Thanks for watching folks! Let me know your bad habits... The first 1,000 people to use this link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare: skl.sh/jamespopsys08211
Pride doesn’t let me shoot in anything other than full manual. I know the higher ISO’s are perfectly usable on my cams, and it’s caused me to miss a moving target shot before * I should trust the metering in aperture priority more often 😐
The thing that broke me of that habit was doing a 365 photography project. Taking the 250 shots is fine, but because I had to edit and post a photo every day, I soon realised that trying to choose the absolute best from hundreds of almost identical photos was a real pain and wasted valuable time.
Bad habit: not deleting enough pictures. I'm never going to look at these three-star pictures anyway, but you know: "just in case". I don't think that anyone is up to sorting through 10.000 pictures per year and the mountain is getting too big for me as well.
Agreed! I’m so overwhelmed by the number of images I have that I just don’t bother with it anymore, which is probably why I’m in a funk with photography.
@@ablueslenz my photo buddy and I each have Topaz Studio 2 and have found that it really helps when we're in a photography funk. There we're using some of our OK photos to create something completely new. Once our creative juices have been freed up we can go back to 'real life' editing and be much more productive. St2 is fun and relaxing. (I think there may even be a trial version.) -Elaine
The cure for this disease is to shoot a couple of rolls of film on a fully analog camera: thinking about exposure, aperture and ambient light and especially how much will it cost that shot to develop will teach you to focus and think before taking a shot.
Because storage is cheap, I fall into that "just in case" mindset myself. And it's nuts. I think I should be able to let go of stuff that I know is not worth keeping. I can't answer my own question of, in case of what? Good luck.
Placing any gear always into the same spot is a good habit. Lens cloths, memory cards, tripod plates etc. Makes it quicker to check if you have everything before you leave too.
I had a bad habit that I grew out of which was bursting away no matter the subject or situation just because I could and didn’t want to “miss the moment”
I frequently catch myself not giving a composition enough attention. Back at home I recognise that some potentially interesting part is half clipped off at the edge, or I should have gone one step left so the lamp post wouldn't interfere with the monument I'm photographing. Things like that. Not shooting wide enough is part of this problem. It got better over time but I'm still suffering from it.
I struggle with that too. One trick to get around that habit is to make a To Do list of things you need to do at home, but don’t want to do. They need to be things you’d rather NOT do than NOT go outside and take pictures. Then, taking pictures becomes the procrastination tool you use to avoid doing something else you don’t want to do. For example, “I need to put up those shelves and rearrange the bedroom. But I don’t want to do that, so I’ll go outside and take pictures for 2 hours instead to avoid the shelves project.” I do this for my writing, and it works every time. I get so much writing done by using it as a procrastination tool to not do something else.
@@Penwiggle As a formality, that is a great procedure - using procrastination to overcome procrastination! I can say I do that informally, although I also make lists that don’t get rigorously followed.
i say any conditions are the right conditions (unless its a huricane). just go out in any weather just stay safe in the bad stuff. im 36 and still get told off by my mum for going out in bad weather because i live on the coast.
"Micro-lazy" fits so perfect. Often when I change lenses or filters in my room I'm too lazy to put the changed lens back to the shelf - so my desk overfloods with stuff which doesn't take more than half a minute each to put away if I did it right after. Anyone else?
Yup. Lots of stuff on my desk that was just supposed to be there 'for a bit' but somehow have grown to a slightly lopsided mountain. Will deal with that around Christmas probably...
For me it’s no so much the gear as papers. I find moving stacks around to make room easier than just filing stuff. Then I plunk them in boxes (mostly unsorted) and shuffle the boxes. Although gear does also contribute. I need to get more camera bags.
Ha! I made a YT Short about how I never lose a lens cap... although “never” is a loose term. Although “blind panic” is a far more definitive one for the feeling I get the minute I realise it’s not where it’s supposed to be. Great video - thank you!
I've managed to stop "losing" lens caps by using Left Leg Lens Cap as a reminder. So it goes in the left hand leg pocket of whatever I am wearing at the time. Apart from kilts, doesn't work for that.
Ha, do you have a cat? I lost one of mine once as well and found it under a cupboard when hoovering... Definitely must have been my cat that played with it, then got bored and left it there.
My worst habit in photography is to tend to forget to check the settings for every single photo. That is why I prefer cameras that reset the exposure compensation automatically, every time I switch it off. And this is my biggest problem with my beloved Fuji x100 (mark 1) - the exposure dial tends to move every time I touch this camera... Same is valid for me for ISO. I often forget to bring it down after I cranked it up for a specific shot... Thanks for your great videos James! Greetings from Luxembourg!
Back right pocket holds lens caps. If they’re making noise back there (clinkin together) that means there’s a lens w/o a hat on 👍🏼 Great tips, brilliantly presented as always
My worst habit would be one you did a video on before I think? I only want to shoot in perfect conditions. If it’s a bit naff I get lazy and don’t go out. End up taking far fewer shots than I should.
Useful advice . Regarding lens cap, replace with a filter and forget about it. Preconceived ideas are difficult to shot of, but working the scene over comes most of those distracting precepts. Working the image from the lens on camera, whether a zoom or a prime means stepping back and forward to see what works provides variety and room for a crop if judged appropriate later. As somebody who knows which segment of the zoom works best for maximised depth of field and sharpness can be distracting as preconceived images of a place . Whilst a prime presents challenges of its own, which means using your lens to get the image you want. I found your suggestions a useful reminder that we are all susceptible to flaws and being aware of them is the chief remedy to dealing with them - listen to your inner voice and act upon it haha - how often have ignored that . Check images after a few shots to be sure that you have got light and sharpness correct and don’t become a slave to checking each image one at a time , unless it is critical to do so. Once you have the critical elements correct , just shoot and reevaluate as appropriate when lighting changes. Great tips - hope I have added a few tips that others may find useful , and look forward to reading the tips of others - we learn by sharing . Thanks again for a insightful video .
I had to laugh James. I am forever putting my lens caps in a pocket then forever trying to figure out which pocket Ive put it in. Great video and Im sure lots of photographers will relate to a lot of this. Thanks for sharing.
Drill a small hole in lens cap. Put a elastic type string through it and put a knot in it. Tie other end around lens. The cap is always close to end of lens.
