I'm guilty of pixel peeping on my tiny LCD screen, zooming in on max and getting angry because I'm expecting something that may camera+lens cannot provide - maybe I watched CSI enhance photos too much hehe ("csi miami enhance that license plate" in google).
My worst habit is not looking at the settings. I just look and go yup it's in focus and shoot only to find out the shutter speed was wrong or the exposure isn't right. Mind you I'm fairly new at photography but it still frustrates me that I don't take my time.
My worst is your worst. I bring a really light tri-legged seat - and a thermos of coffee. And I have made it illegal to do anything before I have sat down. Sipping coffee. Forcing myself to "sense" the place. Reminding myself to "see" instead of "look". Reminding myself to listen. Reminding myself to identify distractions (I have had so tunnel-vision at times that I did not see "that crazy thing in the frame" before being back home seeing the plastic bag on monitor... Still imperfect - but it helps. At least the pulse from hiking has dropped. And it makes me walk rather than moving like road-runner on speed.
This is actually very underrated. The type of timing and patience you need for really good landscape work is not conducive to people waiting on you. It makes them uncomfortable and the stress of knowing that they are waiting makes you perform poorly and rush.
Yassss. I don’t even have kids but just when traveling with friends or my girlfriend, I’m a bit of a d&%k when it comes to lollygagging behind everyone shooting and shooting. One solution is including the wife or kids as subject in the landscapes, but that trick only works for so long. Mostly when traveling I try to go out when everyone else is sleeping or having a late-afternoon nap. Being alone is ultimately the only solution for finding the space and time to find a really good landscape.
My worst habit was thinking that I had to travel away to get great images.For the past 3 months I have been getting out regularly to local spots, finding new ones, and revisiting the same ones in different light and weather.It has been a real eye opener for me.
Mark, here is one I see all the time from my better half. I have coined it “Post it Now” fever. Instead of taking your time and editing the pics to the best of your ability, But rather just doing a “quickie edit” and immediately slamming the “sub par” photo on Instagram, Facebook , etc. just for the sake of getting it up ASAP. It just leaves me just shaking my head. I think this is a serious problem that goes against the whole premise of photography or at least the photography that I was introduced to 30 years ago. Now, I can’t imagine there isn’t plenty of other peeps doing this as well eh?
I recently started my hobby in photography and im already guilty.. posted some of my best first milky way pictures on instagram without any watermark and some simple lightroom editing (while i have about 5 different exposures for all shots lmao)
Great vlog, Mark! I share many of these bad habits. One other that you didn't mention is "not taking the shot". I spend too much time looking for the perfect shot and wind up shooting nothing at all. When I DO manage to realize I'm thinking that way, I try to change my perspective. Looking for a great sunset and can't make it work? Shoot an intimate scene of a single tree instead. A good shot of something you weren't planning on is far better than no shot at all!
Hello Mark. I found this video strangely reassuring for the simple reason that I too fall foul of all the bad habits you expound including the one where I go to bed with the best of intentions and then, alas, when the alarm wakes me early in the morning ... well you know the rest. Even my best laid plans for a photographic excursion mysteriously go awry. On the positive side, I am determined to pursue my hobby and to get the best results I can. In recent years my "bad" habits show signs of withering under the strain. Thanks to you I sense I'm not alone. Many thanks for an excelled video.
I do pixel peeping too when I edit my photos but I do that to inspect an image after using unsharp masking or clarity enhancement. Looking at pixel level helps me determine if I have overdone sharpening when I see white artifacts, halos or ghosting around dark-light transitions. Sometimes they do destroy the details critical within the image.
And yet, another top notch video there sir! I think my worst habit is rushing. For whatever reason when I sit there and think about it, I rush. Also, another bad habit would be just taking photos. Not composing them, just taking random ones of things that look nice. For example, yesterday I was shooting down at Fort Myers beach (here for work). I came back to my hotel and found that half of my photos weren't really composed all that well. I had to crop way in to get any kind of composure. I think that is mainly due to my constant rushing. But, I do try to slow down when I actually think about it. Thanks again for another great video! I always look forward to Wednesdays!
You are not alone. I do at least 1-4. Especially pixel peeping and sensory overload. Thank you for your wonderful videos and tips. I look forward to them each week. Keep up the great work.
Mark, what you call sensory overload translates to me as enthusiasm and excitement. You clearly love what you do so its arguably not really a bad habit; more just your nature. If you lost that same enthusiasm you may also lose the motivation to get out of bed and go out on a shoot in the first place. Love your honesty!
I am an old film photographer and always try to get my best image in-camera. Now with digital, I usually only have to make minor changes in post. I tend to shoot in all lighting and conditions, I never wait around for sunrise or sunset. If I am at a location nothing is going to stop me from shooting. Maybe this is because I am somewhat physically handicapped and can't walk very far before having to sit down. But it can also help me to consider shooting at different heights etc. I do chimp more than most because I know getting back to an area takes me much longer. Love your channel, keep up the good work.
Great point on the lens changing. I know first starting out(and now) we get impatient and carless when switching lens. Usually I'm in a desert setting with high winds and sand, you already know where this is going.....lol
Back in the 90s i was on a 7 day canoe trip using a Nikon F90 with Fuji velvia. I switched lenses the lazy way. Got home, processed the dozen or so rolls, and discovered a thread in almost every shot! This was before digital editing was easily available. Photo Disaster. :-(
I hadn't "identified" these bad habits for myself... but ... yep, tbh, it's me on nearly every single one! Some great points to consider for correcting these. Thanks, Mark!
I share a handful of these bad habits and had a few good laughs during this video! I really enjoy your photos, channel/videos, and style of teaching. Thanks for all the work you do.
Def agree on chimping.. I came back from Iceland with blurred pictures in one of the locations. I was positioned in a flowing stream whilst trying to do a 2sec exposure. When I'm back home, realised my pics where blurry.. possibly due to the strength of the river stream being too strong for my tripod camera setup, resulting in camera shake.. lesson learnt..!!!
This is one of the best you-tube channels on photography that I ever watch...they are replete with practical tips and best practices...all put together crisply and concisely...very instructive and inspiring...thanks very much.
Wow, great self reflection! I bring my dog everywhere but sadly she's an added stress that makes me rush. Definitely an uneasy feeling to rush photography or anything artistic.
