Today I’m sharing 7 things I wish I had known back in the beginning of my photography journey, so that you can avoid some of the mistakes that pretty much everything single one of us makes - and most importantly can continue to make for years!

I talk about how to stop getting grain in your images, the reason your photos might not be as sharp as you’d like, plus why your photos might not be as bad as you think and so much more…..so let’s dive in!

Before I forget: I have a free download for you that you will LOVE if you’re just starting out in photography - my 90 Day Learning Photography Blueprint. This is where I go through exactly what you need to learn in photography, and in what order, so that you can get photos you love quicker, and with less frustration. Go here to grab it!

#1 - Don’t be afraid to use a high ISO if needed

My first DSLR was a Canon Rebel, which would introduce camera noise (that speckles of grain over your image) at around ISO400 and above.

I tried (often in vain) to use as low an ISO as I thought I could get away with, not really going above the ISO400 mark, regardless of the situation I was shooting in, because I so was afraid of getting noise.

Instead, I got a card filled with hopelessly underexposed shots, which meant I would have to bring up my exposure in processing.

The truth is that just makes the noise even worse! Noise lurks in the shadows of your image, so when you underexpose, all you are doing is making your whole image a shadow.....and when you try to bring up the exposure, you bring out the noise!

You can read more about noise in your photos here: Why are my photos grainy and how do I fix it?

#2 - Don’t let your camera pick the focus point

If you leave your camera on auto-focus select. the camera will try to determine the focus point for you, and that will very often be the background instead of your subject, or the plant pot to the side of them.

Whenever you try to let your camera make decisions for you, it will very frequently not make the right one!

Always remember that really, your camera is just a bunch of wires and sensors, and can’t see the scene in the same way that you can, so give it as much information as possible, so it can get it right instead of wildly aiming at anything in the frame :)

#3 - You don’t need to shoot wide open!

My first prime lens was the Canon 50mm F1.8, and I was SO excited that I could finally let more light into my camera through my aperture! So naturally I shot everything at F1.8.

Using large apertures like this gives you a very shallow depth of field, and definitely not something I would recommend until you are REALLY clear on aperture and depth of field.

Without that knowledge all you will end up with lots of out of focus shots!

Plsu, most lenses have a "sweet spot" - usually a couple of stops above the biggest aperture.

I actually have a blog post all about how to make the most of your 50mm F.18 lens, so give that a read too if you’ve got that lens and want some more tips!

#4 - Images often aren’t perfect straight out of camera

I did a lot of comparing my images to the ones I saw online from my favourite photographers, and genuinely thought they just managed to make it look that amazing in camera! I had no idea of how much editing can go into one image.

In contrast, my images always looked a little dull in comparison, which left me a little heartbroken!

So if you aren’t currently editing your images, I do want you to realise that it is just as big a part of photography as what you do in camera.

You can read about How to Edit your Photos in LIghtroom in order to get a better idea of exactly what goes into editing your images like a pro.

#5 - You should learn things in order

Have you ever noticed that when you learn one thing in photography, it then leads you on to something else you didn’t know, and then something else….and then something else!

Always keep in mind that blog posts and videos and Facebook and Instagram and anywhere else online are purposefully designed to get you staying on the site as long as possible, so their goal is always to get you clicking on different links, which means it’s easy to get sucked into the rabbit warren that is the internet, and if you’re not careful you find yourself aimlessly wandering down paths that either might not actually be what you need to learn right then.

And that is when you get frustrated and overwhelmed when learning photography, because the information is all random.

So for the most part, photography can be taught in a linear way - if you get ahead of yourself, and haven't quite learnt everything in the steps before, it won’t come together.

(Remember to download that free Photography Starter Guide & Checklist to help you!)

#6 - Don’t stay too long on Aperture Priority Mode

Now, don’t get me wrong, I still shoot in Aperture Priority mode from time to time, and there’s nothing really wrong with using that mode in certain situations! So this isn’t a dig about Aperture Priority mode, more about whether it’s the best mode for any particular photo, and whether you know why that is 😀

I still remember trying to get an image where I had lovely soft shadows on my subject, light in the eyes, but had that darker background. No matter what I did, I just could NOT my images to look the way I wanted them to! It was all very hit and miss, and I couldn’t get what I wanted on demand.

When I finally learnt the ins and outs of shooting in manual mode (and not simply using it to balance my exposure in the same way that my camera was doing!) I could suddenly get this photo - and ANY other photo - on demand.

There have been many “turning points” for me in photography, learning how to shoot in manual mode was a big one. It really truly was the time when I felt someone had handed me the key to photography, so I’m really big on learning how to shoot in manual mode.

So, if you’re using Aperture mode on occasion, but you know exactly when and why to switch to manual mode, then you’re good to go!

I know I didn’t listen when I heard people tell ME to switch to manual mode, but my hope is that you’re more open than I was :)

#7 - Stay focused on your own path

When I first started learning photography, I would a spend a lot of time looking at interviews or blog posts from my fave photographers, searching for their random tips and tricks, or I would be in various forums or groups trying to see what everyone else was doing.

And if I saw an interview which told me I needed to find my photography style, I would concentrate on that even though I wasn't anywhere NEAR ready to be doing that!

If I saw that my fave photog shot with back button focus, I would switch to that.

I'd then find another photographer saying that they DIDN’T use back button focus, so I would switch back.

Never mind that I didn't understand ALL the other elements that go into getting a tack sharp image!

The point I’m trying to make is that perhaps each of these elements are important, but it is all RELATIVE to where you are right now. Learning about back button focus when you don’t even know how to switch your focus points isn’t going to be helpful.

Finding your photography style when you can’t shoot in manual mode or edit your photos is going to be nothing more than frustrating.

Stay focused on your own journey, and you’ll find that you can learn photography in weeks, and without the frustration.