My bad habits leads to late nights singing alone, conversations with strangers I barely know, swearing this'll be the last but it probably won't. Somebody had to do it.
My issue is shooting handheld with VR on and then moving to my tripod and NOT taking VR off. So I put masking tape all over my tripod with "VR" written all over it to remind me. Except I get excited by the sunset colours or something, and still forget to take VR off.
I leave my lens cap on my desk, my patio table, by console in my car and in many other locations. Over time I lose them also. I like your suggestion to just leaving it in your bag where you got your camera from. It may knock around a bit but, I’ll find it sooner than the other locations.
Checking the settings. Made me grin. I always feel so stupid and annoyed with myself when I vind out I forgot to check my ISO, again, and make pictures at too high an ISO value, again. So glad it's not just me. I feel less stupid now.
I can relate to the lens cap situation. Many a time I've been standing somewhere, patting myself down like I'm on fire, trying to find the lens cap that I know is in one of my pockets. Worse in the winter, more pockets
I am appreciative of your laid back content and off-hand humor. Midges: you just can't trust them...Mad habits: staying too long on comps. under and over exposing on slow shutter. Sea spray on a camera which is not water tight (D 810), taking lenses I don't use and using lenses I should change out. Talking to other photographers, who probably could care less what I have to say...
The idea to shoot for cropping is a great tip and one that I need to remember and I know EXACTLY what you mean about leaving the iso set too high. Just done it 20 minutes ago with a bit of video and I think its another symptom of being "micro lazy", another trait that I exhibit. Always entertaining. Best wishes for your new arrival (soon).
So glad to hear that you forget to check your settings before a photo session. I do that all the time even though I've been taking photos for over half a century! It's nice to know I'm not alone.
I had that not-doing-backups habit too. Solved it by buying another pair of SD cards or two (and labelling them 1A, 1B,...). Now I just swap these and leave the "full" ones on my desk until I run out of cards. ;-)
I suffer alot from the micro laziness. It's why I try and keep my camera readily available, instead of in the bag. I also suffer probably an opposite problem to you and that's not staying in one place long enough. In conditions like a golden hour in the mountains, I find myself running around alot trying to get loads of different compositions so I don't miss a shot. But I find sometimes I get back, and think if I had just waited a bit longer, or had more patience in a spot, the image would have come out better.
I clicked on this video very anxious that you'd call out some of my own bad habits haha. I don't have 52 pockets but I never know where the lens cap is.
Eyup me owd duck! (As they say in Mansfield, where I'm from!) Talking about having preconceived ideas about what you want your photographs to look like, there's one simple way of taking something that's completely original that only you've thought of and that is to NOT look at what other people have taken! Works for me! I never look at what other people have taken! (He says, lying through his teeth!) LOL Oh! And ISO's. I've just been out with my camera today and done EXACTLY what you were talking about! I shot every single photograph at ISO 500!
Was late watching this because I was putting a new blind up in the kitchen window and couldn't find the rawl plugs I had put somewhere safe! It's not just lens caps!
So, the ISO one, yah, just this morning, but, I was actually pleased because I was trying out some new in camera recipes. No, my personal bad habit, is not going out to photograph. Making excuses has become one of my new art forms, and I am getting quite good at it. Fingers crossed for the baby coming soon, happy and healthy James.
Hey James, fine video on real topics many can surely relate to. I don't back up as I should, and a big one for me is, not checking the camera settings when I start out. I have caused myself much grief over that one too. Another one is leaving something at home because I am "sure" I won't need that where I am going. Thanks for the reminders.
worst one is forgetting the SD card behind so end up going to the shop buying another one. Tip always carry a few formatted sd cards incase and charged up batteries! :)
Nice subject and video as ever James...Regarding the Lens cap, the only time I put it on is when i have to pack the Lens to stove it away...all other times i just put on the Lens hood and leave the cap safe in the Camera Backpack...I have to say that i need to get over one of the habits you have mentioned-taking the same scene over and over again -need to work on it....The other mistake that i should avoid is pulling the SD card out without ejecting it in the first place...while many a time I got away I did land up in a mess when i pulled out one SD card after transfer and inserted the next one without ejecting the first one and I got a message that the second card is not in correct format and has to be formatted!...Fortunately I have Recovery Pro software that came with the card and could recover the data in the second card...and strangely after I ran Recovery Pro the other programs in my laptop could read the card as well!
I laughed out loud about the "stay in one place after some good photos taking another 260 shots from the same spot because I'm too scared to maybe have missed it"... I KINDA (definitely) felt called out with this one! :D
Yep ! A few of those bad boys definitely live in my world James, especially not wanting to go to the trouble of swapping out for the corerct lens, as for the lens cover,,,FRONT POCKET WITH THE PHONE,,,,,, EVERY TIME !!! Great video as always,,,,, Sheep are cool lol .
Worried about stealing other people’s work that you’ve seen? In 20-30 years, that will take care of itself. You’ll be lucky if you can remember anything. As for not checking your settings, I’ve set my camera up so that it returns to my defaults every time I turn it on. Don’t have to worry about taking photos at ISO 1600 any more.
I have an aversion to organizing my photos as I import them, then have to spend time in the winter trying to get them sorted. Not micro laziness, mega laziness I think :)
... o_o ... I never even thought about organizing my photos, I just import them and leave them as is... It is a nightmare trying to find a specific photo since they are all by date and I have usually no clue when I took the photo in question. Might have to look in to that.
James, my bad habit is not spending enough time with my photography. I will take my D850 out, shoot for about an hour or two, and bring my camera bag home only to drop it on my desk. It stays there for weeks before I return to my images. I think I’m in a funk with photography to be honest. Everything about photography now feels so contrived. And, my entire photography “effort” is micro lazy.😖😉
The 250 photos one really called me out! One of my worst habits is also taking lots of photos of the same subject, usually with small differences in focal length and/or perspective. That always gives me a headache in Lightroom trying to decide which of, say, 10 images of a mountainside I prefer and which I can delete. It's often impossible to decide which is best and I end up keeping most of them which clutter my collections. It would be better if I just took one or two in the field, but like you I am worried I'll have missed the shot and my images will be slightly blurred or something. It's a nightmare haha!