My worst is just not getting out enough to take photos or it's just not knowing what I'm looking for but I'm slowly working on getting out more and finding new places near me I can go
I feel like I just sat through a Photographer's Anonymous therapy session. I do all of that stuff. I also tend to get 'tunnel vision' where I try to see the composition in the same way I've seen my other photos - trying to make the new location fit what I'm used to seeing instead of seeing the new place, new color, patterns, textures, light, for what it has to offer. Really great video thanks.
Your self-effacing nature and humility are very pleasant traits, and make an ideal platform for giving advice. In addition, you have a rich, deep speaking voice, with great timing and cadence. I avoid going out in midday with cloudless skies. Is that a bad habit? From years of shooting landscape, I just don't think I will snag a "keeper" under those conditions.
It is very good to know that even a competent and experienced photographer like you is capable of suffering from some issues like me. Thank you very much for this video. I thought that only newbies, like me, committed these kinds of bad habits.
Recently I went to the Grand Canyon (South Rim) and while driving from my hotel in Flagstaff, it was raining quite a bit along the way. I was kind of bummed out about it. But when I got there and after a heavy shower had past, there were several long lasting rainbows over the canyon. Great shots.
Hello Mark. First I give you a 10 out of 10 for your honesty about these habits. I was laughing a lot because I have a few of those problems and some different ones. Great video thanks a lot.
#5 gave me anxiety haha! :) I never do the "lazy lens change", mainly because I'm too terrified of cleaning the sensor on my own. But, I can relate to all the other mistakes up to a point, especially the first one, about editing too fast. Oh, and sleeping in. I'm so not a morning person! :)
I'm with ya Mark almost everything you said lol I live just on the other side of the mountain from you my biggest is allowing the mountains to be my only composition I'm absolutely in love with these things lol but to grow I need to focus on the foreground more ...its what I'm working on now ...great videos brother keep them coming!
I have started choosing locations based on weather. I have limited days to go out so I have to try and make the best of what ever is available. Also I sometimes get over excited and forget to chimp. which has left me very disappointed a few times
The pixel peeping one speaks to me on a spiritual level. If an image doesn't meet my ridiculous standards for sharpness on a 27 inch monitor, I deem it unworthy of occupying disk space, even if it, by no means, deserves such treatment from an objective point of view.
Loved the part of video where you walked up to the framed photo on wall and put your eye within a fraction of inch to the photo ! Now That was funny and made your point very well !
Identity crisis. I love landscape and consider myself a landscape photographer but when you open my photo library its 90% photos of the family. It's the, "I can't get off into the wilderness alone" effect. Its difficult to explain to people when I try to tell them I really am not into portraits when it's all they see, lol.
3:23 zoom-in/zoom-out :)) great tips. and please keep the lense-hood on always. that will protect your lense in cases of unintentionally bumping the cam in a rock or branches.
Well said, Mark - bad habits in general, not just for landscape images. #9 should be easy to fix - transfer images to storage device and stay away from LR. Tip for #5, on Sony cams, the lens alignment dot aligns with the film plane icon on the cam body, to speed the mounting process. Strategic chimping can help spot focus point errors, in my experience. Sensory overload is a bad one - try it when first arriving at a street festival type event. Take a breath and realize we won’t get all the best shots right away. Saw a newspaper photographer at a festival - she spent about 30 mins just observing things before starting to take photos.
Thank you Mark! As always great advice. At this point I have yet so much to learn. I can't even come up with top worst habits... give me a little time to figure myself out and I'm sure will come up with a few... This is good food for thought. Cheers!
Greetings. First time to your channel and found the list interesting. My belief is the most performance limiting word in any language is "try". Implicit in the word "try" is I am allowed to fail, or I've already decided to fail, or I have no intention of actually doing this but trying makes me feel better. Reword the list to substitute try or "working on" with never. I never expose my sensor (really not ever, not even once). Suddenly you don't have a list and can focus on photography. Thanks for sharing!
Unfortunately I see all these habits when I am shooting 😢. But like you I am aware of these habits and that gives a chance to overcome them. Very good video 👍🏻
Brilliant.. just starting out and there's loads of things I've learned from you.. This is great to set someone like me on the right course. I've got a lot of places I can go to photograph around were I live (Liverpool UK) and all of you advice is invaluable ... Cheers!
Good topic mate , not always easy to have your head in the game sometimes . Not really a photographer , more of a hobbyist , but i have noted some of my camera mistakes, i find i often do take a lot of pictures of one scene just in case i bugger up the first one , i`ll probably shoot about 60 and keep 5 :) , the other week i was out for a day of taking snaps of a bit of landscape in the country , this day i stopped in a rest area on the highway on top of a decent hill looking down, the weather was crap , it was cold , i thought , it probably wont be much of a picture anyway , so i just took a snap through the bug covered windscreen on my car. As it turned out , the sky , the highway , the trees , a big rig parked off to the side , the light , when i looked back through all my pics of the day on my computer , that one single shot and subject matter to me turned out was easily my best composition pic of the day .......... it was a really good pic , except i was too dam lazy to get off my ass and swing the car door open and grab the shot in the cold and ruined it by shooting through the windscreen .. Note to self , dont be a lazy snapper .
A Perspective On Landsapes. I read an interview article, in a magazine, some years ago, about the English Landscape Photographer, Joe Cornish. He goes back to the days of Fuji Velvia Film, in Medium & Large Format Cameras; his work is superb. He described taking his shots, (and I know most of us cannot be this extreme), by pointing out that he would first pick his locations, using maps, a compass and judging where the sun would be rising or setting; THEN he would travel to his location. He would sometimes stay at his location for two days, or more, waiting and watching for the light to be at its best. It was not unknown for him to to leave after 2/3 days without pressing the Shutter Button, if he never saw the 'correct' light for his vision. He refused to take even a single shot, if things were not right for him. When asked how he knew when he had his 'best' work for himself? They were the shots that made him cry as he was taking them.
You mention having your camera on the tripod and all set up, then you want to change lenses. Please consider leaving your camera as is on the tripod, have a body cap in your hand, then remove the lens and quickly install the body cap. Go to your bag and switch lenses. Bring the new lens up to the body, remove the body cap, and quickly attach the new lens. Sensor has minimal exposure to elements and this may be faster. You could also keep a rear lens cap in your hand to place on the back of the first lens.
