Photofocus

Copyright Scott Bourne 2008 - All Rights Reserved

If you want better pictures you can get them if you simply stop being so lazy. Sorry to sound harsh – but I care enough about your future success to tell you the truth. Many of the mistakes beginners make can be chalked up to laziness.

Here are five mistakes that lazy photographers make:

1. They fail to read their manual. More specifically, they fail to learn how to get the most out of their gear. There’s no excuse for this. EVERY camera comes with some sort of instruction manual. Beyond the manual, most popular cameras are supported by third-party how-to books. There are even classes at camera stores, sometimes they are free. There’s no good reason not to know your gear. It’s just lazy.

2. They spend more time dreaming about and talking about and reading about and arguing about photography than they do actually making photographs. It’s lazy to sit there on the couch or at the computer. Get up – get out and get shooting.

3. They fail to study the work of the masters. You can learn more about photography by looking at successful images than you can from most workshops. Training your eye takes work, patience and dedication. You can’t do that if you’re lazy. Promise to look (hard) at more than 100 published photos each week.

4. They fail to chase the light. One of the most important things you need to make a good photo is good light. But that means getting up extra early or staying out very late. This can be hard work. Lazy photographers head out at lunch time when the light is its most harsh. Set the alarm and get out of bed early to chase the sweet light.

5. They fail to focus on one subject and include too much in the frame. It’s easy and lazy to simply include everything you see in the frame. It takes time and patience to “work” the image – to find the real center of interest.

Don’t be lazy. All five of these mistakes can be easily corrected. Just work hard, have a little patience, dedication and apply yourself. You’ll get better overnight.

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