I’ve had a camera in my hand for nearly 14 years now, and although I can now say that I’m pretty confident in my photography skills (most of the time at least 😉) I’ve definitely had a LOT of failures and frustration along the way!

So today I wanted to share 10 mistakes that I’ve made over the last 14 years, and that, chances are, you may be making right now.

My hope is that you’ll take advice from those that have gone before you, so that YOU can avoid making the same mistakes, and - better yet - fast track your way to being a successful and confident photographer!

Let’s be honest, avoiding these mistakes won’t make you a pro photographer overnight, but it will help you get where you want to be more quickly and with less frustration, which can only be a good thing.

In this post I’m talking about everything from where I wasted the most time, what I wish someone had told me back in the beginning of my own photography journey, and the things I shouldn’t have wasted my money on!

Sound good? Then let’s jump in….

Mistake #1 - Staying too long in Aperture Priority Mode

Let’s kick things off with something that held me back for so long - staying in 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 like the one below- where I had lovely soft shadows on my subject, light in the eyes, and a darker background. I just could NOT my images to look the way I wanted them to in Aperture mode (at least not consistently) and it was all very, very, very hit and miss.

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.

Although there have been many “turning points” for me in photography, learning how to shoot in manual mode was a big one. It allowed me to feel confident I could take any photo I wanted, get more creative, use more challenging light and get consistently well exposed images.

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!

However, if you’re staying on that mode because you’re scared to make the leap, or you just don’t see what difference shooting in manual mode would make, then you’re probably holding yourself back.

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 :)

Want to get started? Download my 90 Day Photography Learning Blueprint and see how to get there, step by step :)

Mistake #2 - Thinking that gear was the be all and end all

I know it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that better gear is the answer to your image problems - I know it’s certainly something that I did, along with countless others!

In fact, I physically shudder to think about how much money I wasted on getting better lenses and other bits and bobs (like expodiscs or lenspens or reflectors) at the beginning of my photography journey, when I just wasn’t ready for them.

Know this: if being able to buy the best gear was all that it took to take professional level photos, then EVERYONE who had pro-level camera would take the most amazing photos, and we all know that’s just not the case! (A quick glance in any Facebook group would tell you that!) But there are thousands of examples of pro photographers taking amazing images with entry level cameras (or even their phones or point and shoot cameras!) because they know their stuff - and their gear is only a part of the equation.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not for one second saying that gear doesn’t matter (there’s a reason why pro level cameras are more expensive!) but what I AM saying is not having it shouldn’t stop you from taking amazing, creative photos with the gear that you have.

Instead of waiting to save for a new camera or lens, focus on what you CAN do with what you have, and learn to work around what you can’t. Which means that as you’re saving your hard earned cash to upgrade your camera body, or get a new lens, you’re learning key skills that you’ll put to use all throughout your photography life (not to mention you’ll be capturing moments that you’d otherwise miss forever!)

If you are just starting out in photography, the only items I recommend you get yourself (apart from your camera!) is a prime lens - something like the 50mm F1.8 or the 35mm is ideal - and a grey card that costs around $10. That’s pretty much it!

Everything else will still be there in a few months time if you feel you need it then!

Mistake #3 - Worrying too much about what other people thought.

Actually, I still suffer from this to a degree! I worry whether people are judging me for taking too long to get my settings right, and then worry about whether they’ll like the end result.

It’s classic imposter syndrome, and no matter that I’ve been photographing for 14 years and have literally taught thousands of students how to do the same, I still struggle with it. So this one is more like a work in progress ☺️

The thing is, I know that I’m not alone - many of my Auto to Awesome students worry in the beginning about taking a few moments upfront to get their settings right, find the best light etc, but it’s SO important to get all that right BEFORE we start shooting.

And really, do we honestly think that people are thinking to themselves “gosh, that photographer is taking SO long to get her settings right…does she know what she’s doing!?” The answer is….nope. They couldn’t care less :)

So I constantly remind myself to slow down, because in that few moments grounding myself, and making sure everything is good BEFORE I start shooting, I know that I can produce images that I don’t then have to worry about for missed focus or wonky exposure (which is FAR more important!) and I recommend you do the same.

Mistake #4 - Not investing in education at the beginning

In the beginning of my journey, I didn't want to invest in education as I thought I could learn it all from the mighty Google for free, right?!

So I'd read 112 different blog posts from 64 different sites, then try to patchwork all the information together in a way that made sense......and then wonder why I wasn't getting the photos I wanted!

Because of this rather haphazard approach to learning photography, it took me literally YEARS to nail it all down, so I made the process take 10 x longer and be 10 x harder than it really needed to be.

The reality is that most of the students who join us in my Auto to Awesome program don’t come right at the beginning of their photography journey, quite the contrary! Most students come to the course after trying to learn on their own for months or even YEARS.