I always forget things like not paying attention to settings, not seeing unwanted objects in my shots. My worst is like you, rushing. At times I go blank on site and forget all of the basics, eyeroll!!!
I shoot live music primarily and I have a bad habit of checking my screen too much and miss some great action shots. That’s probably my worse habit. Also not being prepared, getting halfway to a shoot and realising I’ve left something at home.
Also when it comes to lens changing, I have to be quick being at a concert. I have 3 songs to shoot, so usually Ill switch over between songs 2 and 3 and it’s a super quick switch. But then I tend to leave the caps off the back of the unused lens. Now that’s a bad habit.
Really love your content! Can really feel that last point - getting to an awesome location and then losing it. Went to iceland in march and at some locations i was emotionally so pumped and blasted i really just ran around doing mediocre images (im a beginner, so thats usually the case but.. thats not the point here :D) just because i didnt took the time to just enjoy the moment, take a deep breath and after that thinking about the composition and (especially for me back then) the camera settings - so ended up shooting skogafoss in perfect wether with like f/2.8 and stuff which just got me crazy when i got home. :D But i also think that all those points are good signs, cause we all never stop learning and try to improve our images and even ourselfs through photography and theres some real beauty in it, Thank you, Mark, you really provide great content and good value =)
My worst habit is losing my lens caps. I take it off to take a few shots...tossing it towards my camera case and missing or I jam it in my pocket, take the shots only to find that the cap is gone forever! I now keep 3 or 4 spares in my camera bag and don't get me started on my charger cables because that's a whole new can of crazy!
Re: Pixel Peeping - On my retina display mbp, I'll zoom into 100% to get an idea of sharpness and detail. On a non-retina display, I'll zoom into 50%. These are realistic approximations of what a print will look like. I've also learned that obsessing over technical perfection in an image can detract from aesthetic quality. So I obsess less over noise and having pin-sharp focus corner to corner and front to back and instead look for images that invoke emotion and story. I learned photography on film, and while I shoot mirrorless digital today, I still work with a film mindset.
Really appreciate this effort to improve your follower Photographics skills. I have most of your photographs bad habits but I will try to learn from you how to avoid it
I'm shooting 360 and my worst habit is not checking the exposure equality of the two lenses at the stitch line before leaving the location. Very difficulty to fix in post. Can really degrade an otherwise fabulous shot.
G'day Mark I have all, and maybe more of your bad habits, but lazy Len changes is one that I don't do. I've got a camera dust cover and when I change the lens, I have my lens cover as well as my camera cover, in hand and I put them both on. I always do the reverse when putting on a new lens. Havahappyphotographyday Greg
Hey Mark, nothing to do with the current video but i was wondering if you could make a video about the photographer community, and online ones in particular. I've just recently (read, about 1 week ago) started pondering if there were some newbie/amateur contests i could participate in, how i could get some sort of feedback on my pictures, etc. I believe we all, amateurs, dabble in photography for fun and not make a living out of it, but vanity aside we actually become curious about the quality of our "work" at some point. I know that's how it happened for me at least - at first i was just a kid with a point and shoot Canon, then i bought my first DLSR with a kit lens, then i my first 18-105 lens, then upgraded my camera... lately i've been slowly picking some cheap gear such as tripods, backpacks, lenses and things that fit my budget, since i wanted to "up my game" a little... and naturally i started wondering "But is it even worth it? What if my pictures are actually shit?". All i had was my friends and family feedback, which is always nice but also tends to be always positive :P ... I've been posting my pictures on Deviant Art for a while too, but it's too busy with other forms of art (and porn :/) so it's not ideal. So i ended up searching a bit online, i went through Reddit but the photography section didn't seem all that active/interesting. I then discovered two sites that have kept me quite busy the last few days - Photocrowd and 500px. I knew of 500px before, used it to find some wallpapers, but i didn't know it was actually an active photography community, the way it is today. People seem nice there and there are discussion groups etc for critiques, you can even participate in contests and maybe win some prizes... Photocrowd seems very similar, probably more amateur-oriented, but there're way more contests, so it's quite interesting too... Anyways, that's just my experience so far, i was wondering if you could share some tips and experiences, if you had any, concerning similar groups, communities etc where a newbie can have fun and not get snobed at, etc... ?
Mostly I agree. One thing about pixel peeping that I think is justified when I do it is I take multiples of a scene and maybe the tripod legs are in moving water or it's windy. I know there could be some vibration so I try to take a few to catch that still moment. Pixel peeping (100% is plenty for me) to compare a couple of these for sharpness makes sense to get the best one.
I always forgot to put some food, and then when I suppose to take the shoots I'm starving and these annoying me so much. But issue it's solved! :) o...I...allmost forgot....in my place it's bear reservation....one day I'll be they food :)) Good advises Mark !
Mark, I want to try something. I will be doing a video on the Mountain Meadows Massacre. I plan to arrive at the site / memorial in southern Utah in the late afternoon, do an _un-rushed_ site survey, then sack out in my car in the site's parking lot overnight, letting the site gel in my brain all night planning shots. In early am at 0-dark thirty, do another site survey, then shoot--some of which will be using a drone. As a complete newbie, I hope this might help my first attempt at shooting my own B-roll. Nervous as heck though! Cheers again, brother of helpful word.
I’m happy to carry on “chimping.” There doesn’t seem much point in going digital if you don’t check what you’ve taken on location. Might as well stick will roll film!
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One of my worst habbits is not paying attention to Optical Stabilization. I would leave it on on tripod and off when shooting handheld and both scenarios lead to bad image quality.
If you are using a lens by your camera manafacturer ( e.g. Nikon lens on a Nikon body), you can just leave IS on all the time. They pretty much all detect being on a tripod. If you're using an aftermarket (like Sigma or Tokina) then, yeah, you've got to turn it off.
My bad habit is only doing a couple of compositions then leaving, I really need to be arriving earlier and exploring more before even pulling out my camera
LOLOLOLOL.. Hi Mark.. i've been a follower of you for quite a while now.. The number 1 rule for me is that I never ever leave my camera on the tripod and change lens's.. I'm very Pedantic about doing that so that I go to the trouble of taking the camera off, place it inside a weatherproof soft bag and change the lens, then set up again. I always have my camera facing downwards whilst changing lens's.. Pedantic again... Other than that, I have several of your habits too... Sleeping in,, aahhh.. too cold to get outta bed...I'll try tomorrow.. AAAHHH... Too much traffic on the road, i can't be bothered trying to get the sunset when there is so much traffic to get through.. Those people shouldn't be driving on my roads when I'm trying to get to a sunset...Rushing is another of my habits.. Until I had a very bad fall 3 months ago, not looking before moving and I took a big tumble, smashed into a tree, ended up in an ambulance to hospital.. Lesson learned.. Keep up the good videos Mark.. Thank you.. Nifty....