Not checking settings before shooting, or even after the first few bursts. Whilst carrying the camera, I often bump one or more of the control wheels so I don't know what I'm going to get. Have taken to locking the ISO and exposure compensation dials. That works until I want to change one of them.
I have an opposite bad habit than you... I take like, one or two photos at a location and thinks that is done and move on... only to later discover that they weren't in focus, or there was something else wrong, and I bitterly regret being not thurough enough. So yeah. I really should remember to check my pictures on the camera after taking them. (currently looking at some macro photos of caterpillars I took earlier today where the flash for some reason didn't fire, and they are now massively underexposed. -.- Guess I'll go back tomorrow and hope those caterpillars are still there...)
My worst habit is definitely being too lazy to change lens. I’m not the quickest at it anyway but taking the bag off, putting it down, opening the bag etc etc etc. feels like a chore most times.
I have a bad habit of never looking at the pictures I take. I will come home from a walk and leave the SD card in my camera and not look at the photos until they start to pile up. I think it stems from my hatred of editing photos, I feel like I don't know what I am doing and just adjusting sliders until something looks nice. I'm trying to better learn the editing software so hopefully that will help.
my worst habbit is not naming my backupfolder right, just the place where I shot but no date or anything so I have 5 folders called woods or forrest and I get lost in that maze finding pictures
Oh heck, the ISO…. I’m constantly swapping back and forth between video and stills on my camera and I forget ALL. THE. TIME. to check what my settings are so way too often I’m locked into 1/50 shutter or wrong ISO. Double checking the settings is my number one thing. Also… the micro lazy. I carry so many lenses, then will talk myself out of swapping to a different focal length because it’s too much fuss.🤦🏻♀️
One of mine is the opposite of one of yours, I don't spend enough time in one location. I keep wandering around and not concentrating on one or two compositions. I have years worth of very average snap shots as a result. This year I have made a concerted effort to slow down, pick a composition and wait for the light. I'm far more relaxed, I take a lot less snap shots and I'm generally happier with what I come home with. Also I spend less time editing, which is a plus for me.
With lens caps, I bought some where you can attach them to the lens using an elastic band. I like them as I don't have to think where the lens cap is. Biggest bad habit is taking my tripod for a nice long walk and not using it once. I have a slight tremor so when I return home I find a nice photo ruined by motion blur.
I have those elastic band things, but they always cause a hassle when turning the lens hood around, and the clattering in a breeze (and possible vibrations) means that I end up taking everything off anyway...and putting it in random pockets. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Great idea! But, back in the film days shooting with a medium format camera those UFOs flying around while shooting a wedding or outdoor portrait were a royal pain down under (no offense Australia).
Micro Lazy is my bad habit. I did break my bad habit of putting my lens cap in my pockets after realizing that my dusty lens were caused by lint from said pockets. Now camera out of bag, lens cap into bag right away.
You’ve reminded me I need to find where my lens cap is for the lens that currently has the KASE polariser attached which I have a KASE lens cap for…..could be anywhere right now…. Oh, and I have a bad habit of not checking Exposure Compensation….
I recognise myself in many of them as well… one more you should stop, at least as soon as your child comes, is not go down on your knees when you take a picture of someone / something smaller than you, like those 🐑 for example…! You get an even more interesting POV. 😉 I do forget sometimes as well…! 🤓 Great video again, keep up the good and funny work…! 😉👍🏻🍀
My worst habits definitely have to be shooting in harsh light conditions, than planning ahead and zooming in with a telephoto instead of moving closer towards the subject.
My worst photography habit is kind of the opposite of one of yours. When conditions become favorable I scramble to get 1000 ok compositions and don't get 1 or 2 really strong compositions. I can't help but get excited and maybe a bit greedy.
ISO too high. Camera settings still the same as the last time you used it and you don't realise until too late. And lens caps. Some are the size f a saucer but I still lose them. I / we feel your pain. Lovely vlog as always James.
I thought I was the only one using the "Water in the hat" trick, because people tend to stare at me when I do it 😂 That ISO error I know too well, and it can also happen with EV compensation... Easy to miss outdoors in sunny conditions when screen is dark, and I'm not always looking at zebras or histograms.
My bad habit, besides all of the others listed here, is taking too much gear. Literally packing up and hauling equipment that isn't going to leave the car just because "you never know".
Thanks for this insightful video - and for the sheep! I recently became aware of my "not shooting for cropping" habit. It's a tough one to break!! But it does open up so many more possibilities. I feel torn about the "over-committing to photos" habit. I do tend to end up with too many shots that have such minor differences that it wasn't worth it. I try to keep in mind something I learned early on: try not to take the same photo twice - change something in the settings, or change position or perspective. My inner conflict: There's also something to be said for working the subject, of not just doing a couple of shots and calling it good. A eucalyptus plant was my teacher for this one: I took about 8 shots, couldn't get what I wanted, so I moved on. When I told one of the workshop instructors I was going to a different spot, she challenged me to go back and take at least 20 more shots. And by golly, by around shot 18 or 19, I got a composition and image that made me very happy. So I'm going to break my habit of 50 shots that all look the same, but I'm also going to try to stay with a subject through any frustration I feel to give it a really good chance. My other bad habit: shooting only in one orientation. I tend to favor a portrait orientation, and so I miss landscape opportunities, which would bring me more options in post-processing. This goes hand-in-hand with the "crop in camera" habit. OH! And I'm allergic to tripods, and I'm not sure there's a cure. Except there probably will be a cure when I totally botch a shot that would have been great with a tripod. (New subscriber here - found you via Nigel Danson. Looking forward to catching up on all I've missed!)
"Not changing your lens because you can't be bothered" yep...I got called out on that one. What's the point of carrying a bag with multiple lenses if I'm not going to change them? No idea.
Strange thought here - would it be less lazy to carry 2 cameras with different primes? Switching cameras would be easier than digging, twisting, and storing.
@@aldiosmio Very true. Lightweight bodies and f1.8 or f2 primes, maybe f2.8 or pancake. No teles, just normal and wide (but at least you would have excess for cropping 😁).
