9 Bad Habits to Break Now to Improve Your Photography

When you are just starting out in photography, it’s easy to pick up bad habits – and not even know they are bad habits. Kicking those habits can help you become a better photographer over time. Like most bad habits, they are easy to fall into, and take practice and conscious effort to get out off. Here are the 9 bad habits that you need to break, starting today…

1. Being Stationary.

The best way to bad photography is to root your feet like a tree! You need to move around.

If you have a zoom lens, this habit is one that is especially easy to pick up. The temptation is to “fix” the shot by zooming in or zooming out instead of moving around to get the best shot. In all cases, taking all of your images for one position or angle is going to limit your creativity and your ability to improve.

You will have to move around and change perspectives.  Move the camera from landscape to portrait and tilt up and down. Move your feet closer, farther, or around to the side. You will get much more interesting shots this way!

Over time you will start to think about the end goal when composing a shot. You will start to learn which focal lengths, angles, and distances will work the best and plan for those, rather than planting yourself in one spot and relying on the zoom to adjust the image.

2. Relying on Editing to “Fix” It

It is so much easier to get the image right in the camera (but it takes practice). When taking your shots, don’t fall into the habit of thinking all those little things can be fixed in post. Move the subject to get shadows off the face, correct the settings to get the best exposure, analyze the foreground and background for trash and items you would otherwise have to “erase” later. Taking the time to move your angle so that ugly beam isn’t behind a person’s head, or a piece of trash is out of the frame, or taming the flyaway hairs on your model, will save you later in editing. You can “fix” all of those things in post, but understand that it is a trade-off and what you are giving up is improving your photographic eye.

So get as much correct in camera as you can! Relying too much on image correction will hold you back as a photographer. Additionally, wouldn’t you rather spend just a few seconds moving a piece of trash and have the time to take more photos instead of spending that time in editing?

3. Being Crooked

We don’t mean crooked as in thieving and dishonest, we mean crooked as in not level or not straight! In all your images, compose carefully. Don’t fall into the habit of rushing to get the shot. If there are vertical or horizontal lines, take the time to straighten up. The grid overlay in your viewfinder can help you with both horizontal lines (the actual horizon, tops of buildings, window ledges) and vertical lines (telephone poles or the edge of a building). Some cameras include a built in level so even when you can’t see the horizon you can still get your shot squared up.

Depending on the lens, most notably wide angles, you may find some subjects with long lines will show curvature. This may be a function of the lens and its optics or the angle of the shot creating an optical effect (intentional or not). In those cases, you may want the curve for its creative effect or you may have to use editing software to compensate and fix the curvature. The point is that images with a “tilt” because of careless mistakes can and should be avoided by composing the shot and making it level. Even a slight tilt will make an image feel “off” or distracting because our brain automatically expects the world to be level.

Tripods often feature levels to help you get your image straight on all axis points. If you don’t have a tripod try using the flat edge of something to hold your camera level, such as a wall or door frame or a railing.

If all else fails, most “tilts” and curvatures can be corrected in editing software. Here’s a quick video tutorial where we teach you how to fix a crooked horizon in Photoshop.

4. Lacking Situational Awareness

A terrible bad habit that can cause you to lose or break a camera, or worse to hurt yourself, is not having situational awareness.  It is a bad habit to walk around with the camera up to your face! The lens and viewfinder do not accurately show you the depth of where you are and where an obstacle is so unless you like tripping, or falling, or dropping your camera, always take the camera down from your face to change locations or positions. Even using the LCD can be distracting enough that you could find yourself in a pitfall or stumbling over tree roots if you walk around while looking at it.

In addition, depending on your shooting location, it is a good idea to assess your surroundings every so often, especially if you are out in the wilderness. Keeping an eye out for snakes, bears, ants creeping up your shoes, and other potentially dangerous creatures is a good idea! When you are on the sidelines of a sporting match, it is equally advisable to keep a lookout for balls or players that might come crashing into your space.  There have been many sports photographers injured when the play gets too close to where they were standing, not to mention damaged gear.

The solutions are simple. Keep your camera away from your face when moving, occasionally check your surroundings, and if you are in a scenario that might be more precarious, bring an additional person with you at act as a “spotter.” I used to assign photographers to sporting events and they were always assigned in pairs – one to hold the gear and keep watch, and the other to do the shooting.

5. Fumbling With the Buttons

This is a very difficult habit to break. I have taught photography and worked with cameras for years, but even I am guilty of this one. When changing your settings, try to learn to do it without having to take your eyes off the scene. This doesn’t mean you have to keep your eye up to the camera all the time (see #4 above). This means memorizing where the buttons are and how they work so you can switch them quickly and without losing focus on your subject. I have my buttons memorized and how they work, but I still want to look at my screen when I make changes! It’s a bad habit because every time I do this I take my eyes off the subject or scene which may be rapidly changing – an animal moving through the woods, the sun setting, or children playing. There is the potential of missing something important. It slows you down.  