So I'm having problem seeing compositions. Now it could be that all I have is a 50mm lens, but would you say you had some "aha" moment where you finally just figured out what to look for in a frame? Thanks for the inspiring videos. :)
Glad you enjoyed it! I don't recall having an "aha" moment but after a lot of practice compositions start coming to you a bit easier I found, but sometimes it's a struggle.
Mark, I assume you were awaiting a call from the producers of Miami Vice to ring on that phone :-) "Mr Denney, we need some portraits of Crockett and Tubbs and...."
Ofthen i comit to a composition a bit to fast and dont scout the location enough. I then get the feeling I missed something and sometimes second guess my selves and change the composition in the last minute ending up with a not always so thought true composition.
Doing to much. Traveling somewhere, trying to get everything-everywhere-evertime. Takes away the fun and spirit of landscape photography. And the sensory overload, omfg 😂 at least I change lenses like a ninja - still dust (of course)
I tend to take all of my lenses on all of my shoots thinking I need to use all of them. In reallity I could get by with just one wide and on zoom. Leaving myself a lighter pack to haul around.
My solution to changing lenses is have 2 or more camera bodies. If you take 3 lenses, take 3 camera bodies and then changing lenses is rarely necessary on site. I change my lenses very carefully in my office/hotel room, as rarely as possible on site. Of course this means lugging around lots of gear but I'd personally prefer that. Camping at the site or location is a good idea as long as you don't get eaten by some wild animal. In Europe generally there wouldn't be anything to worry about from that perspective.
My worst habit is trying to be perfectionist when I edit my images.. sometimes we spend so much time editing one photo and forgetting that the some viewers like the photo even if is over saturated.
I never even open the card door. I plug a cable in to my camera, open a folder on my computer and drag and drop the files. After they're there I delete them on my camera from the computer windows. Sometimes I just do move and they delete automatically but I do shoot onto a second card mirror mode. I've never had an issue.
My suggestion for a #10: 2014 called and wants its 10-stop ND filter back. That's the one which takes two photos: blurry waterfalls and blurry seascapes and water surfaces. Both of these pictures look contrived and all look the same. At $250 a pop, I understand why Lee Filters thinks so much of 'em that they come is 6, 9, 10, and 16 stops. If you aren't selling one, what's the motivation apart from doing what that dude on UA-cam suggested.
My biggest worst habit is "rushing"! It doesn't matter what it is! Slow down, take it slow and THINK about what I am doing. Too often I lose pictures because of this!
I think my worst habit it taking too much time between shooting and editing. I just edited photos from a cosplay shoot that I did a week and a half ago.
getting the best light and composition of a place is not easy, unless you are familiar with the place or go several times. Also conditions of the weather might change things. How do you think Ansel Adam got great pictures because he spend it a lot of time on the same place and study composition and lighting. Studying and observing is very important ! It is good to take your time and also enjoy the environment without taking pictures also you will be able to observe other things about your surroundings.
I chimp a lot I finally just got my first camera so I am learning about f, aperture and iso so I will review the image to see what I need to change to get proper exposure 😊 and I am horrible about sleeping in especially because I will get off work around 1:00 am so it’s nearly impossible for me to shoot sunrise thank you for sharing this video
What's your WORST photography habit?
Watching you take pictures instead of me take pictures. :)
I'm Kidding.
I'm guilty of pixel peeping on my tiny LCD screen, zooming in on max and getting angry because I'm expecting something that may camera+lens cannot provide - maybe I watched CSI enhance photos too much hehe ("csi miami enhance that license plate" in google).
Too much gear
My worst habit is not looking at the settings. I just look and go yup it's in focus and shoot only to find out the shutter speed was wrong or the exposure isn't right. Mind you I'm fairly new at photography but it still frustrates me that I don't take my time.
@@NotFinancialAdvice Hahah - thats awesome!
My worst is your worst.
I bring a really light tri-legged seat - and a thermos of coffee. And I have made it illegal to do anything before I have sat down. Sipping coffee. Forcing myself to "sense" the place. Reminding myself to "see" instead of "look". Reminding myself to listen. Reminding myself to identify distractions (I have had so tunnel-vision at times that I did not see "that crazy thing in the frame" before being back home seeing the plastic bag on monitor...
Still imperfect - but it helps. At least the pulse from hiking has dropped. And it makes me walk rather than moving like road-runner on speed.
I love this!! I think I'm going to implement your approach moving forward - thanks for that!
I agree with your comment and I think I need to use your tips.
I'm gonna adopt your approach
glacier activity I keep thinking I’ll do the same, feel and hear the scene.
Great idea. Will do this tomorrow morning (provided I don't hit snooze 7 times).
Your face pressed up against that picture on the wall... priceless
camerashake Haha! Thanks man🤣
That was funny 😂
He kind of looked like a different person from the side!
Thinking I can do landscape photography when I'm on a trip with my wife & kids.
This is actually very underrated. The type of timing and patience you need for really good landscape work is not conducive to people waiting on you. It makes them uncomfortable and the stress of knowing that they are waiting makes you perform poorly and rush.
That's so true I wish I could like this comment a hundred times.
Damn we all did that. Ultimately I tried to convert my girlfriend to photography. I think it's working :D
true story. tried it different times. i will not work at all.
Yassss. I don’t even have kids but just when traveling with friends or my girlfriend, I’m a bit of a d&%k when it comes to lollygagging behind everyone shooting and shooting. One solution is including the wife or kids as subject in the landscapes, but that trick only works for so long. Mostly when traveling I try to go out when everyone else is sleeping or having a late-afternoon nap. Being alone is ultimately the only solution for finding the space and time to find a really good landscape.
My worst habit was thinking that I had to travel away to get great images.For the past 3 months I have been getting out regularly to local spots, finding new ones, and revisiting the same ones in different light and weather.It has been a real eye opener for me.
John Murray I do the same thing sometimes - just forgetting to shoot local.