My 4 biggest bad habits: (1) Not using lens caps... I have the biggest issues of just throwing my camera with a lens on (generally my Tamron 24-70 F/2.8) and my lenses in my bag without lens caps on. They are just all over my bedroom (where I keep my gear) and I never bother to put them on my lenses. (2) Forgetting to check and see if I have a memory card in the camera, then realizing I left the memory card in the card reader, so I just grab a spare out of my bag and pop it in the camera, then I get home and realize the previous card I used is still in the card reader. (3) Not changing out my lenses... I have got so lazy and dependent on my 24-70 lens for all the photos I shoot, I rarely ever break out one of my prime lenses unless I absolutely know I am going to use it. (4) Shooting the same shot multiple times at the very same exposure instead of bracketing my exposure....then I end up with 10 shots of the same thing on my memory card and I end up going from say 100 photos to 20 after I delete all the duplicates.
Good tip I heard for getting more stuff done, which helps with laziness... If something takes less than two minutes to complete, do it instantly. Also, Manual with Auto ISO & max ISO, it’s the future 👍🏻 Cheers James 🙂
James uploads and my first thought is is the baby here 🤗 then video plays and nope no baby ...... My bad habits is lenscaps I take them of and never put them back until I get home second bad habit is o get pulled into the small things around and skips the bigger things to take photos of well that's not always a bad habitat
Mine is not getting out as much as I like. When I do, my other bad habit is trying to rush the shot and not verifying my settings so the picture is as good as I can get it. I'll see something awesome and rush.
I appreciate the that despite being sponsored by Lumix, your channel is primarily about technique and getting the shot, not about the gear. That keeps me clicking when I see a new video from you. My bad habit is that I'm happy with my relatively cheap used gear (Em-10 mkII, EM-1 MkI, GX-85 & Canon G7x, mkI) and have not been contributing the the profits of the camera manufacturers lately. Shame on me.
My worst habit for home studio shoots is to end a shoot and tidy up about 80% rather than just spending the extra effort to finish it off. So i end up living with detritus from my last shoot around the house, right up until i have to tidy up for the next one.
Taking way too much gear with me, just in case I need it. I've cut this down in my 'heavy bag' now. It just has an Olympus EM1ii and EM5ii with a 12-100 and 100-400 lens. Covers most eventualities, yeh? I've just got to put that 9-18 or 75mm 1.8, just in case I need it. And guess what. I usually use the EM1 with the 12-100 lens for every shot. I think the spare camera is sound if you're having to get results, so that a failure doesn't stop the shoot. But the other lenses? I really will have to get out of that habit!
I know what you mean with not putting pictures on the laptop and external hard disks right away.. Sometimes I'm just too lazy to do so. So far I always got away with it, but it is a very bad habit indeed..
Besides being micro-lazy and talking myself out of shooting unless conditions are perfect, I also have the bad habit of keeping all those hundreds of identical photos on my server out of a fear of deleting “the one”! I need to do a better job of culling my shots at the end of a shoot.
Bad habits: * card and battery check ... I usually/hopefully carry spare SD card in my EDC pouch, because it happened to me twice, that I had forgot SD card. Another problem is checking that other battery is charged, cause G80 has pretty bad battery indicator: three bars are like more than 40% capacity, last bar feels like less than 10% of capacity. So having barely three bars can mean something like enough for 100 photos. * forgetting tripod plate for secondary camera when I can't decide to take just one. * being lazy to process and share photos of some family events ASAP * forgetting to set ISO back to auto
I have 6 different cameras which all seem to use a different battery. When I need to charge a battery I spend an hour looking for the right charger because I'm too "micro-lazy" to put each one in a proper place.
For the lens cap, there's a small plastic _thingy_ thing that has the cap diameter, so you can put it there when you take it out of the lense. And it's designed to put it in a belt or camera bag, and can have different diameters. So you take the cap out of the lens, place it temporarily there, took fotos, take the cap on the lens again. Great gadget, you can even 3d print it
My worst habit has to be not taking the time to consider my settings properly and just going gung-ho with things. And while you sit still for too long. I probably move on too fast
My bad a it is to take too few images on a location: I point, compose, shoot and move on, only to realize that a good part of those pictures are unusable and I have no backup.
Mine is......leaving camera in self timer mode for slow shutter shots, and forgetting to set it back. The amount of times I've missed a moment waiting on the shutter release 😩😫🙄😒
Thanks for watching folks! Let me know your bad habits...
The first 1,000 people to use this link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare: skl.sh/jamespopsys08211
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Pride doesn’t let me shoot in anything other than full manual. I know the higher ISO’s are perfectly usable on my cams, and it’s caused me to miss a moving target shot before * I should trust the metering in aperture priority more often 😐
My worst habit is sitting in watching YT vids on photography and not going out doing photography. I don't expect it to end anytime soon. Cheers.
Haha! Same here
This! 😆
Ditto
I thought it was only me. 😬
Missing James on Saturday morning.
The one about shooting the same shot 250 times felt like a personal attack on me.
The thing that broke me of that habit was doing a 365 photography project. Taking the 250 shots is fine, but because I had to edit and post a photo every day, I soon realised that trying to choose the absolute best from hundreds of almost identical photos was a real pain and wasted valuable time.
🤣 (mr felton) same. currently, too much 'rule of halves', not enough 'rule of thirds'... book of sheep please! 🐑
Bad habit: not deleting enough pictures.
I'm never going to look at these three-star pictures anyway, but you know: "just in case". I don't think that anyone is up to sorting through 10.000 pictures per year and the mountain is getting too big for me as well.
Agreed! I’m so overwhelmed by the number of images I have that I just don’t bother with it anymore, which is probably why I’m in a funk with photography.
@@ablueslenz my photo buddy and I each have Topaz Studio 2 and have found that it really helps when we're in a photography funk. There we're using some of our OK photos to create something completely new. Once our creative juices have been freed up we can go back to 'real life' editing and be much more productive. St2 is fun and relaxing. (I think there may even be a trial version.) -Elaine
Yeah, it’s a big deal for me to delete anything.
The cure for this disease is to shoot a couple of rolls of film on a fully analog camera: thinking about exposure, aperture and ambient light and especially how much will it cost that shot to develop will teach you to focus and think before taking a shot.
Because storage is cheap, I fall into that "just in case" mindset myself. And it's nuts. I think I should be able to let go of stuff that I know is not worth keeping. I can't answer my own question of, in case of what? Good luck.
