Top Three Mistakes Photographers Make

Bejamin Jaworskyj breaks down some of the biggest mistakes he sees photographers making in his workshops.

Some of the biggest mistakes include not shooting enough images of a single subject and overloading a single shot. I understand this feeling, as I know I’m particularly guilty of shooting 10 different subjects and producing ok images, instead of focusing in on one subject and creating an outstanding image. I think it is inevitable that when traveling and exploring a new place, you try to capture everything you see, at the detriment of producing a concise and strong image. I’ve noticed that when I’m shooting at a location I’ve already been at, I can better focus on creating a single image. I think it’d be helpful to retain that deliberate mindset even in a new location. Planning a few shots ahead of time, if possible, has been very helpful in that regard.

The final mistake seems a bit basic: don’t drop your shutter speed too low and end up with blurry images. I think that for more advanced photographers, this can still be a helpful reminder to not lose sight of the basics. On a recent shoot, I was too busy working on the focus stack to notice that a breeze kicked up and started blurring the leaves in the trees. The stack was ruined, and I’d forgot about a fundamental element of my exposure.