Mark, here is one I see all the time from my better half. I have coined it “Post it Now” fever. Instead of taking your time and editing the pics to the best of your ability, But rather just doing a “quickie edit” and immediately slamming the “sub par” photo on Instagram, Facebook , etc. just for the sake of getting it up ASAP. It just leaves me just shaking my head. I think this is a serious problem that goes against the whole premise of photography or at least the photography that I was introduced to 30 years ago. Now, I can’t imagine there isn’t plenty of other peeps doing this as well eh?
Oh yes, I know there's many others that do the same thing - love the name as well!
I recently started my hobby in photography and im already guilty.. posted some of my best first milky way pictures on instagram without any watermark and some simple lightroom editing (while i have about 5 different exposures for all shots lmao)
Guility with iphone but not my DSLR. For that reason, I did not set up the SnapBridge for Nikon.
Great vlog, Mark! I share many of these bad habits. One other that you didn't mention is "not taking the shot". I spend too much time looking for the perfect shot and wind up shooting nothing at all. When I DO manage to realize I'm thinking that way, I try to change my perspective. Looking for a great sunset and can't make it work? Shoot an intimate scene of a single tree instead. A good shot of something you weren't planning on is far better than no shot at all!
Hello Mark. I found this video strangely reassuring for the simple reason that I too fall foul of all the bad habits you expound including the one where I go to bed with the best of intentions and then, alas, when the alarm wakes me early in the morning ... well you know the rest. Even my best laid plans for a photographic excursion mysteriously go awry. On the positive side, I am determined to pursue my hobby and to get the best results I can. In recent years my "bad" habits show signs of withering under the strain. Thanks to you I sense I'm not alone. Many thanks for an excelled video.
Awesome to hear you enjoyed the video Daniel!
I do pixel peeping too when I edit my photos but I do that to inspect an image after using unsharp masking or clarity enhancement. Looking at pixel level helps me determine if I have overdone sharpening when I see white artifacts, halos or ghosting around dark-light transitions. Sometimes they do destroy the details critical within the image.
And yet, another top notch video there sir! I think my worst habit is rushing. For whatever reason when I sit there and think about it, I rush. Also, another bad habit would be just taking photos. Not composing them, just taking random ones of things that look nice. For example, yesterday I was shooting down at Fort Myers beach (here for work). I came back to my hotel and found that half of my photos weren't really composed all that well. I had to crop way in to get any kind of composure. I think that is mainly due to my constant rushing. But, I do try to slow down when I actually think about it. Thanks again for another great video! I always look forward to Wednesdays!
Erick Lindberg Thanks Erick! Rushing seems to be a common theme I’m seeing in all the comments as well! See ya next week👍
You are not alone. I do at least 1-4. Especially pixel peeping and sensory overload. Thank you for your wonderful videos and tips. I look forward to them each week. Keep up the great work.
Thanks buddy! Glad you enjoyed the video.
Mark, what you call sensory overload translates to me as enthusiasm and excitement. You clearly love what you do so its arguably not really a bad habit; more just your nature. If you lost that same enthusiasm you may also lose the motivation to get out of bed and go out on a shoot in the first place. Love your honesty!
Thats a good point Paul! You have instantly made me feel better about that one, so thank you for that :)
I am an old film photographer and always try to get my best image in-camera. Now with digital, I usually only have to make minor changes in post. I tend to shoot in all lighting and conditions, I never wait around for sunrise or sunset. If I am at a location nothing is going to stop me from shooting. Maybe this is because I am somewhat physically handicapped and can't walk very far before having to sit down. But it can also help me to consider shooting at different heights etc. I do chimp more than most because I know getting back to an area takes me much longer. Love your channel, keep up the good work.
Mike Foster Much appreciated Mike - thank ya👍👍
Great point on the lens changing. I know first starting out(and now) we get impatient and carless when switching lens. Usually I'm in a desert setting with high winds and sand, you already know where this is going.....lol
Oh yes! Worst possible scenario for changing lenses!
Back in the 90s i was on a 7 day canoe trip using a Nikon F90 with Fuji velvia. I switched lenses the lazy way. Got home, processed the dozen or so rolls, and discovered a thread in almost every shot! This was before digital editing was easily available. Photo Disaster. :-(
I hadn't "identified" these bad habits for myself... but ... yep, tbh, it's me on nearly every single one! Some great points to consider for correcting these. Thanks, Mark!
Don Hendricks Thanks for checking out the video Don!
I share a handful of these bad habits and had a few good laughs during this video! I really enjoy your photos, channel/videos, and style of teaching. Thanks for all the work you do.
Def agree on chimping.. I came back from Iceland with blurred pictures in one of the locations. I was positioned in a flowing stream whilst trying to do a 2sec exposure. When I'm back home, realised my pics where blurry.. possibly due to the strength of the river stream being too strong for my tripod camera setup, resulting in camera shake.. lesson learnt..!!!
Ryan Lio Same thing has happened to me on multiple occasions
That line about doing more weather forecasting than photography hit home!
This is one of the best you-tube channels on photography that I ever watch...they are replete with practical tips and best practices...all put together crisply and concisely...very instructive and inspiring...thanks very much.
Ravi Neelakantan Thanks so much for this! You made my day🙏
Wow, great self reflection!
I bring my dog everywhere but sadly she's an added stress that makes me rush. Definitely an uneasy feeling to rush photography or anything artistic.
mm California Indeed - that’s for certain!
My worst is just not getting out enough to take photos or it's just not knowing what I'm looking for but I'm slowly working on getting out more and finding new places near me I can go
I feel like I just sat through a Photographer's Anonymous therapy session. I do all of that stuff. I also tend to get 'tunnel vision' where I try to see the composition in the same way I've seen my other photos - trying to make the new location fit what I'm used to seeing instead of seeing the new place, new color, patterns, textures, light, for what it has to offer. Really great video thanks.
waterman308 Haha! Yes, it was like a therapy session!
Your self-effacing nature and humility are very pleasant traits, and make an ideal platform for giving advice. In addition, you have a rich, deep speaking voice, with great timing and cadence. I avoid going out in midday with cloudless skies. Is that a bad habit? From years of shooting landscape, I just don't think I will snag a "keeper" under those conditions.
It is very good to know that even a competent and experienced photographer like you is capable of suffering from some issues like me. Thank you very much for this video. I thought that only newbies, like me, committed these kinds of bad habits.