Placing any gear always into the same spot is a good habit. Lens cloths, memory cards, tripod plates etc. Makes it quicker to check if you have everything before you leave too.
I had a bad habit that I grew out of which was bursting away no matter the subject or situation just because I could and didn’t want to “miss the moment”
Picking my nose remains a bad habit. I’ve never managed to pull my brains out though despite what my mother told me.
Oh you meant camera related?
😅
🤣
I frequently catch myself not giving a composition enough attention. Back at home I recognise that some potentially interesting part is half clipped off at the edge, or I should have gone one step left so the lamp post wouldn't interfere with the monument I'm photographing. Things like that. Not shooting wide enough is part of this problem. It got better over time but I'm still suffering from it.
Worst habit for me is waiting for the right conditions, then staying home. All other problems pale in comparison.
I struggle with that too. One trick to get around that habit is to make a To Do list of things you need to do at home, but don’t want to do. They need to be things you’d rather NOT do than NOT go outside and take pictures. Then, taking pictures becomes the procrastination tool you use to avoid doing something else you don’t want to do. For example, “I need to put up those shelves and rearrange the bedroom. But I don’t want to do that, so I’ll go outside and take pictures for 2 hours instead to avoid the shelves project.”
I do this for my writing, and it works every time. I get so much writing done by using it as a procrastination tool to not do something else.
@@Penwiggle yes but I make said list and stick it in a draw and forget it :)
Sam, me too. I constantly talk myself out of going out.
@@Penwiggle As a formality, that is a great procedure - using procrastination to overcome procrastination! I can say I do that informally, although I also make lists that don’t get rigorously followed.
i say any conditions are the right conditions (unless its a huricane). just go out in any weather just stay safe in the bad stuff. im 36 and still get told off by my mum for going out in bad weather because i live on the coast.
"Micro-lazy" fits so perfect. Often when I change lenses or filters in my room I'm too lazy to put the changed lens back to the shelf - so my desk overfloods with stuff which doesn't take more than half a minute each to put away if I did it right after.
Anyone else?
Yup. Lots of stuff on my desk that was just supposed to be there 'for a bit' but somehow have grown to a slightly lopsided mountain. Will deal with that around Christmas probably...
For me it’s no so much the gear as papers. I find moving stacks around to make room easier than just filing stuff. Then I plunk them in boxes (mostly unsorted) and shuffle the boxes. Although gear does also contribute. I need to get more camera bags.
*taps camera* pretty sure this thing isn’t on, so how can you see me so clearly…. I should probably go… put my lenses away….
Oh yeah. I am trying to become more regimental though as my office/studio takes way too long to tidy for a video shoot. Or any other type.....
As you could likely see from my desk at the end, i constantly struggle with that one... :)
Ha! I made a YT Short about how I never lose a lens cap... although “never” is a loose term. Although “blind panic” is a far more definitive one for the feeling I get the minute I realise it’s not where it’s supposed to be. Great video - thank you!
I've managed to stop "losing" lens caps by using Left Leg Lens Cap as a reminder. So it goes in the left hand leg pocket of whatever I am wearing at the time. Apart from kilts, doesn't work for that.
I have pockets in my kilts.
Agreed. Camera in right hand, lens cap off and in lh trouser pocket.
Well, that's officially a game changer... :)
I stick them in my bra 🤣 Not much help for James
@@KayGill glad I never read that while drinking 🤣
Last year I spent two months searching for my lens cap.
Visited every site been to looking for it, multiple times.
Finally found it under my desk. 😧
Ha, do you have a cat? I lost one of mine once as well and found it under a cupboard when hoovering... Definitely must have been my cat that played with it, then got bored and left it there.
I thought it goes on with: Finally found it on my lens.
My worst habit in photography is to tend to forget to check the settings for every single photo. That is why I prefer cameras that reset the exposure compensation automatically, every time I switch it off. And this is my biggest problem with my beloved Fuji x100 (mark 1) - the exposure dial tends to move every time I touch this camera...
Same is valid for me for ISO. I often forget to bring it down after I cranked it up for a specific shot...
Thanks for your great videos James!
Greetings from Luxembourg!
Back right pocket holds lens caps. If they’re making noise back there (clinkin together) that means there’s a lens w/o a hat on 👍🏼
Great tips, brilliantly presented as always
My worst habit would be one you did a video on before I think? I only want to shoot in perfect conditions. If it’s a bit naff I get lazy and don’t go out. End up taking far fewer shots than I should.
Same here
Useful advice .
Regarding lens cap, replace with a filter and forget about it.
Preconceived ideas are difficult to shot of, but working the scene over comes most of those distracting precepts.
Working the image from the lens on camera, whether a zoom or a prime means stepping back and forward to see what works provides variety and room for a crop if judged appropriate later.
As somebody who knows which segment of the zoom works best for maximised depth of field and sharpness can be distracting as preconceived images of a place . Whilst a prime presents challenges of its own, which means using your lens to get the image you want.
I found your suggestions a useful reminder that we are all susceptible to flaws and being aware of them is the chief remedy to dealing with them - listen to your inner voice and act upon it haha - how often have ignored that .
Check images after a few shots to be sure that you have got light and sharpness correct and don’t become a slave to checking each image one at a time , unless it is critical to do so. Once you have the critical elements correct , just shoot and reevaluate as appropriate when lighting changes.
Great tips - hope I have added a few tips that others may find useful , and look forward to reading the tips of others - we learn by sharing .
Thanks again for a insightful video .
I had to laugh James. I am forever putting my lens caps in a pocket then forever trying to figure out which pocket Ive put it in. Great video and Im sure lots of photographers will relate to a lot of this. Thanks for sharing.
Drill a small hole in lens cap. Put a elastic type string through it and put a knot in it. Tie other end around lens. The cap is always close to end of lens.
My bad habits leads to late nights singing alone, conversations with strangers I barely know, swearing this'll be the last but it probably won't.
Somebody had to do it.
My issue is shooting handheld with VR on and then moving to my tripod and NOT taking VR off. So I put masking tape all over my tripod with "VR" written all over it to remind me. Except I get excited by the sunset colours or something, and still forget to take VR off.
I leave my lens cap on my desk, my patio table, by console in my car and in many
other locations. Over time I lose them also. I like your suggestion to just leaving it in your bag where you got your camera from. It may knock around a bit but, I’ll find it sooner than the other locations.
