Are you making one of these four common photography mistakes? Whether you’re a newbie or a pro, this episode covers common mistakes and, most importantly, uncovers how you can fix them.
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89-Year-Old Japanese Grandma Discovers Photography, Can’t Stop Taking Hilarious Self-Portraits Now
Listener Photo Ctritique
What can I do to make this image look better? It was a dreary day and the flash wasn’t working right. Thanks for all the help.
Sample of edited image with Lightroom adjustments.
4 common photography mistakes made by newbies and pros
Mistake number 1: Focus
Mistake number 2: Composition
- Camera angle can change everything
- Portraits keep the eyes in the top third of the frame
- Landscapes rule of thirds
- Pre visualise images
- Compose in camera
- Use the camera’s rule of thirds grid
Mistake number 3: White balance
- White balance or color balance is about the colour cast of an image
- An image with correct WB is all about achieving a white in the image that looks Neutral
- If you shoot under flouro lights with white balance set to daylight, the image will look green or magenta
- If you set your WB to flouro the cast will be gone
- If I shoot in a house with old school tungsten bulbs the light is very warm or has a yellow cast
- If I change my WB setting to tungsten I’ll then have a more neutral image
My Process
- I set my colour temp to 5200 which is a good representation of daylight
- I shoot in RAW
- If colour is crucial (product/advertising/skin tone) I use a grey card to create a neutral base
- Adjust WB in post
- If I forget, I select a neutral tone in the image
- Look for a good white (not blown out)
- Tweak WB by eye.
Greycard
Studio-98 20 X 20″ Inch (50 X 50 Cm) White Balance 18% Grey Gray Reference Reflector Card Collapsible Foldable with a Smaller Zippered Carry bag
Digital Grey Card
Mistake number 4: Light
Take baby steps:
- Shoot with daylight
- Use an umbrella
- Move on to softbox/umbrella box/octabox
- Then use Grids
- After that, try beauty dishes
- Then try mixing lighting styles