Recently I went to the Grand Canyon (South Rim) and while driving from my hotel in Flagstaff, it was raining quite a bit along the way. I was kind of bummed out about it. But when I got there and after a heavy shower had past, there were several long lasting rainbows over the canyon. Great shots.
Hello Mark. First I give you a 10 out of 10 for your honesty about these habits. I was laughing a lot because I have a few of those problems and some different ones. Great video thanks a lot.
#5 gave me anxiety haha! :) I never do the "lazy lens change", mainly because I'm too terrified of cleaning the sensor on my own.
But, I can relate to all the other mistakes up to a point, especially the first one, about editing too fast.
Oh, and sleeping in. I'm so not a morning person! :)
I'm with ya Mark almost everything you said lol I live just on the other side of the mountain from you my biggest is allowing the mountains to be my only composition I'm absolutely in love with these things lol but to grow I need to focus on the foreground more ...its what I'm working on now ...great videos brother keep them coming!
I have started choosing locations based on weather. I have limited days to go out so I have to try and make the best of what ever is available. Also I sometimes get over excited and forget to chimp. which has left me very disappointed a few times
The pixel peeping one speaks to me on a spiritual level. If an image doesn't meet my ridiculous standards for sharpness on a 27 inch monitor, I deem it unworthy of occupying disk space, even if it, by no means, deserves such treatment from an objective point of view.
Planing what you want to do and taking some note and sketching if possible, Checking related tools before moving home
Loved the part of video where you walked up to the framed photo on wall and put your eye within a fraction of inch to the photo ! Now That was funny and made your point very well !
Identity crisis. I love landscape and consider myself a landscape photographer but when you open my photo library its 90% photos of the family. It's the, "I can't get off into the wilderness alone" effect. Its difficult to explain to people when I try to tell them I really am not into portraits when it's all they see, lol.
3:23 zoom-in/zoom-out :)) great tips. and please keep the lense-hood on always. that will protect your lense in cases of unintentionally bumping the cam in a rock or branches.
Well said, Mark - bad habits in general, not just for landscape images. #9 should be easy to fix - transfer images to storage device and stay away from LR. Tip for #5, on Sony cams, the lens alignment dot aligns with the film plane icon on the cam body, to speed the mounting process. Strategic chimping can help spot focus point errors, in my experience. Sensory overload is a bad one - try it when first arriving at a street festival type event. Take a breath and realize we won’t get all the best shots right away. Saw a newspaper photographer at a festival - she spent about 30 mins just observing things before starting to take photos.
Paul M Thanks Paul - great points as always🙏
Thank you Mark! As always great advice. At this point I have yet so much to learn. I can't even come up with top worst habits... give me a little time to figure myself out and I'm sure will come up with a few... This is good food for thought. Cheers!
Greetings. First time to your channel and found the list interesting. My belief is the most performance limiting word in any language is "try". Implicit in the word "try" is I am allowed to fail, or I've already decided to fail, or I have no intention of actually doing this but trying makes me feel better. Reword the list to substitute try or "working on" with never. I never expose my sensor (really not ever, not even once). Suddenly you don't have a list and can focus on photography. Thanks for sharing!
Unfortunately I see all these habits when I am shooting 😢. But like you I am aware of these habits and that gives a chance to overcome them. Very good video 👍🏻
That thunder startled me since we've been having thunderstorms in SLC, UT the past couple days lol
Haha!
Brilliant.. just starting out and there's loads of things I've learned from you.. This is great to set someone like me on the right course. I've got a lot of places I can go to photograph around were I live (Liverpool UK) and all of you advice is invaluable ... Cheers!
Glad to hear the videos are helping you out! Thanks John!
Good topic mate , not always easy to have your head in the game sometimes .
Not really a photographer , more of a hobbyist , but i have noted some of my camera mistakes,
i find i often do take a lot of pictures of one scene just in case i bugger up the first one , i`ll probably shoot about 60 and keep 5 :) ,
the other week i was out for a day of taking snaps of a bit of landscape in the country , this day i stopped in a rest area on the highway on top of a decent hill looking down, the weather was crap , it was cold ,
i thought , it probably wont be much of a picture anyway , so i just took a snap through the bug covered windscreen on my car.
As it turned out , the sky , the highway , the trees , a big rig parked off to the side , the light , when i looked back through all my pics of the day on my computer ,
that one single shot and subject matter to me turned out was easily my best composition pic of the day .......... it was a really good pic , except i was too dam lazy to get off my ass and swing the car door open and grab the shot in the cold and ruined it by shooting through the windscreen ..
Note to self , dont be a lazy snapper .
A Perspective On Landsapes.
I read an interview article, in a magazine, some years ago, about the English Landscape Photographer, Joe Cornish.
He goes back to the days of Fuji Velvia Film, in Medium & Large Format Cameras; his work is superb.
He described taking his shots, (and I know most of us cannot be this extreme), by pointing out that he would first pick his locations, using maps, a compass and judging where the sun would be rising or setting; THEN he would travel to his location.
He would sometimes stay at his location for two days, or more, waiting and watching for the light to be at its best.
It was not unknown for him to to leave after 2/3 days without pressing the Shutter Button, if he never saw the 'correct' light for his vision.
He refused to take even a single shot, if things were not right for him.
When asked how he knew when he had his 'best' work for himself?
They were the shots that made him cry as he was taking them.
Totally agree, especially number 9 😅
Haha - yep that's a big one for me as well!
You mention having your camera on the tripod and all set up, then you want to change lenses. Please consider leaving your camera as is on the tripod, have a body cap in your hand, then remove the lens and quickly install the body cap. Go to your bag and switch lenses. Bring the new lens up to the body, remove the body cap, and quickly attach the new lens. Sensor has minimal exposure to elements and this may be faster. You could also keep a rear lens cap in your hand to place on the back of the first lens.
I think the sleeping in habit applies to any occupation Ha ha. So much of that is so true, especially the pixel peeping :)
I always forget things like not paying attention to settings, not seeing unwanted objects in my shots. My worst is like you, rushing. At times I go blank on site and forget all of the basics, eyeroll!!!
I shoot live music primarily and I have a bad habit of checking my screen too much and miss some great action shots. That’s probably my worse habit. Also not being prepared, getting halfway to a shoot and realising I’ve left something at home.
