Ha! I am constantly making photography mistakes! Occasionally they are camera mistakes like the focus being off or shutter speed too slow for shooting hand held. Those are the most frustrating because I feel like I should know better.
The majority of my mistakes are in composition. I feel like these are a development process, with each mistake being a learning experience.
Thank you very much for your comments Erik. If it's any consolation I make mistakes all the time, I think we all do. Sometimes it is really demoralising but they are good to learn from and they do make us better photographers in the long run. 🙂
I used to put a lot of pressure on myself to come away with images but not so much now, however that doesn't make me immune to scrambling around with my gear when the light gets good. A philosophy of letting images come to you rather than trying to force them is something that I try my best to follow and be mindful of
Often I’ll leave a little bit of time to look at my photos as I’m less emotionally attached to them.
I definitely burnt out with photography around the time of covid so let myself have a couple of years break (different when it’s just a hobby!). Now I try to just photograph what I enjoy rather than trying to photograph everything, and when you have a certain style of photography I think that helps.
Been there, done that! But the great thing is that there is always next time - and we will be a little wiser. Love your work Gill. BTW, what caught my eye was the out of focus boats moored in the 'Between the houseboats' image - I am sure you would have played with that, especially combined with reflected colour!
Thank you so much for your comments James and it is interesting to know what caught your eye. I love how everyone sees different things in the same scene.
I liked the first and second image of the boats and agree maybe there was too much going on in the first one.
I also make plenty of mistakes while out taking photos, sometimes disappointed when I get home and look at them on the screen, but as you say it's being out there early in the morning when it's quiet and maybe watching the sun come up and listening to the sounds of the birds. It's a great experience.
Thank you very much for your comments Maria, it is always good to hear what people think. I agree with you, being out in the landscape is always a great experience regardless of whether the photography is good or not. 🙂
I’ve only recently discovered your Substack site, and I’m finding it really inspiring. I make plenty of mistakes and often only recognise them much later when I have the image on a large screen. Sometimes however it seems to work the other way - I have a large number of images on my hard drive, and rarely go back to look at most of them, but occasionally I find a gem that I hadn’t thought was much good at the time. Does this happen to you? Do you discard most of the images from a shoot straight away?
Thank you very much for your comments Alistair and I am glad you are finding the posts interesting.
Yes it does happen to me. I usually process my images fairly soon after a shoot while the experience is still fresh in my mind. However sometimes I think this can work against me as I can feel that the images don't always live up to the experience. However when I go back to them a few months or even years later when my memories of the experience are diminished I tend to see them for what they are without the emotion of the experience attached. I think this is when I find images that I had initially dismissed. For this reason I never discard images from a shoot even if I don't like them on first viewing.
Good morning Gill, Your article resonated with me as I feel as though I am creatively affected adversely by domestic worries on occasions. Sometimes the location and the light quality can lift me out of this, but I recently had a holiday when the weather was depressing and dull for most of the time. We were at the coast and there was not even any wind to liven the surface of the sea. However, I would have been delighted to have taken the images shown. The last one in particular called into the light, has a calm feel perhaps helped by the almost square shape of the frame. Best wishes. Trevor Burton
Thank you very much for your comments Trevor, I am glad you enjoyed the article.
It is hard not to carry our worries with us when we go out with the camera, but I usually find they disappear once I get engrossed in my photography and looking for smaller scenes when the conditions are challenging is a great way to get the creative juices flowing.
Another wonderful read, Gill. I particularly love 'Huts and Houses' and 'Into The Light'. The triptych is also wonderful. I really like how it carries its own element of storytelling and captures the sense of place.
I used to go out with a mindset of getting just one good image, and that alone would be a success. It was a mindset that took some of the pressure off, especially early on.
There's been a lot of mistakes in my journey, though I've often found that these mistakes have, at times, led to new ideas and ways of seeing.
Thank you very much for your comments Dan and I am glad you like the images.
I think mistakes are valuable learning experiences and agree that they can often lead to new ideas. I love your experimental attitude to photography and think you have created some really interesting images.
I find putting pressure on myself to come back with a good shot often leads to failure, so it is much better to relax and enjoy the time out.
