make photos private on flickr. Not all similar sites have that option.
Good points about batteries and memory cards. I got into the same situation the other day when the battery was dying and I had forgot spare batteries. Lesson learned!