Also when it comes to lens changing, I have to be quick being at a concert. I have 3 songs to shoot, so usually Ill switch over between songs 2 and 3 and it’s a super quick switch. But then I tend to leave the caps off the back of the unused lens. Now that’s a bad habit.
Really love your content! Can really feel that last point - getting to an awesome location and then losing it. Went to iceland in march and at some locations i was emotionally so pumped and blasted i really just ran around doing mediocre images (im a beginner, so thats usually the case but.. thats not the point here :D) just because i didnt took the time to just enjoy the moment, take a deep breath and after that thinking about the composition and (especially for me back then) the camera settings - so ended up shooting skogafoss in perfect wether with like f/2.8 and stuff which just got me crazy when i got home. :D But i also think that all those points are good signs, cause we all never stop learning and try to improve our images and even ourselfs through photography and theres some real beauty in it, Thank you, Mark, you really provide great content and good value =)
Loved your comments on pixel peeping ...bloody hell stop it people ....
Always great tips!! Mark you are the best!
My worst habit is losing my lens caps. I take it off to take a few shots...tossing it towards my camera case and missing or I jam it in my pocket, take the shots only to find that the cap is gone forever! I now keep 3 or 4 spares in my camera bag and don't get me started on my charger cables because that's a whole new can of crazy!
karan wakeman I’ve done that a few times as well.
Great video Mark I’m definitely guilty of most of those so now I might think more as a result of your advice thank you 👍
Really appreciate it Paul!
Re: Pixel Peeping - On my retina display mbp, I'll zoom into 100% to get an idea of sharpness and detail. On a non-retina display, I'll zoom into 50%. These are realistic approximations of what a print will look like. I've also learned that obsessing over technical perfection in an image can detract from aesthetic quality. So I obsess less over noise and having pin-sharp focus corner to corner and front to back and instead look for images that invoke emotion and story. I learned photography on film, and while I shoot mirrorless digital today, I still work with a film mindset.
Wow that was a really honest video. Those are good ones. I suffer from several of them myself.
Appreciate ya watchin it Marshall!
Just saw you article on PetaPixel. Good job!
Will Rockwell much appreciated Will - thanks👍
Really appreciate this effort to improve your follower Photographics skills.
I have most of your photographs bad habits but I will try to learn from you how to avoid it
Thanks so much!
I'm shooting 360 and my worst habit is not checking the exposure equality of the two lenses at the stitch line before leaving the location. Very difficulty to fix in post. Can really degrade an otherwise fabulous shot.
Early mornings kill me! Because I'm in the UK, sunrise is currently at 5am and getting earlier still which means at latest, a 4am start
Liam Galashan It’s brutal sometimes..
G'day Mark
I have all, and maybe more of your bad habits, but lazy Len changes is one that I don't do.
I've got a camera dust cover and when I change the lens, I have my lens cover as well as my camera cover, in hand and I put them both on. I always do the reverse when putting on a new lens.
Havahappyphotographyday
Greg
Mark, it's nice to know you're human like the rest of us.
Oh yes! Human for sure!
Awesome. True every one might have faced these situations. I enjoyed watching you peeping into the photograph for pixels. 🤣🤣
Hey Mark, nothing to do with the current video but i was wondering if you could make a video about the photographer community, and online ones in particular.
I've just recently (read, about 1 week ago) started pondering if there were some newbie/amateur contests i could participate in, how i could get some sort of feedback on my pictures, etc. I believe we all, amateurs, dabble in photography for fun and not make a living out of it, but vanity aside we actually become curious about the quality of our "work" at some point. I know that's how it happened for me at least - at first i was just a kid with a point and shoot Canon, then i bought my first DLSR with a kit lens, then i my first 18-105 lens, then upgraded my camera... lately i've been slowly picking some cheap gear such as tripods, backpacks, lenses and things that fit my budget, since i wanted to "up my game" a little... and naturally i started wondering "But is it even worth it? What if my pictures are actually shit?". All i had was my friends and family feedback, which is always nice but also tends to be always positive :P ... I've been posting my pictures on Deviant Art for a while too, but it's too busy with other forms of art (and porn :/) so it's not ideal.
So i ended up searching a bit online, i went through Reddit but the photography section didn't seem all that active/interesting. I then discovered two sites that have kept me quite busy the last few days - Photocrowd and 500px. I knew of 500px before, used it to find some wallpapers, but i didn't know it was actually an active photography community, the way it is today. People seem nice there and there are discussion groups etc for critiques, you can even participate in contests and maybe win some prizes... Photocrowd seems very similar, probably more amateur-oriented, but there're way more contests, so it's quite interesting too...
Anyways, that's just my experience so far, i was wondering if you could share some tips and experiences, if you had any, concerning similar groups, communities etc where a newbie can have fun and not get snobed at, etc... ?
Hey there! I don't know of anything off the top of my head, but I'll do some research on my end to see if I can come up with anything for you.
Mostly I agree. One thing about pixel peeping that I think is justified when I do it is I take multiples of a scene and maybe the tripod legs are in moving water or it's windy. I know there could be some vibration so I try to take a few to catch that still moment. Pixel peeping (100% is plenty for me) to compare a couple of these for sharpness makes sense to get the best one.
Well, that's me. Thanks for reassuring me that I'm not the only one. 👍
I always forgot to put some food, and then when I suppose to take the shoots I'm starving and these annoying me so much. But issue it's solved! :) o...I...allmost forgot....in my place it's bear reservation....one day I'll be they food :)) Good advises Mark !
Well, make sure you teach the bear how to use the camera before being eaten by it. 😅
@@goateyephotography808 :))
Pixel peeping one was my favorite 😂😂😂
Just recently discovered your UA-cam channel. Great video, you know me so well and we have never met!
g Dan Haha!! Many thanks!
Mark, I want to try something. I will be doing a video on the Mountain Meadows Massacre. I plan to arrive at the site / memorial in southern Utah in the late afternoon, do an _un-rushed_ site survey, then sack out in my car in the site's parking lot overnight, letting the site gel in my brain all night planning shots. In early am at 0-dark thirty, do another site survey, then shoot--some of which will be using a drone. As a complete newbie, I hope this might help my first attempt at shooting my own B-roll. Nervous as heck though! Cheers again, brother of helpful word.