Thank you. I feel that I’ve really loosened up over the last year or so. It’s been as much about enjoying and exploring, rather than trying to have the perfect end result in my head come to fruition, and I do think it’s often as much on instinct than anything else. Just trusting that process more than anything, and I feel it’s still evolving.
I agree, it’s definitely better to just relax and enjoy the time out. Being out in the open is definitely a huge part of it for me.
Very wise words Gill and yet another good read. Mistakes can be very deflating especially if you have made an effort to ‘catch the moment’. The triptych is lovely by the way!
Thank you very much for your comments Sian, I am glad you liked the triptych.
Mistakes can be deflating but they are good to learn from and I think they also help us grow as photographers. It can be a difficult lesson though when we mess things up, particularly if the conditions are lovely! 🙂
Another great read full of information making mistakes makes me go back time and time again trying to learn from these and putting them right conditions may not be the same but that’s all part of it being out and about looking for that shot
Thank you very much for your comments Pat, I am glad you enjoyed the post. Mistakes are easy to make but returning time and again to a location is harder and shows dedication. I think this is the best way to learn and make a great image.
I regularly (always?) make mistakes. Usually it’s my mind seeing a composition which, in reality, isn’t really there. I kid myself until I get home, fire up Lightroom, only to find a load of nothing. I get mad with myself, then give myself a good talking to and then try again. And slowly (very slowly) my eye gets a better attuned to ‘good’ composition. One of my biggest mistakes is trying to make a strong photo out of a poor one by using Lightroom/Photoshop trickery - never works - and I am getting better at stopping myself doing this.
It is very easy to make mistakes in the field especially where composition is concerned. I think that is the value in returning to places time and again. I feel that good images evolve over time and are usually the product of repeated visits. And as you rightly say, using Lightroom or Photoshop to make a bad image good never works and this usually comes down to poor composition in the first place.
I think we all make mistakes and in the long run they are really the only way to learn.
Constantly making mistakes until getting to the least mistaken shots - it's one of the massive benefits of digital photography as we can make our mistakes, identify them and correct them in the field, just using the camera screen. Reviewing images is a really important element of my workflow when out on an adventure.
Love the last one, beautifully composed, but honestly struggle to find faults with any of them. We can often be our harshest critics.
Thank you very much for your comments Tom. I agree, we can often be our harshest critics and maybe that leads to me rejecting more images than I should. However I do feel it is important to be selective and reviewing our images in the field and afterwards is usually a good learning experience.
exactly that Gill, the curation of our own images is probably the hardest and most time consuming part of the creative process but ultimately vital to developing our craft
Mistakes are all too common in my own experiences. I typically just try to learn and move on (I’ve always approached my photography as a long learning experience) but, once in a while, it can be frustrating to have a big bummer of an outing, especially if I made a silly error. But it’s good to remind ourselves that mistakes are a good part of this journey and can be quite instructive. Thanks for that reminder and for taking us along on your early morning expedition.
Thank you very much for your comments and I agree, we all make mistakes and it is best not to dwell on them. Better to just learn from them and move on.
It's so easy to be seduced by the bright colours of a sunrise or sunset isn't it? I often think my first shots are like the first pancake - they are never quite right. It takes a while to get my eye in and think of different compositions and angles. But making mistakes is a great way to find out what works and what doesn't. Mistakes are just a reminder to think differently. Excellent article as always, Gill.
Thank you very much for your comments Susan and I love the pancake analogy! Making mistakes is definitely a valuable learning experience and as you say a reminder to think differently.
Very valuable article. I've just come back from a trip with 1,200 photos and I'm pleased with about 3 of them... hopefully I learned something from the other 1,197!
Thank you very much for your comments Thomas. I often find this when I go on a trip, the images never quite live up to the experience. I do find that I like the shots better as time goes by and my memories get less vivid, I can then see the shots for what they are rather than the experience I remember. (I hope that makes sense!) Maybe your other 1197 won't look that bad in a few weeks? 🙂
Ha! I am constantly making photography mistakes! Occasionally they are camera mistakes like the focus being off or shutter speed too slow for shooting hand held. Those are the most frustrating because I feel like I should know better.
The majority of my mistakes are in composition. I feel like these are a development process, with each mistake being a learning experience.
Thanks for your insights! Very helpful!