Checking the settings. Made me grin. I always feel so stupid and annoyed with myself when I vind out I forgot to check my ISO, again, and make pictures at too high an ISO value, again. So glad it's not just me. I feel less stupid now.
I can relate to the lens cap situation. Many a time I've been standing somewhere, patting myself down like I'm on fire, trying to find the lens cap that I know is in one of my pockets. Worse in the winter, more pockets
my biggest thing on this is not planning things enough and just trying to wing it.. countered that with a notbook recently and its helping alot.
My worst habit is overpacking. Thinking I might need this or might need that is so burdensome (& heavy).
I am appreciative of your laid back content and off-hand humor. Midges: you just can't trust them...Mad habits: staying too long on comps. under and over exposing on slow shutter. Sea spray on a camera which is not water tight (D 810), taking lenses I don't use and using lenses I should change out. Talking to other photographers, who probably could care less what I have to say...
The damn lens cap! I've started practicing putting it the right pocket of my shorts or pants, or jacket if cooler weather prevails.
The idea to shoot for cropping is a great tip and one that I need to remember and I know EXACTLY what you mean about leaving the iso set too high. Just done it 20 minutes ago with a bit of video and I think its another symptom of being "micro lazy", another trait that I exhibit.
Always entertaining. Best wishes for your new arrival (soon).
So glad to hear that you forget to check your settings before a photo session. I do that all the time even though I've been taking photos for over half a century! It's nice to know I'm not alone.
The not shooting for the crop is definitely one of my bad habits 😬
I had that not-doing-backups habit too. Solved it by buying another pair of SD cards or two (and labelling them 1A, 1B,...). Now I just swap these and leave the "full" ones on my desk until I run out of cards. ;-)
I suffer alot from the micro laziness. It's why I try and keep my camera readily available, instead of in the bag. I also suffer probably an opposite problem to you and that's not staying in one place long enough. In conditions like a golden hour in the mountains, I find myself running around alot trying to get loads of different compositions so I don't miss a shot. But I find sometimes I get back, and think if I had just waited a bit longer, or had more patience in a spot, the image would have come out better.
I clicked on this video very anxious that you'd call out some of my own bad habits haha. I don't have 52 pockets but I never know where the lens cap is.
Eyup me owd duck! (As they say in Mansfield, where I'm from!) Talking about having preconceived ideas about what you want your photographs to look like, there's one simple way of taking something that's completely original that only you've thought of and that is to NOT look at what other people have taken! Works for me! I never look at what other people have taken! (He says, lying through his teeth!) LOL Oh! And ISO's. I've just been out with my camera today and done EXACTLY what you were talking about! I shot every single photograph at ISO 500!
Was late watching this because I was putting a new blind up in the kitchen window and couldn't find the rawl plugs I had put somewhere safe! It's not just lens caps!
So, the ISO one, yah, just this morning, but, I was actually pleased because I was trying out some new in camera recipes. No, my personal bad habit, is not going out to photograph. Making excuses has become one of my new art forms, and I am getting quite good at it. Fingers crossed for the baby coming soon, happy and healthy James.
Hey James, fine video on real topics many can surely relate to. I don't back up as I should, and a big one for me is, not checking the camera settings when I start out. I have caused myself much grief over that one too. Another one is leaving something at home because I am "sure" I won't need that where I am going. Thanks for the reminders.
worst one is forgetting the SD card behind so end up going to the shop buying another one. Tip always carry a few formatted sd cards incase and charged up batteries! :)
handy tips! my baby is yet to arrive as well, we are 37 weeks along but bub is measuring at 40 weeks size! any day now
Bring it on, the 2021 sheep book🐑
(Incl a fluffy cover🐏)
Nice subject and video as ever James...Regarding the Lens cap, the only time I put it on is when i have to pack the Lens to stove it away...all other times i just put on the Lens hood and leave the cap safe in the Camera Backpack...I have to say that i need to get over one of the habits you have mentioned-taking the same scene over and over again -need to work on it....The other mistake that i should avoid is pulling the SD card out without ejecting it in the first place...while many a time I got away I did land up in a mess when i pulled out one SD card after transfer and inserted the next one without ejecting the first one and I got a message that the second card is not in correct format and has to be formatted!...Fortunately I have Recovery Pro software that came with the card and could recover the data in the second card...and strangely after I ran Recovery Pro the other programs in my laptop could read the card as well!
I laughed out loud about the "stay in one place after some good photos taking another 260 shots from the same spot because I'm too scared to maybe have missed it"... I KINDA (definitely) felt called out with this one! :D
Yep ! A few of those bad boys definitely live in my world James, especially not wanting to go to the trouble of swapping out for the corerct lens, as for the lens cover,,,FRONT POCKET WITH THE PHONE,,,,,, EVERY TIME !!! Great video as always,,,,, Sheep are cool lol .
Worried about stealing other people’s work that you’ve seen? In 20-30 years, that will take care of itself. You’ll be lucky if you can remember anything. As for not checking your settings, I’ve set my camera up so that it returns to my defaults every time I turn it on. Don’t have to worry about taking photos at ISO 1600 any more.
I have an aversion to organizing my photos as I import them, then have to spend time in the winter trying to get them sorted.
Not micro laziness, mega laziness I think :)
... o_o ... I never even thought about organizing my photos, I just import them and leave them as is... It is a nightmare trying to find a specific photo since they are all by date and I have usually no clue when I took the photo in question. Might have to look in to that.
My organizing begins with good intentions, then I find an image or three that I had not previously edited and it all goes to pot :)
This is my biggest problem as well. I'm so disorganized with my pictures it's pathetic.
James, my bad habit is not spending enough time with my photography. I will take my D850 out, shoot for about an hour or two, and bring my camera bag home only to drop it on my desk. It stays there for weeks before I return to my images. I think I’m in a funk with photography to be honest. Everything about photography now feels so contrived. And, my entire photography “effort” is micro lazy.😖😉
The 250 photos one really called me out! One of my worst habits is also taking lots of photos of the same subject, usually with small differences in focal length and/or perspective.
That always gives me a headache in Lightroom trying to decide which of, say, 10 images of a mountainside I prefer and which I can delete. It's often impossible to decide which is best and I end up keeping most of them which clutter my collections.