Now is it OK to take your time over learning certain things? Yes, absolutely.

But if you aren’t moving forward because you’re missing crucial pieces of the puzzle - because you’ve tried to DIY it - then you’ll waste so much time, and miss out capturing your life and memories the way you want them to.

If you take one thing away from this blog post let it be this: time is our most precious resource as it’s the ONLY thing we can’t get more of, so be open to the idea of spending money (a renewable resource) to save time (a non-renewable resource!)

(Aaaaand if you want a proven framework for learning photography in just a few weeks, it’s linked right up there 😉😉)

Mistake #5 - Caring more about technical perfection than mood or story

Photography is a tale of two halves - the first is the technical side, so we can get the camera to capture what we see. The second side is the artistic one, where we show the story we want to tell.

I’m a perfectionist, so for a long time I would get rid of images that weren’t technically great, even though they captured a moment that I otherwise loved! It’s only now that I’m beginning to see the beauty in imperfection too.

In short, if a photograph captures a moment in time, and you can FEEL it when you look at the photo, that is waaaaay more important that whether the image is tack sharp :)

Mistake #6 - Not learning things in order

Have you ever noticed that when you learn one thing in photography, it invariably leads you on to something else you didn’t know….or you need to learn something else first before it makes sense?! It's like a never ending merry go round!

Blog posts and videos and Facebook and Instagram and anywhere else online are designed to get you clicking around and staying on that site as long as possible, which means it’s easy to get sucked into the rabbit warren of the internet, and find yourself aimlessly wandering down paths that won't actually help you that much - at least not at that particular point in your journey!

And that is when you get frustrated and overwhelmed, because the information is all random. And of you get ahead of yourself, and haven't quite learnt everything in the steps before, it won’t come together.

(Don’t forget I have that handy dandy download for you - my FREE 90 Day Photography Learning Blueprint, which will help with what order to learn everything in!)

Mistake #7 - Investing in presets & actions instead of learning how to edit

Over the years I’ve probably spent a small fortune on actions and presets - and none of them really gave me 100% what I was after!!!

There was a couple of reasons for this - firstly, these actions and presets look great on certain images, but they’re not miracle workers. In other words, they can’t take a dull and boring image and turn it into something spectacular (at least not without a TON of work!!) so you need to have the base foundation right.

Secondly, because I didn't know how to edit I couldn't look at an image and see what it NEEDED, so I was randomly applying presets and hoping for the best.

Editing is way more than getting pretty colours or using the same presets on every single image to get a certain look: it's about creating mood, drawing in your viewers, leading the eye, and so much more.

Learning how to edit (and not just how the tools work) was a big turning point for me in photography, as I know it has been for others too - so even if you do use presets and actions, you’ll know WHY you are doing it, and which one will give you the best results.

If you want to see an editing process in action, then be sure to check out this post How To Edit Your Photos in Lightroom.

Mistake #8 - Spending hours trying to “fix” bad photos in processing

Although this sounds like an editing mistake, it wasn’t, it’s a in-camera mistake 😀

I would get a “bad” image in camera - wrong exposure, wrong white balance, not sharp, not great light, no great composition, and then attempt to turn the photo equivalent of a pig’s ear into a silk purse in Lightroom / Photoshop.

It could take me HOURS to get a photo to look half decent, but even then, it never quite worked, because my subject’s skin could still look grey and unappealing (because I got the exposure wrong) or my out of focus image wouldn’t be sharp, and I was layering edits on edits trying to make a photo taken in boring light feel more dynamic and exciting.

Fast forward to now and I’m pretty much ready to roll straight from the camera - maybe a little light processing, and a bit of a crop to get it perfect, but I could upload almost straight from camera and be happy enough with my photos!

Don’t get me wrong, I still love a processing play from time to time, but now it’s like sowing some sequins and a trim on my silk purse :)

Getting it right in camera will save you oodles of time, but it will also give you much, much, much better results!

So, there you have it, the top 8 mistakes that I've made in the last 14 years on my own photography journey! If something I said here was of value to you, share that in the comments below! I want to know your biggest takeaways.

My hope for you is that you can avoid ALL of these mistakes, but if you don't (or even if you make a few of your own that I didn’t make!) then simply learn from them, and keep going!

And if you want some help, them I’m here for you! You can download my free 90 Day Photography Learning Blueprint to get started, or you can check out my step by step program Auto to Awesome.

As always, if you enjoyed this post, don’t forget to share! Sharing helps keeps small blogs like myself alive and kicking. Pin in to your Pinterest boards, share on Facebook or Twitter, or mention Live Snap Love on Instagram! I appreciate it, thank you. xxx

See you next week!

xo, Audrey

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