Thank you very much for your comments Erik. If it's any consolation I make mistakes all the time, I think we all do. Sometimes it is really demoralising but they are good to learn from and they do make us better photographers in the long run. 🙂
I used to put a lot of pressure on myself to come away with images but not so much now, however that doesn't make me immune to scrambling around with my gear when the light gets good. A philosophy of letting images come to you rather than trying to force them is something that I try my best to follow and be mindful of
Absolutley Alex. Forcing images never works in my experience and you are right, relaxing and letting images find you is a much better way of working.
Thank you very much for your comments.
Great post Gill.
Often I’ll leave a little bit of time to look at my photos as I’m less emotionally attached to them.
I definitely burnt out with photography around the time of covid so let myself have a couple of years break (different when it’s just a hobby!). Now I try to just photograph what I enjoy rather than trying to photograph everything, and when you have a certain style of photography I think that helps.
Thank you very much for your comments Hayley.
I think you are right in leaving images for a while, it definitely helps to see an image more objectively when the emotion of an outing has faded.
Been there, done that! But the great thing is that there is always next time - and we will be a little wiser. Love your work Gill. BTW, what caught my eye was the out of focus boats moored in the 'Between the houseboats' image - I am sure you would have played with that, especially combined with reflected colour!
Thank you so much for your comments James and it is interesting to know what caught your eye. I love how everyone sees different things in the same scene.
I liked the first and second image of the boats and agree maybe there was too much going on in the first one.
I also make plenty of mistakes while out taking photos, sometimes disappointed when I get home and look at them on the screen, but as you say it's being out there early in the morning when it's quiet and maybe watching the sun come up and listening to the sounds of the birds. It's a great experience.
Thank you very much for your comments Maria, it is always good to hear what people think. I agree with you, being out in the landscape is always a great experience regardless of whether the photography is good or not. 🙂
I’ve only recently discovered your Substack site, and I’m finding it really inspiring. I make plenty of mistakes and often only recognise them much later when I have the image on a large screen. Sometimes however it seems to work the other way - I have a large number of images on my hard drive, and rarely go back to look at most of them, but occasionally I find a gem that I hadn’t thought was much good at the time. Does this happen to you? Do you discard most of the images from a shoot straight away?
Thank you very much for your comments Alistair and I am glad you are finding the posts interesting.
Yes it does happen to me. I usually process my images fairly soon after a shoot while the experience is still fresh in my mind. However sometimes I think this can work against me as I can feel that the images don't always live up to the experience. However when I go back to them a few months or even years later when my memories of the experience are diminished I tend to see them for what they are without the emotion of the experience attached. I think this is when I find images that I had initially dismissed. For this reason I never discard images from a shoot even if I don't like them on first viewing.
I hope that helps. 🙂
Good morning Gill, Your article resonated with me as I feel as though I am creatively affected adversely by domestic worries on occasions. Sometimes the location and the light quality can lift me out of this, but I recently had a holiday when the weather was depressing and dull for most of the time. We were at the coast and there was not even any wind to liven the surface of the sea. However, I would have been delighted to have taken the images shown. The last one in particular called into the light, has a calm feel perhaps helped by the almost square shape of the frame. Best wishes. Trevor Burton
Thank you very much for your comments Trevor, I am glad you enjoyed the article.
It is hard not to carry our worries with us when we go out with the camera, but I usually find they disappear once I get engrossed in my photography and looking for smaller scenes when the conditions are challenging is a great way to get the creative juices flowing.
What a great image “Into the Light” is Gill!
Thank you very much Shital, I am glad you like the image - I thought the light was beautiful.
Absolutely!
Another wonderful read, Gill. I particularly love 'Huts and Houses' and 'Into The Light'. The triptych is also wonderful. I really like how it carries its own element of storytelling and captures the sense of place.
I used to go out with a mindset of getting just one good image, and that alone would be a success. It was a mindset that took some of the pressure off, especially early on.
There's been a lot of mistakes in my journey, though I've often found that these mistakes have, at times, led to new ideas and ways of seeing.
Thank you very much for your comments Dan and I am glad you like the images.
I think mistakes are valuable learning experiences and agree that they can often lead to new ideas. I love your experimental attitude to photography and think you have created some really interesting images.
