Beginner Mistakes To Avoid?

[CrazyChef]

They're stacked smartphone images. The DSLR won't be here until tomorrow, but the macro lens will be here today.

 

[astroNikon]

Reading the manual
rereading the manual
and understanding everything in the manual of how your camera operates.

 

[Designer]

Not really a "mistake" per se, but you should learn what makes a good composition, and how to make one better. Even with some minor technical flaws, an excellent composition will be memorable.

 

[chuasam]

Beginner mistakes
1. Letting the battery get to empty and then losing the charger
2. Letting your card get full and simply deleting to make space
3. Pop up flash when shooting landscapes
4. Going out of the house with the camera but no battery or card
5. Thinking that megapixels is Everything
6. Thinking a better camera would improve your photography
7. Thinking that you managed to get a few shots in focus, it's time to go pro.
8. Not making other people respect your time and effort (more a intermediate beginner)
9. Thinking that there's only one way to take an image and just follow what others do
10. Buying a camera that's too heavy or cumbersome to carry

 

[astroNikon]

Beginner mistakes
1. Letting the battery get to empty and then losing the charger
2. Letting your card get full and simply deleting to make space
3. Pop up flash when shooting landscapes
4. Going out of the house with the camera but no battery or card
5. Thinking that megapixels is Everything
6. Thinking a better camera would improve your photography
7. Thinking that you managed to get a few shots in focus, it's time to go pro.
8. Not making other people respect your time and effort (more a intermediate beginner)
9. Thinking that there's only one way to take an image and just follow what others do
10. Buying a camera that's too heavy or cumbersome to carry

you forgot
11. asking for legal type advice on a photography forum, instead of with a legal professional.

 

[chuasam]

you forgot
11. asking for legal type advice on a photography forum, instead of with a legal professional.

legal type advice isn't really for beginners

 

[snowbear]

you forgot
11. asking for legal type advice on a photography forum, instead of with a legal professional.

legal type advice isn't really for beginners

Some of them might need it when they start their CL photo business.

 

[TCampbell]

The DSLR won't just automatically take better images than you can get with a point & shoot or even a camera phone without a bit of learning.

Part of what makes images that come from a DSLR stick out is that they are able to capture shots that a point & shoot or camera phone probably couldn't capture. ...or at least capture those shots in a creative way that looks more visually appealing then you could otherwise achieve with a simpler camera.

But if you simply use the camera on "automatic", then the camera will tend to try to stick to safe middle-of-the-road exposures that don't have any obvious creative traits.

There are reasons why you might prefer to use a faster vs. slower shutter speed... as well as reasons that you might want to use a wide aperture vs. a narrow aperture. These changes to the exposure settings will change the look of the image, but you have to know what your'e going for and how to set up the camera to get those results.

The lens that typically comes with a new camera (when you purchase a body+lens kit) is a fairly basic entry-level lens primarily designed with affordability in mind. These lenses tend to not offer particularly low focal ratios (wide aperture openings) that can create strong background blur with a sharp subject (just one example). So sometimes selecting a different lens will make a difference (but not just any lens... you have to know what you want and buy the lens that offers that capability.)

Here's a basic tutorial video, but you can find several good beginner books that go into more depth explaining the concepts of how "exposure" settings will affect your images.

 

[PhotosInParadise]

Biggest beginner mistake:
You get a DSLR camera as a first time user
Begin to take pictures, probably in the automatic mode, you're a beginner after all. Maybe you dip a little into the different mode settings.
Your photos just dont look as good as those you see on the web, even tho they have lots more experience than you. You read how they exclaim over their full frame camera or a certain (expensive) lens
So you upgrade many steps above what you currently have, convinced that will improve your photos.
You finally get it thru your head, that it takes learning and experience using what you have to make a better photographer. Or maybe you will always be just mediaocre, keep trying or live with it.
Yes, the above is an autobiography

 

[shefjr]

Biggest beginner mistake:
You get a DSLR camera as a first time user
Begin to take pictures, probably in the automatic mode, you're a beginner after all. Maybe you dip a little into the different mode settings.
Your photos just dont look as good as those you see on the web, even tho they have lots more experience than you. You read how they exclaim over their full frame camera or a certain (expensive) lens
So you upgrade many steps above what you currently have, convinced that will improve your photos.
You finally get it thru your head, that it takes learning and experience using what you have to make a better photographer. Or maybe you will always be just mediaocre, keep trying or live with it.
Yes, the above is an autobiography

Hi pot. I'm kettle.

 

[BananaRepublic]

You've acquired a camera so you've already made the biggest mistake any beginner can!

The only way to make a small fortune from photography is to start off with a large fortune

 

[unpopular]

You're not capturing a moment if you're not in it.

Slow down.