It would be better if I just took one or two in the field, but like you I am worried I'll have missed the shot and my images will be slightly blurred or something. It's a nightmare haha!
Not checking settings before shooting, or even after the first few bursts. Whilst carrying the camera, I often bump one or more of the control wheels so I don't know what I'm going to get. Have taken to locking the ISO and exposure compensation dials. That works until I want to change one of them.
I have an opposite bad habit than you... I take like, one or two photos at a location and thinks that is done and move on... only to later discover that they weren't in focus, or there was something else wrong, and I bitterly regret being not thurough enough. So yeah. I really should remember to check my pictures on the camera after taking them. (currently looking at some macro photos of caterpillars I took earlier today where the flash for some reason didn't fire, and they are now massively underexposed. -.- Guess I'll go back tomorrow and hope those caterpillars are still there...)
It so good to know that you take Multiple Photos at the same location. Many photographers don't bother to mention this Truth. -Elaine
My worst habit is definitely being too lazy to change lens. I’m not the quickest at it anyway but taking the bag off, putting it down, opening the bag etc etc etc. feels like a chore most times.
I have a bad habit of never looking at the pictures I take. I will come home from a walk and leave the SD card in my camera and not look at the photos until they start to pile up. I think it stems from my hatred of editing photos, I feel like I don't know what I am doing and just adjusting sliders until something looks nice. I'm trying to better learn the editing software so hopefully that will help.
my worst habbit is not naming my backupfolder right, just the place where I shot but no date or anything so I have 5 folders called woods or forrest and I get lost in that maze finding pictures
That iso one really hit home lol. Can’t tell you how many time I’ve done that
Oh heck, the ISO…. I’m constantly swapping back and forth between video and stills on my camera and I forget ALL. THE. TIME. to check what my settings are so way too often I’m locked into 1/50 shutter or wrong ISO. Double checking the settings is my number one thing. Also… the micro lazy. I carry so many lenses, then will talk myself out of swapping to a different focal length because it’s too much fuss.🤦🏻♀️
One of mine is the opposite of one of yours, I don't spend enough time in one location. I keep wandering around and not concentrating on one or two compositions. I have years worth of very average snap shots as a result. This year I have made a concerted effort to slow down, pick a composition and wait for the light. I'm far more relaxed, I take a lot less snap shots and I'm generally happier with what I come home with. Also I spend less time editing, which is a plus for me.
With lens caps, I bought some where you can attach them to the lens using an elastic band. I like them as I don't have to think where the lens cap is.
Biggest bad habit is taking my tripod for a nice long walk and not using it once. I have a slight tremor so when I return home I find a nice photo ruined by motion blur.
I have those elastic band things, but they always cause a hassle when turning the lens hood around, and the clattering in a breeze (and possible vibrations) means that I end up taking everything off anyway...and putting it in random pockets. Lather, rinse, repeat.
Great idea! But, back in the film days shooting with a medium format camera those UFOs flying around while shooting a wedding or outdoor portrait were a royal pain down under (no offense Australia).
Micro Lazy is my bad habit. I did break my bad habit of putting my lens cap in my pockets after realizing that my dusty lens were caused by lint from said pockets. Now camera out of bag, lens cap into bag right away.
You’ve reminded me I need to find where my lens cap is for the lens that currently has the KASE polariser attached which I have a KASE lens cap for…..could be anywhere right now….
Oh, and I have a bad habit of not checking Exposure Compensation….
I recognise myself in many of them as well… one more you should stop, at least as soon as your child comes, is not go down on your knees when you take a picture of someone / something smaller than you, like those 🐑 for example…! You get an even more interesting POV. 😉 I do forget sometimes as well…! 🤓
Great video again, keep up the good and funny work…! 😉👍🏻🍀
My worst habits definitely have to be shooting in harsh light conditions, than planning ahead and zooming in with a telephoto instead of moving closer towards the subject.
My worst photography habit is kind of the opposite of one of yours. When conditions become favorable I scramble to get 1000 ok compositions and don't get 1 or 2 really strong compositions. I can't help but get excited and maybe a bit greedy.
ISO too high. Camera settings still the same as the last time you used it and you don't realise until too late. And lens caps. Some are the size f a saucer but I still lose them. I / we feel your pain. Lovely vlog as always James.
I thought I was the only one using the "Water in the hat" trick, because people tend to stare at me when I do it 😂
That ISO error I know too well, and it can also happen with EV compensation...
Easy to miss outdoors in sunny conditions when screen is dark, and I'm not always looking at zebras or histograms.
Leaving the polarizing filter on the camera when going into dark places,
...Or use a UV filter and not worry about lens caps. I haven't carried a lens cap around with me for years.
My bad habit, besides all of the others listed here, is taking too much gear. Literally packing up and hauling equipment that isn't going to leave the car just because "you never know".
My bad habit is battery management... lost count on the number of times I got to site and forgotten to charge camera batteries from last shoot
I can’t wait to visit Wales, so much scenery
Sniping with a zoom lens. Not moving enough, and cropping in too tight onto details that end up being interesting to me, but nobody else.
I’m right there with you on the “micro lazy” thing. Never heard it put in words, but that is 100% me.
I think I must be macro lazy
Thanks for this insightful video - and for the sheep! I recently became aware of my "not shooting for cropping" habit. It's a tough one to break!! But it does open up so many more possibilities.
I feel torn about the "over-committing to photos" habit. I do tend to end up with too many shots that have such minor differences that it wasn't worth it. I try to keep in mind something I learned early on: try not to take the same photo twice - change something in the settings, or change position or perspective. My inner conflict: There's also something to be said for working the subject, of not just doing a couple of shots and calling it good. A eucalyptus plant was my teacher for this one: I took about 8 shots, couldn't get what I wanted, so I moved on. When I told one of the workshop instructors I was going to a different spot, she challenged me to go back and take at least 20 more shots. And by golly, by around shot 18 or 19, I got a composition and image that made me very happy. So I'm going to break my habit of 50 shots that all look the same, but I'm also going to try to stay with a subject through any frustration I feel to give it a really good chance.
My other bad habit: shooting only in one orientation. I tend to favor a portrait orientation, and so I miss landscape opportunities, which would bring me more options in post-processing. This goes hand-in-hand with the "crop in camera" habit.
