Photo How To

Everyone has bad habits and gets lazy at times, and unless we’re careful this applies to our photography too. Fortunately, one of our favorite photo instructors provides a helpful list of mistakes to avoid in the quick video below.

Nigerian pro Prince Meyson is known for stunning portrait images. He also has a knack for offering simple tips to help others improve their work. In this eight-minute episode he discusses a number of foibles common among photographs that can really mess up an otherwise great shot.

Meyson’s tips not only apply to portraiture, but to just about any type of photography you do. And even if you’re an experienced shooter, consider this quick refresher a helpful wake-up call.

The tutorial kicks off with a bad habit that’s been around for as long as we’ve been shooting and editing digital images; namely, the notion that “I’ll get the shot fast, and fix it later in post.” With his hands over his face, Meyson laughingly reminds us of the importance of getting things right in the camera.

In short, a few editing enhancements can improve an already good shot, but forget about using Photoshop or Lightroom to rehabilitate a bad photograph. As Meyson says, “If you can’t get it as close to perfect as possible in camera, fixing it in post is a chore you really don’t want to embark on.”

Another lazy habit with potentially tragic results is a failure to diligently back up your images. This is particularly important if you rely upon a single hard drive to archive your images. As you’ll see, Meyson recommends a much safer approach that we highly recommend.

Meyson also discusses the importance of keeping batteries fully charged and packing the day before an important shoot, and why you should be more ambitious if you always rely upon your camera’s Auto mode. There are a couple more bad habits to avoid, so watch the video to see if you’re among the guilty.

There’s much more to see on Meyson’s YouTube channel, so be sure to take a look.