Top Five Dumb Mistakes We All Do With Cameras

Common photography mistakes and what to do about them.

Above: “Smart Dog” by Edward M. Fielding. Be a smart doggie when it comes to your camera. Check for these dumb mistakes we all make before setting out. Note: This site is funded through sales of my fine art photographs. See the entire portfolio here.

Photo by Edward M. Fielding

We have all done this. Forgot something. Changed something. Set something wrong. Thought we were doing one thing when we actually did another.

In the days of film cameras, we’d forget to load the film. Or forget we were on the last shot. Or open the film back before rewinding and expose all of our photos.

Or forget to put the exposed film in a lead bag before running it through the airport x-ray machine.

Or the battery was dead. Or we had the camera on manual, thinking it was on automatic. Or shoot at a too slow shutter speed to stop the motion of kids running around at full speed.

Well in the era of digital cameras, things haven’t changed all that much, except that we can usually check what’s going on on the LCD screen instead of patiently waiting for the film to come back from Fotomat.

Top Five Dumb Things We Do With Digital Cameras

Here are some of the top dumb things we still do with our cameras in the digital age:

• Forget to charge the batteries or forget the battery altogether.
• Forget to put in the memory card
• Forget to change the setting back (from manual or bulb or fireworks setting etc.)
• Have the LCD screen brightness set too high or too low.
• Have the camera on the wrong mode.

Tips for Reducing Stupid Mistakes

If any of these things happen to you once or twice, you are most likely not going to repeat the same dumb mistake again, but you might commit a different head-smacking “oh no”!

Here is what I’ve learned to do.

• Always physically open the battery compartment and check for a battery and SD card before heading out.
• Always bring a spare battery and SD card. Hide one in the car or your camera bag for emergencies. I’ve traveled hours in the car only to find out I’ve foregotten an SD card, luckily I always have a spare some where.
• Check the top mode dial on your camera to make sure it is not in some weird mode from your last shoot or even if it got moved just by sliding it into a case or your pocket.
• Take a quick sample shot before heading out the door to make sure everything is working.
• Check the histograms! The histograms don’t lie, they show you the exposure in graph form from highlights to shadows. Your LCD screen might be lying to you, don’t trust it.
• If your lens has a Manual and Automatic selector switch, double check it. I’ve gone from the studio shooting a food shot on manual focus and then to the field to shoot a landscape, not knowing I hadn’t switched it back to auto-focus. Not good!

Have you had any dumb, head slapping moments with your camera? Things that made you scream out “never again!!”.