When you are stepping into the realm of photography, it can be tough to know where you start. Here are 3 mistakes to avoid when starting in photography.

1. Not Photographing Enough

Most articles will list so many photography technical “mistakes” to avoid when getting started but I don’t believe that is true. If anything I believe that hinders the growth process and keeps you from getting out there and shooting. So in my opinion the first and most essential mistake to avoid is not photographing enough. I’m going to be honest, when I first started in photography, I legit sucked! We all have to start somewhere and I am STILL learning to this day. I believe that I will never be done learning my craft and passion, there is ALWAYS room for improvement. Your first photo may not be “Ansel Adams” quality or perfect, but don’t let that stop you. Keep shooting. Get out into the world or your home, take photos, learn how you can improve them and REPEAT.

As an example, I want to share some of my first photos in my first year of business to show that we all start somewhere!

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These images were taken in 2019… And I’m still working on improving.

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2. Comparing Your Photos to Someone Else

This is probably one of the more difficult things not to do. Let’s face it, I am terrible at this to this day. What I have to remind myself, is that if everyone photographed the exact same way, photography would get boring. We all start in different places, improve at different paces and we all love the look of different photography styles. And that is OKAY! Stop looking at Karen’s photos and comparing yours to hers…. love your photos and the process your at.

3. Not Learning How to Improve Your Photos

Last, the worst thing you can do is decide you don’t need to learn how to improve your hobby or passion. It can be overwhelming to figure out where to start learning how to improve your craft but here are a few things that will dramatically help your photography no matter if it’s portraits, landscape, etc.

• Understanding lighting and how it varies. Photograph at different times of the day, learn how that effects and changes your photos. Experiment with how to achieve photos you like in those lighting variations.
• Composition, learn how this effects how you and others view your images.
• Straighten those horizon lines. Trust me, take one photo of the sunset at an angle and another with the sunset with the horizon straight. You will see the difference.
• Make sure your images are in focus.
• Experiment with different lenses, how does that create a more compelling image.

These are easy places to begin when you’re learning where to start improving your photography.

If you found this post, 3 Mistakes to Avoid When Starting in Photography, helpful you may also find this post, Must Have Cheatsheets for Beginning Photographers helpful too!

Check out my Pinterest Board, Snap + Click 101, for helpful inspiration and while you’re there give me a follow!