3 Mistakes to Avoid as a Beginner Photographer

When I started out, I shot everything, weddings, couples, babies, the whole shebang. Even some things that I didn't want to because I thought it would make me a better photographer. I want you to read through this so that you don't make the same mistakes I did.

The first mistake to avoid in beginner photography is shooting every genre out there! Only shoot what you LOVE! When I was starting out and people knew I was learning, I got many requests. Some requests, I wasn't comfortable with, like spending 5 hours at a wedding and editing for hours and hours because I didn't know what I was doing yet. It was stressful and honestly- a bad idea on my part. Weddings yield many photos and it wasn't enjoyable because I wasn't ready. I had no idea the amount of work that went into it and it kind of turned me off of shooting weddings in the future.

The second mistake you can avoid in beginner photography that I made was not being confident in myself. There were things I knew and I self sabotaged because I underestimated my abilities. Once I had confidence in myself, I was able to say no to the things I didn't want to shoot (or knew I wasn't good at yet) and also take better photos because I went for it! Don't underestimate the things you learn in the beginning that feel right. They are right for a reason. Most likely, because you are GOOD at them and should pursue the things that you're good at.

The final mistake to avoid in beginner photography that I'm going to go over is buying expensive photography gear! This held me back for a long time with my images. I used to think if I had a better camera or a better lens that I would take better photos than I was getting, when it was really just me not doing my best in camera. I would blame bad camera angles on not having the right gear. Boy was I a mess back then! I had a Nikon d5300 camera and a 50 mm 1.8 camera lens. The whole setup probably cost $350 and I was complaining. Goodness gravy. What I ended up learning in camera helped me so much when I finally did upgrade to a better camera and lens years later. When you're starting out, the important thing to learn are photography techniques, camera settings, and lighting. Of that, I'm sure. I hope this helps you!

If you are learning beginner photography and are ready to dive into more, I have created a free step by step guide on the "for photographers" page for photography gear and camera settings. There is also a guide called "The Ultimate Guide to Beginner Photography" that will teach you everything you can possibly imagine in beginner photography like what photography gear you need, cameras, lenses, how to shoot in manual mode in your camera, how to take better photos, photography techniques, lighting, composition, photography tips, and so much more! Go check it out!