Photo How To

There’s no shame in being a beginner photographer and you’re bound to make a few mistakes. But, like we always say, it’s crucial to learn from those errors so you can take better pictures and not get stuck in an amateur rut.

Travel photographer and educator Pierre T. Lambert is someone who has seen quite a few photography mistakes made by followers on his popular YouTube channel and he’s just released a new video pointing out those blunders. No, he’s not out to shame his students, he just wants to help them get better, which is why he doesn’t just spotlight the mistakes, he shows you the right way to do things as a photographer.

“Having coached thousands of people around the world what I realized is the smallest activity changes you can make have the biggest impact,” Lambert says. “So today I want to share with you five mistakes that I still make sometimes and that a lot of my participants have made and, most importantly, are easy to fix.”

Mistake #1: Shooting at Body Height Only

“Instead of getting creative and trying different angles where we’re going to be low on the floor, we’re going to be shooting from higher or maybe under our leg, we actually stay static in the same position,” he explains. “This is because we’re getting kind of lazy and what happens is that we always get the same kind of composition.”

Mistake #2: Using UV Filters

“When you put a UV filter on, you’re changing the optics of your lens. That can deteriorate the quality of your image. But most importantly, there is something that we call ghosting and flare and you’re going to have the reflection of that element inside your filter. It’s going to create a weird artifact in your photos.”

Mistake #3: Not Using Enough Accessories

“What does it do when you add [accessories] to your photography? It creates different looks, and it helps draw the attention more towards your subject. It helps create something visual that’s a little sparky and delicious and really brings your viewer into a different dimension. And, honestly, it’s fun!”

Mistake #4: Shooting at Too High ISO

“Shooting at high ISOs is often unnecessary unless you’re shooting action and you really need to freeze it.”

Mistake #5: Not Exposing Properly

“I always look at that little bar in the back [of the camera] to tell me if the exposure is right or not. You can see the exposure compensation gradation right there and it tells you plus or minus to give you an idea.”