By memorizing the buttons you don’t have to take any of your mental capacity away from the subject. You can stay focused mentally on your composition and focused on the subject or scene. Memorizing the buttons takes practice. You will need to sit with your camera and practice changing them over and over. You can carve out some time to practice your settings during commercial breaks while you are watching TV. Don’t wait until a big moment is upon you and then realize you are going to miss some incredible shots because you are fumbling with the buttons between each image captured!

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6. Incorrect Grip and Lack of Stability

Nothing will ruin a photograph more than blur or lack of focus, and it is the one thing that cannot really be fixed in editing. While software programs have gotten better and better and there are functions that will sharpen a photo, they are still limited in what they can do.

Blur and lack of focus are often caused by the bad habit of holding the camera incorrectly or not having the camera stable. When you hold the camera incorrectly, the lens can tip downward or wobble up and down while you are taking your shot. The proper camera hold is to grip the camera body with the right hand and support the camera underneath with the left. Tuck your elbows in and stabilize your body by keeping one foot in front of the other. Even better, use a tripod! Tripods stabilize your shots and if you use the camera’s timer you can reduce camera shake from the shutter press as well.

Most people don’t realize how much their body moves or wobbles while they are taking a photo. In some cases, your body movement from the time the camera focuses until the time the camera takes the photo can move enough to change the focus point, especially with wide open apertures. If you consistently have a lack of overall focus, it may be from body movements and using a tripod can solve the problem. Holding your breath while you take the shot also helps when shooting handheld.  Faster shutter speeds can be beneficial. Your shutter speed, as a general rule, should be as fast, or faster, than your focal length. So for example, if you are using a 200mm lens, you should use a shutter speed that is faster than 1/200th of a second. In most cases, you should not shoot handheld at speeds lower than 1/90th of a second.

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7. Hiding Behind the Camera

This bad habit is common among portrait photographers. Don’t give your models directions while your face is up to the camera (refer back to #4). It is very difficult to build rapport with a person when they can’t see your eyes or hear your words. Clear communication and seeing your face will help them feel more comfortable.

If you have this habit, you will need to work consciously at breaking it.  Move the camera away and make eye contact while giving instructions for posing. If you need the ability to shoot rapidly and don’t want to move the camera away then learn how to shoot with both eyes open. I know it sounds really difficult, but did you know that is one of the reasons why the viewfinder is offset? It is so you can put your right eye to the viewfinder and still see around the camera with your left. Keeping both eyes open allows you to see the subject and they can still make eye contact (and it gives you more situational awareness too). It is easiest to learn this technique using 35-50mm focal lengths since those are closest to what the human eye sees. At those focal lengths what you see in the viewfinder with the right eye and what you see in the world with your left will be mostly similar. It takes practice but it can be done!

8. “Chimping”

“Chimping” is photographer slang. It means to take a photo and then look at the LCD after every image (and vocalizing your satisfaction or dissatisfaction with each image). I think this bad habit is particularly difficult for beginners because as you are learning you have to look at your images to see what mistakes you made or what you need to fix (missed focus, incorrect exposure). So don’t be afraid to check your photos on the camera, it is how you will learn, but over time try to rely on that LCD less and less. Check it after every five images, or before you change locations and review several shots at once.

Here’s why checking after every capture is a bad habit – it causes you to totally disconnect your focus from the subject or scene in order to focus on the LCD. During that time you might miss a great image! Of course, it takes practice and confidence to break the “chimping” habit, but as your confidence grows you should need to check or review your images less often, kind of like taking the training wheels off your bicycle.

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 9. Not Learning Your Camera’s Other Functions

Learning how to set ISO, shutter speed, and aperture is only half the battle.  There are autofocus types, metering modes, settings for exposure bracketing, and so much more. One of the worst habits for beginners is not reading the camera manual.  I know, I know, that camera manual is boring with tiny type and lots of confusing symbols and small diagrams; however, that camera manual is a treasure trove of information!

Spend 10 minutes a day going through a section and trying all the functions and buttons and settings in that section. Don’t skip any sections, even ones you don’t think you ever use.  Then go through the manual again, yes again. This time focus on the functions you think you will use the most. Try them all and take some notes.  You may not remember them all (and you wouldn’t be expected to), but you will at least be aware of all the capabilities your camera has and in most cases it is amazing what they can do! Check out our previous blog post on “If Your Camera Could Talk.” It covers settings and functions that can take your photography to a whole new level. You can also enroll in professional coaching lessons here.

To Sum Up

Bad habits are so easy to fall into and it will take dedicated, conscious effort to break them. It will take work and practice to form good photography habits, but once you do they will pay you back tenfold. You will see your technique improve and with it your photos.