I’m happy to carry on “chimping.” There doesn’t seem much point in going digital if you don’t check what you’ve taken on location. Might as well stick will roll film!
One of my worst habbits is not paying attention to Optical Stabilization. I would leave it on on tripod and off when shooting handheld and both scenarios lead to bad image quality.
If you are using a lens by your camera manafacturer ( e.g. Nikon lens on a Nikon body), you can just leave IS on all the time. They pretty much all detect being on a tripod. If you're using an aftermarket (like Sigma or Tokina) then, yeah, you've got to turn it off.
I enjoy your videos. You give a different perspective
Great as always.
Thanks so much Pace!
My bad habit is only doing a couple of compositions then leaving, I really need to be arriving earlier and exploring more before even pulling out my camera
12:11 I honestly do that! Just got very disappointed by the low resolution of the '90s prints in my doctor's practice. True story.
hahahh!
awesome video! unfortunately, I can relate to a lot of these problems.
Joshua H Thanks Joshua - glad you enjoyed it man!
My favorite photographer of urban landscapes is George Tice. He used 8x10 view cameras.
Loving your videos! Keep it up!!
Number 8 and 5 hits me so hard because I only have one lens because I couldn't afford more lens
LOLOLOLOL.. Hi Mark.. i've been a follower of you for quite a while now.. The number 1 rule for me is that I never ever leave my camera on the tripod and change lens's.. I'm very Pedantic about doing that so that I go to the trouble of taking the camera off, place it inside a weatherproof soft bag and change the lens, then set up again. I always have my camera facing downwards whilst changing lens's.. Pedantic again... Other than that, I have several of your habits too... Sleeping in,, aahhh.. too cold to get outta bed...I'll try tomorrow.. AAAHHH... Too much traffic on the road, i can't be bothered trying to get the sunset when there is so much traffic to get through.. Those people shouldn't be driving on my roads when I'm trying to get to a sunset...Rushing is another of my habits.. Until I had a very bad fall 3 months ago, not looking before moving and I took a big tumble, smashed into a tree, ended up in an ambulance to hospital.. Lesson learned.. Keep up the good videos Mark.. Thank you.. Nifty....
Thanks so much Neville! Happy to hear you enjoyed the video friend!
So I'm having problem seeing compositions. Now it could be that all I have is a 50mm lens, but would you say you had some "aha" moment where you finally just figured out what to look for in a frame? Thanks for the inspiring videos. :)
Glad you enjoyed it! I don't recall having an "aha" moment but after a lot of practice compositions start coming to you a bit easier I found, but sometimes it's a struggle.
Guilty, guilty guilty... Thanks for this wake up call :) I will rewatch and keep in practice not to do my bad habits.
Raymond Powell Thanks for watching Raymond!
Mark, I assume you were awaiting a call from the producers of Miami Vice to ring on that phone :-) "Mr Denney, we need some portraits of Crockett and Tubbs and...."
You're exactly right Nigel! They never called though...still waiting:)
Ofthen i comit to a composition a bit to fast and dont scout the location enough. I then get the feeling I missed something and sometimes second guess my selves and change the composition in the last minute ending up with a not always so thought true composition.
Doing to much. Traveling somewhere, trying to get everything-everywhere-evertime. Takes away the fun and spirit of landscape photography. And the sensory overload, omfg 😂 at least I change lenses like a ninja - still dust (of course)
Sleeping problem to get early rising, well that for me to.
Me too!
Nicely done Mark! Your habits are also mine - made me laugh on #4 Sleeping in...
Much appreciated - thanks for watching it!
I tend to take all of my lenses on all of my shoots thinking I need to use all of them. In reallity I could get by with just one wide and on zoom. Leaving myself a lighter pack to haul around.
I process my pics just after getting home too, even until 2 am. I'm just scared I'll end up with too many unedited pics or no time to process thrm
My solution to changing lenses is have 2 or more camera bodies. If you take 3 lenses, take 3 camera bodies and then changing lenses is rarely necessary on site. I change my lenses very carefully in my office/hotel room, as rarely as possible on site. Of course this means lugging around lots of gear but I'd personally prefer that. Camping at the site or location is a good idea as long as you don't get eaten by some wild animal. In Europe generally there wouldn't be anything to worry about from that perspective.
My worst habit is trying to be perfectionist when I edit my images.. sometimes we spend so much time editing one photo and forgetting that the some viewers like the photo even if is over saturated.
Carlitos Cintron oh yes! Huge problem for me as well.
I never even open the card door. I plug a cable in to my camera, open a folder on my computer and drag and drop the files. After they're there I delete them on my camera from the computer windows. Sometimes I just do move and they delete automatically but I do shoot onto a second card mirror mode. I've never had an issue.
I liked those funny parts of this video 😆 and thank you for sharing your experience! 😊
Glad to do it - really appreciate you watching!
Very nice practical advice
My worst habit is not checking my settings before I take a picture. Sometimes I find myself pointing and shooting.
Chris Briggs Yeah I think that’s one that gets us all from time to time!
My suggestion for a #10: 2014 called and wants its 10-stop ND filter back. That's the one which takes two photos: blurry waterfalls and blurry seascapes and water surfaces. Both of these pictures look contrived and all look the same. At $250 a pop, I understand why Lee Filters thinks so much of 'em that they come is 6, 9, 10, and 16 stops. If you aren't selling one, what's the motivation apart from doing what that dude on UA-cam suggested.
Love your t-shirt
Thank ya!
My biggest worst habit is "rushing"! It doesn't matter what it is! Slow down, take it slow and THINK about what I am doing. Too often I lose pictures because of this!
I think my worst habit it taking too much time between shooting and editing. I just edited photos from a cosplay shoot that I did a week and a half ago.
getting the best light and composition of a place is not easy, unless you are familiar with the place or go several times. Also conditions of the weather might change things. How do you think Ansel Adam got great pictures because he spend it a lot of time on the same place and study composition and lighting. Studying and observing is very important ! It is good to take your time and also enjoy the environment without taking pictures also you will be able to observe other things about your surroundings.
I chimp a lot I finally just got my first camera so I am learning about f, aperture and iso so I will review the image to see what I need to change to get proper exposure 😊 and I am horrible about sleeping in especially because I will get off work around 1:00 am so it’s nearly impossible for me to shoot sunrise thank you for sharing this video
Glad to do it Samuel - appreciate ya watching!