Three Bad Photography Habits I’m Going to Break

Written by: Tiffany Joyce

1. Relying on one shot. Believe it or not, often times when I photograph something I’ll just take one or two shots of it, then move on to the next thing. It’s like my attention span won’t allow me to consider that it may take a half-dozen or more shots to really get it right. Then when I’m back at home plugging everything into Lightroom I come to realize that I’ve missed a great shot due to my haste. So I’m determined to bracket more, use a burst shutter more, and slow down to more carefully analyze my shots.

2. Relying on auto-focus. There are times when my lens will hunt for focus, or the AF points don’t align with what I want in focus. So I’ll stand there, half-pressing the shutter ten times in order to get the AF points to shift a little (press, recompose… press, recompose), as if I have some sort of reluctance to touch anything on the camera other than the body. All I need to do is shift to manual focus, and I’ll end up capturing the shot in much less time than it would take to get the AF to cooperate.

3. Relying on image stabilization. I have a tripod – two, actually. I have a monopod. I hardly ever use them, instead depending upon IS to save me. I’ve even been reluctant to purchase the much-acclaimed Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L just because it doesn’t have IS. There are SO MANY opportunities that I pass up, where my photography would be that much better for using a tripod and remote shutter release. So from now on, when the camera goes, the tripod goes. (I use a Manfrotto 055XPROB Pro and a Manfrotto 498RC2 Ball Head.)

What bad photography habits have you gotten yourself into, that you’re determined to break? Share your experiences, and your advice, in the comments or on our Facebook Page!

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