When I decided to dive headfirst into photography as a hobby, I was anxious about the technical jargon and understanding the myriad camera settings. The good news is that it wasn’t all that bad. I read and watched and learned a lot through trial and error.
Owning up to failure is always important. Being able to move on from a mistake to the next moment is even more important for continued growth in any field. I’ll tell you something, honestly: I still make plenty of mistakes!
Here are some of the most common photographic errors I continue to make:
- Not resetting important camera settings: All too often, I’ve forgotten to change ISO when entering different light situations, or I’ve missed resetting exposure compensation.
- The camera mis-pack: I’ve packed not enough when I needed extra gear and packed too much gear when I should have packed less.
- SD card woes: Yes, I’ve filled up an SD card and forgotten to pack a backup. The only solution is to go through the recorded files and be brutal about deletion decisions.
- ISO stubborn: Have you ever been stubborn about pushing your ISO in poor light situations? Base ISO is optimal for less digital noise in a photo, but a blurry photo just isn’t worth the stubborn refusal to UP the ISO a bit more to force a faster shutter speed! It’s better to have a noisy photo over a blurry one. Digital noise can be dealt with far more easily now using software tools. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve stubbornly refused to move from base ISO in fast-fading light, standing there with my arms tucked and not breathing just to cut as much movement as possible to achieve perfection at a too-slow shutter speed in hopes of a sharp image.
- Reverse dialling: Older Nikon bodies dial positive and negative exposure compensation values in reverse to other cameras, so when my muscle memory becomes accustomed to the opposite dial movement of another camera, I find myself cursing the over or under-exposed photo on an old Nikon camera. At worst, I just forget the reverse dial motion completely until I’ve long moved on from the scene, at which point I sigh. Thankfully, the new Z-mount Nikons have changed both the exposure value dial direction and the reverse F-mount lens twist they had going for decades.
I’ve been tough on myself in times past when it comes to making photographic mistakes. I think part of that was not feeling comfortable with the equipment and not believing I could learn enough to make good photos. In fairness, I still make plenty of stinky photos, but every poor photo teaches me something new, even if it’s a lesson I thought I’d already learned.
We can always improve our photography, but learning and living isn’t some easy linear path. It’s full of twists and turns and ups and downs. There are rocks of many different sizes littering the paths we walk. One of the hardest things to develop is self-compassion. We’re often kinder to strangers than we are to ourselves. But, why? We’re just as fragile and just as prone to mistakes as anyone else. All that truly matters is that we experience and inhabit the moment meaningfully, in whatever mode we choose: Auto, Program, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, or Manual.
Discover more from The Rusty Ruin Journal
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
The Rusty Ruin Journal 
I like the rusty roof there. Reminds me of a wave.
“…standing there with my arms tucked in and not breathing just to cut as much movement as possible to achieve perfection at a too-slow shutter speed in hopes of a sharp image..” Hahahahaha! That made me feel better. Even people who know about photog do things like this! Good, good.
“..not feeling comfortable with the equipment and not believing I could learn enough to make good photos.”. Very very me. For me it is 100% the tech barrier. I’m a creative and artistic person; I’m confident that I have a good eye; a sense for composition; an understanding of light, etc. But the minute I see dials and numbers and digital graphs I lose confidence. I’m * slowly* getting there, though. Reading a bunch of stuff on Photography sites helps me a fair bit- as does just observing the work of my fav photographers.
Anyway, a really sweet older couple I’m house sitting for have lent me their camera while I’m here, so that’s exciting! But even though I’m massively grateful for their kindness and generosity, I’m panicking a bit, because I have about 2 weeks to find my way around it and do some experimenting. I’m very used to old Canon DSLRs- they’re my comfort zone- but this is a Nikon, and although the set-up is similar, it’s different enough to have me confused already, lol.I’m still trying to FIND all the settings let alone know exactly which ones to use and when and how… le sigh. Imma just experiment and hope for some flukes 🙂 . Merry snappin’!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s a life of learning. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, it sure is ! There’s always something to learn.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love the photo of the gate, the low light really works well. It is good to make mistakes, it is how we learn. I have been taking photos for over half a century and I still make mistakes…there is nothing wrong with that!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, absolutely! Perfectionism leads to stress and de-motivation. Better to make a mistake, learn, and move on. Thank you. The sun was low and about to dip over the horizon, so there was such a nice golden glow about the place. Just around the local dirt roads, you never know what you’ll find.
LikeLike
Nice images! Ah, mistakes. In the past week I have: shot color film with a yellow filter on a rangefinder lens (prior roll was black and white). Opened the back of my TLR, only to find film in the camera. Put chemicals into the color film development process in the wrong order. Generally, made the mistake of shooting lousy film (Lomo Color 92) – a dreadful film stock. I am shooting lots of film to practice and test gear for my upcoming Portland Oregon trip with other members of the Film Shooters Collective. It is hard to temper my enthusiasm. Deciding on what camera to bring on a trip, and especially on this one, is always a difficult thing for me. The biggest dilemma is whether to use an AF camera, or go fully manual. The AF will mean more weight but better hit rate, especially from my aging eyes. And less mistakes! I am going to shoot some AF images over the course of the next few weeks and then make the final decision and stick with it. Keep up the great blogging!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s nice to hear I’m not the only one! I went through a lengthy period where I was just manual focussing but recently I’ve been sticking to AF just for convenience. Sounds like it’s going to be a wonderful trip! Thank you 🙂
LikeLike
Yes, I am looking forward to the trip but feel pressure to produce good work. And oh, what gear to bring. I have many film cameras given my love of them. I would love to bring the Pentax 645 – it is phenomenal. But the shutter sound would wake an entire slumbering city! And it is heavy. I am 67 and my eyesight is not what it once was. Sometimes I struggle with manual focus. As of now, my plan is to keep things simple and use a Nikon SLR and a backup body with 4 Nikon lenses, a 20, 35, 50 and a 135. I am particularly partial to the 20 as it was a lens that Galen Rowell used extensively in his travels. I may also bring my beloved Rolleiflex since it is light and packs a punch. A benefit of the Rollei in the street is that it attracts people and can lead to good candids. I have not had any interest in shooting digital lately and am running out of film! The cost of film is rising rapidly which is a shame. Its resurgence may be squelched because of high costs.
LikeLiked by 1 person
There was definitely a time between mainstream digital and the film fad with younger generations where rolls of film were relatively cheap. But costs have risen pretty dramatically. Hard to go wrong with that Nikon kit ! I’ve heard that the shutter on the 645 is a beastly noise!
LikeLike