OH! And I'm allergic to tripods, and I'm not sure there's a cure. Except there probably will be a cure when I totally botch a shot that would have been great with a tripod.
(New subscriber here - found you via Nigel Danson. Looking forward to catching up on all I've missed!)
"Not changing your lens because you can't be bothered" yep...I got called out on that one. What's the point of carrying a bag with multiple lenses if I'm not going to change them? No idea.
That got me also
Strange thought here - would it be less lazy to carry 2 cameras with different primes? Switching cameras would be easier than digging, twisting, and storing.
@@mikejankowski6321 Would it be lighter? Weight is a big factor when being lazy.
That's why zoom lenses were invented--for the micro-lazy.
@@aldiosmio Very true. Lightweight bodies and f1.8 or f2 primes, maybe f2.8 or pancake. No teles, just normal and wide (but at least you would have excess for cropping 😁).
My 4 biggest bad habits: (1) Not using lens caps... I have the biggest issues of just throwing my camera with a lens on (generally my Tamron 24-70 F/2.8) and my lenses in my bag without lens caps on. They are just all over my bedroom (where I keep my gear) and I never bother to put them on my lenses. (2) Forgetting to check and see if I have a memory card in the camera, then realizing I left the memory card in the card reader, so I just grab a spare out of my bag and pop it in the camera, then I get home and realize the previous card I used is still in the card reader. (3) Not changing out my lenses... I have got so lazy and dependent on my 24-70 lens for all the photos I shoot, I rarely ever break out one of my prime lenses unless I absolutely know I am going to use it. (4) Shooting the same shot multiple times at the very same exposure instead of bracketing my exposure....then I end up with 10 shots of the same thing on my memory card and I end up going from say 100 photos to 20 after I delete all the duplicates.
I added a pocket on my waiststrap where I always put my lens cap and microfiber cloth for quick cleaning
Good tip I heard for getting more stuff done, which helps with laziness... If something takes less than two minutes to complete, do it instantly. Also, Manual with Auto ISO & max ISO, it’s the future 👍🏻 Cheers James 🙂
James uploads and my first thought is is the baby here 🤗 then video plays and nope no baby ......
My bad habits is lenscaps I take them of and never put them back until I get home second bad habit is o get pulled into the small things around and skips the bigger things to take photos of well that's not always a bad habitat
Mine is not getting out as much as I like. When I do, my other bad habit is trying to rush the shot and not verifying my settings so the picture is as good as I can get it. I'll see something awesome and rush.
I use a sling strap & a hufa clip added on to the strap means my lens cap goes in the same place every time.
I photograph since 1979 and I have NEVER lost a lens cape....it goes without thinking in my left pocket every time....shear memory muscle...
I always try to NOT put the lens cap into the pockets with tissue lint in them. Hate when they transfer that lint all over the lens.
I appreciate the that despite being sponsored by Lumix, your channel is primarily about technique and getting the shot, not about the gear. That keeps me clicking when I see a new video from you. My bad habit is that I'm happy with my relatively cheap used gear (Em-10 mkII, EM-1 MkI, GX-85 & Canon G7x, mkI) and have not been contributing the the profits of the camera manufacturers lately. Shame on me.
Awesome video , very informative about bad things 😊 , sure I will avoid in future bro , wishes from india 🇮🇳
My worst habit for home studio shoots is to end a shoot and tidy up about 80% rather than just spending the extra effort to finish it off. So i end up living with detritus from my last shoot around the house, right up until i have to tidy up for the next one.
Taking way too much gear with me, just in case I need it. I've cut this down in my 'heavy bag' now. It just has an Olympus EM1ii and EM5ii with a 12-100 and 100-400 lens. Covers most eventualities, yeh? I've just got to put that 9-18 or 75mm 1.8, just in case I need it. And guess what. I usually use the EM1 with the 12-100 lens for every shot. I think the spare camera is sound if you're having to get results, so that a failure doesn't stop the shoot. But the other lenses? I really will have to get out of that habit!
I know what you mean with not putting pictures on the laptop and external hard disks right away.. Sometimes I'm just too lazy to do so. So far I always got away with it, but it is a very bad habit indeed..
I'm micro lazy too. Backing up once in a blue moon and going out with a 24-240 lens so that I don't have to carry or change lenses.
I also really enjoy editing, so I suppose one of my worst habits is being lazy and shooting in auto knowing I'll be able to sort anything later
My bad habit is watching videos like this and not going out shooting.
Besides being micro-lazy and talking myself out of shooting unless conditions are perfect, I also have the bad habit of keeping all those hundreds of identical photos on my server out of a fear of deleting “the one”! I need to do a better job of culling my shots at the end of a shoot.
Good luck, James!
Bad habits:
* card and battery check ... I usually/hopefully carry spare SD card in my EDC pouch, because it happened to me twice, that I had forgot SD card. Another problem is checking that other battery is charged, cause G80 has pretty bad battery indicator: three bars are like more than 40% capacity, last bar feels like less than 10% of capacity. So having barely three bars can mean something like enough for 100 photos.
* forgetting tripod plate for secondary camera when I can't decide to take just one.
* being lazy to process and share photos of some family events ASAP
* forgetting to set ISO back to auto
I have 6 different cameras which all seem to use a different battery. When I need to charge a battery I spend an hour looking for the right charger because I'm too "micro-lazy" to put each one in a proper place.
For the lens cap, there's a small plastic _thingy_ thing that has the cap diameter, so you can put it there when you take it out of the lense. And it's designed to put it in a belt or camera bag, and can have different diameters. So you take the cap out of the lens, place it temporarily there, took fotos, take the cap on the lens again. Great gadget, you can even 3d print it
My worst habit has to be not taking the time to consider my settings properly and just going gung-ho with things. And while you sit still for too long. I probably move on too fast
My bad a it is to take too few images on a location: I point, compose, shoot and move on, only to realize that a good part of those pictures are unusable and I have no backup.
As far as shooting for crop, unless I take notes at the time I'll forget by editing what I had in my mind during the shoot.
Mine is......leaving camera in self timer mode for slow shutter shots, and forgetting to set it back. The amount of times I've missed a moment waiting on the shutter release 😩😫🙄😒
I personally love the sheep. And I empathize with the ISO thing.