9 Easy Photography Mistakes to Avoid Today (Photos)

We’ve all been here so don’t feel alone, but mistakes are going to happen with your photography. The majority of the photography mistakes that do occur are controllable and easy to avoid.

I’ve compiled this list of photography mistakes that have happened to me and countless others.

Photography Mistakes to Avoid in 2023

  1. Batteries not charged
  2. Empty SD slots
  3. Not being Prepared for the weather
  4. Formatting wrong SD card
  5. Not formatting SD card
  6. Not backing up your files
  7. Buying the newest and truest
  8. Not knowing your gear
  9. Dirty Gear
  10. Incorrect lens for camera

Batteries Not Charged

This is the most frustrating photography mistake that I’ve made countless times! You come home after a day of shooting and take care of everything besides for charging your batteries. You take the camera out for your next shoot and the battery is dead and your backups haven’t been charged either.

Empty SD Slots

I can recall a major storm I wanted to capture but when I got on-site and was about to press the shutter, the no SD card image displayed. This is a major headache and I know happens all the time to people. Check your slots to save the trouble of not being able to shoot what you were after!

Lack of Preparation for Weather

Weather is one of the most influential aspects of photography. If you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, you are doomed to fail. Don’t show up somewhere without the adequate equipment for yourself & gear!

My COLD WEATHER Photography Tips Guide, is the perfect starting point for anyone dabbling with cold weather photography!

Incorrect White Balance Settings

Camera settings can easily be changed inadvertently and change the entire feel of a shot. I can’t list the number of times where my white balance was set, for example as fluorescent lighting on a cloudy day. Yes post-processing can correct, but you should always aim to nail everything in-camera before post.

Formatting Wrong SD CARD

Anytime I format my SD card, my heart stops and hopes it wasn’t the wrong one. With SD cards being so cheap, and file sizes only increasing daily, you probably are going too be using a handful of SD cards that most likely are identical. You can see how this problem plays out.

Not Formatting your SD CARD

Arriving at your location can be hard enough. Arriving at your location with a low memory/ full memory card without any possibility to backup your files can just make the day harder. Take your pics, get them off of your card, and format!

Not Backing up Files

This one just happened to me and happens to so many others. Not backing up your files! “Oh I’ll back up the files later” Later doesn’t happen and the files may never make it to a hard drive. Think about this scenario. AMAZING day of shooting and you don’t back your files up. 


The next day you got out and damage your camera or even worse, someone steals your gear! Files GONE

Buying Newest and Truest

Cameras are being produced now with all the bells and whistles that frequently put consumers into buy mode. The thing is, most people don’t need 90% of the new technology that these cameras are capable of. Just because it’s new, doesn’t mean its better or tailored for your type of shooting

Not Knowing your Gear

You make think your camera sucks or your photos suck if you really don’t know what you’re shooting with. If you can sit down and learn a little more about whats in front of you, I can guarantee you can make yourself highly more capable.

For example, do you know how your gear affects capturing a sunburst? 

Learn how to take a sunburst photo today 

Dirty Gear

How many times have you looked at your lens after some photos and saw a huge finger smudge on the center of the lens? Avoid this dilemma by cleaning your lens before you start snapping away. 

It’s amazing how the little easy things can make such a big impact

Incorrect Lens for Camera

With new camera technology emerging every day, options are abundant for what camera gear you can have. With all these options and some pretty good deals to be had, buying cross-branded gear is common. 

 

What comes with cross-branded gear? Incorrectly grabbing the equipment that isn’t compatible with your camera.

Photography Mistakes Conclusion

These are only 9 tips to help you with your shooting today. There are many more but if you can limit these or put these into best practice, you’ll save yourself a lot of time and money. 

Is there anything else I should have mentioned? I still make these from time to time so don’t feel bad if you do, just learn from them

Photography Mistakes Resources

If you’re wondering where you can go to get more help. The below link is one of my favorite websites for any and everything photography related. It’s an excellent resource.