I find putting pressure on myself to come back with a good shot often leads to failure, so it is much better to relax and enjoy the time out.
Definitely!
Thank you. I feel that I’ve really loosened up over the last year or so. It’s been as much about enjoying and exploring, rather than trying to have the perfect end result in my head come to fruition, and I do think it’s often as much on instinct than anything else. Just trusting that process more than anything, and I feel it’s still evolving.
I agree, it’s definitely better to just relax and enjoy the time out. Being out in the open is definitely a huge part of it for me.
Very wise words Gill and yet another good read. Mistakes can be very deflating especially if you have made an effort to ‘catch the moment’. The triptych is lovely by the way!
Thank you very much for your comments Sian, I am glad you liked the triptych.
Mistakes can be deflating but they are good to learn from and I think they also help us grow as photographers. It can be a difficult lesson though when we mess things up, particularly if the conditions are lovely! 🙂
Another great read full of information making mistakes makes me go back time and time again trying to learn from these and putting them right conditions may not be the same but that’s all part of it being out and about looking for that shot
Thank you very much for your comments Pat, I am glad you enjoyed the post. Mistakes are easy to make but returning time and again to a location is harder and shows dedication. I think this is the best way to learn and make a great image.
I regularly (always?) make mistakes. Usually it’s my mind seeing a composition which, in reality, isn’t really there. I kid myself until I get home, fire up Lightroom, only to find a load of nothing. I get mad with myself, then give myself a good talking to and then try again. And slowly (very slowly) my eye gets a better attuned to ‘good’ composition. One of my biggest mistakes is trying to make a strong photo out of a poor one by using Lightroom/Photoshop trickery - never works - and I am getting better at stopping myself doing this.
Thank you very much for your comments Mark.
It is very easy to make mistakes in the field especially where composition is concerned. I think that is the value in returning to places time and again. I feel that good images evolve over time and are usually the product of repeated visits. And as you rightly say, using Lightroom or Photoshop to make a bad image good never works and this usually comes down to poor composition in the first place.
I think we all make mistakes and in the long run they are really the only way to learn.
Constantly making mistakes until getting to the least mistaken shots - it's one of the massive benefits of digital photography as we can make our mistakes, identify them and correct them in the field, just using the camera screen. Reviewing images is a really important element of my workflow when out on an adventure.
Love the last one, beautifully composed, but honestly struggle to find faults with any of them. We can often be our harshest critics.
Thank you very much for your comments Tom. I agree, we can often be our harshest critics and maybe that leads to me rejecting more images than I should. However I do feel it is important to be selective and reviewing our images in the field and afterwards is usually a good learning experience.
exactly that Gill, the curation of our own images is probably the hardest and most time consuming part of the creative process but ultimately vital to developing our craft
Mistakes are all too common in my own experiences. I typically just try to learn and move on (I’ve always approached my photography as a long learning experience) but, once in a while, it can be frustrating to have a big bummer of an outing, especially if I made a silly error. But it’s good to remind ourselves that mistakes are a good part of this journey and can be quite instructive. Thanks for that reminder and for taking us along on your early morning expedition.
Thank you very much for your comments and I agree, we all make mistakes and it is best not to dwell on them. Better to just learn from them and move on.
Thank you very much for reading. 🙂
It's so easy to be seduced by the bright colours of a sunrise or sunset isn't it? I often think my first shots are like the first pancake - they are never quite right. It takes a while to get my eye in and think of different compositions and angles. But making mistakes is a great way to find out what works and what doesn't. Mistakes are just a reminder to think differently. Excellent article as always, Gill.
Thank you very much for your comments Susan and I love the pancake analogy! Making mistakes is definitely a valuable learning experience and as you say a reminder to think differently.
Very valuable article. I've just come back from a trip with 1,200 photos and I'm pleased with about 3 of them... hopefully I learned something from the other 1,197!
Thank you very much for your comments Thomas. I often find this when I go on a trip, the images never quite live up to the experience. I do find that I like the shots better as time goes by and my memories get less vivid, I can then see the shots for what they are rather than the experience I remember. (I hope that makes sense!) Maybe your other 1197 won't look that bad in a few weeks? 🙂
We shall see!