What advice would you give beginners about the most common mistakes to avoid

[DaveyDitzer]

In my (not anybody else's) experience, I had to begin by studiously learning what equipment I thought I needed and then buy the best and cry once.

 

[Pundamilia]

My advice applies to beginners and experts alike (though they probably know to do so already). Try and get in the habit of checking all of your camera settings when you first pick up your camera to shoot. I would check ISO, Shutter Speed, Aperture, EC, FX/DX mode, fps, VR off or on and mode (i. e. Sport/Active/Normal), RAW/JPEG, and then size and quality, bracketing (probably should be off if you are not shooting HDR landscape), and make sure your settings are where you want them to be for that day’s shooting.

Then, and I think this is really critical, periodically check your settings throughout the day/night as you shoot. You might not have to check everything, but I try and check critical parameters such as FX/DX mode, EC and the image size and quality. I shoot manual, so I am always changing my Shutter Speed, Aperture and ISO on the fly, so I check and change those as needed.

Unfortunately, I have made the mistake of accidently switching from FX to DX mode without realizing it until I got home (on a Nikon Z8 with 180-600 and lens button set to make the FX to DX change - that won’t happen again). I have also (still not figured out how) changed the size and quality settings on my camera (Nikon D850) and went from RAW + JPEG fine (Full size) to JPEG basic only at the smallest size. I had some really great shots that were barely salvageable based on this screw-up. If I had been periodically checking my settings, I would have lost some shots, but not all/most of them. It can be difficult in the heat of the moment to remember do so, but it is worth it if you can.

So true! I have made many of the same mistakes and still don't always remember to check my settings before a new shoot. A few minutes invested here can save you a lot of disappointment.

 

[Not A Speck Of Cereal]

My best advice: after you have made sure to charge and pack the batteries, you have the lenses you need for the job, some lens wipes, the appropriate tripod and head, remote shutter release if you need it, snacks of course; but just before you head out the door, make sure you've packed a camera body.

ASK ME HOW I KNOW.

 

[rloeb]

Always love this topic

I began in 1962 with a Nikon F and a F/2 50mm lens. My mentor taught me to load my own film cartridges and started me with a 100' roll of Tri-X. Then he told me that I had to shoot 100 frames or more every day, process the film, print proof sheets, and mark the sheets with the shots I liked or with comments about what I would do differently. Amazing what you can learn just by doing, over and over and over. Get closer. Get lower. Watch the direction of the light. Don't just look at the subject and the framing. How's the contrast? Does the picture lead the viewer to what you want them to see? (Took a while to understand that in a context other than landscapes.) Turn the pages on every photo book you can get your hands on, just looking at the pictures. What makes each picture unique? We had magazines like Life and National Geo. Why did the editor pick this picture and why is it cropped or placed this way? Would you have done it differently? Why? At some point, all those questions become automatic. And the next step is the most fun: break ALL the rules except one: never go anywhere without a camera. Smartphones have solved that one.

Final exam: take at least 10 significantly different self-portraits. This is much more difficult than it sounds.

What I came to understand later: each of us learn differently. Give some thought to how you've learned new things in the past.

And, the most important advice of all: have fun!

Rog