Habits creep into every profession and hobby. Managing and preventing them is key to maintaining your creative momentum.  I am by no means habit free myself, but I try to critically examine what I do so I can improve and eliminate any habits. 

Here are some common photography habits, and some simple fixes to address them.

This is a recent habit and one born from development of camera technology. Modern mirrorless cameras are now equipped with burst rates that were once unimaginable. 30 frames per second on mid-tier mirrorless systems are now the norm.

This has led to an overreliance on spray shooting. Capture enough images, and the logic is that there will be at least one good photograph. This creates two problems. The first is an editing and storage nightmare, with thousands of images to sift through and store. The second is the erosion of the thought process and visualization needed to create good imagery. Quantity becomes a substitute for quality. 

So, if you find yourself with hundreds of images after each shoot, try this. Reduce your camera’s burst rate. I am a firm believer that 10-12 frames per second is all you need. Secondly, try putting more planning into your image. What do you want to capture? What is the subject going to do next? If you do this, I promise you will improve your image quality and success rate.

Too much of a good thing? You will be hard pressed to spot the difference between the images in this sequence

1/1250, f/5.6, ISO 800

Canon R5 w/400mm f/2.8L IS USM lens

We are all guilty of this habit. Constantly checking our camera screens at the completion of every shot. The lure of the screen is that we receive instantaneous feedback, and we end up spending more time looking at the last shot as opposed to preparing for the next one. 

Reliance on the built-in camera screen is also problematic because it is designed to display an image in a small format in daylight conditions. Relying on the camera screen to judge image exposure can result in clipping and blown out highlights when you view the image in full during post processing. 

If you find yourself chimping too often, tape up your screen and see what you can capture relying on the viewfinder and light meter alone. If all your images end up being under or over-exposed, it tells you that you need to reapply some of the basics. If tape on the back of your camera is simply too much to live with, configure your screen so that the histogram is always visible. Rely on your histogram to judge your exposure.

Social media algorithms prioritize scenes with vibrant, striking colors. So much so that there are legions of photographers who are convinced that the golden hour is the only viable hour for photography. If you believe this, it will be very limiting to your creativity. Golden hour is also by its nature a very small-time window to work with. It is also subject to all manner variables, the most problematic of which is the weather.  

So next time, try this. Photograph something in the middle of the day. Start using a flash. Next time the weather is horrible, head out with your camera. Capture your images in black and white alone. You will be surprised with the results when you shift your focus from the quality of the light to the quality of your image taking. Some of my favorite images have been taken in less-than-ideal lighting.

This sounds simple, but I see this bad habit so often, even amongst professional sport photographers who should know better. If you stand in the same place, you are going to end up with the same images.

Fortunately, this is an easy habit to break. Simply move around and find a new location. Change your perspective by shooting from high or low angles. Try putting something between you and your subject. Use leading lines or framing. Find that spot that no one else thought of. Remembering movement will have an enormous impact on your imagery.

Feel free to let me know if you have (or have seen) any other habits. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Cheers,

Russell