Avoid These Common Mistakes Newbies Make In Photography

[@Turbo2640]

Lots of professionals do videos on this topic Robin because it's important advice to share. I think you did an excellent job! Your thoughtfulness, preparation and sincerity are obvious. Thank you.

[@robinwong]

Thanks Peter, appreciate the kind words. Will continue to make more videos similar to this.

[@BobK58]

I think it's important to have some of your best photos printed. Hang them where others may see them. Change a picture out when you get a "better" one. A mini gallery.

[@Bob-Horse]

I like your analogy with post-processing to cooking, it really works. 👍

[@doomelements4679]

Special mention to the Olympus 14-42mm EZ kit lens with Automatic Opening Lens Cap! Had that for 3 years, and that really made me enjoy photography as a beginner. No need to remove lens cap every time I wang to take a picture. Super compact and unassuming.

[@roberttangen2942]

I especially agree about the kit lens. Most people can’t tell if you used the kit lens or the PRO lens in the same range.

[@vkmccable]

Thank you. Excellent advice. As an older more experienced photographer, your comments are spot on. Cultivate the craft, work on you, the rest will come. As Ansel Adams said, "The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it.”

[@hurleygreen927]

Great tips for all of us photographers, new AND experienced...THANKS for this video!

[@ste4803]

You are fantastic ! Beautifully presented essence of photography...

[@TheGazmondo]

Well said about curation, it starts with the finger and shutter button.

[@Gregory_Laborde]

And if you have 45 years of amateur photography behind you, these are all very important reminders. And not a bit embarrassing for how many I needed reminding of.

[@robinwong]

Also reminder to myself!

[@edison7502]

Thank you for the tips Robin. I learned something new today.

[@Mir1189]

Good comments. I think i overgrown my kit lens quite fast, because i previously used set of vintage prime lenses. Even when 14-42 EZ was in fact first zoom i purchased, it became painfully obvious to me that electronic zoom, aperture limitations and absence of bokeh was a problem. But kept it for two reasons - its very compact, and its very sharp. It appears it will be more useful for taking videos than 12-40 f2.8. I am quite strict when it comes to curation... First of all i dont use sequential shots or any form of bracketing. Exposure, focus and bokeh has to be right, and when i have mirrorless system there is little to no reason to get them right at the first/second attempt. The downside is that somebody will blink when i take the shot, but its the risk worth taking. The only thing i use to do in post process is to adjust the contrast, or the color temperature. Most (if not all) can be done in Raw Editing. This is again mostly because i used to take photos on film. and it posed a lot of limitation.

[@jacobl6572]

Great points! Sometimes I need to be reminded of the basics even after 40+ years of shooting. We were always told to learn with primes. It is good to know the limitations of your lens and body for the work you are doing. A lens is like a person on your team, each has their expertise and weakness. It's no different that any tool in your tool box. If you really think you are going stay with photography and make money at it, it is better to wait longer before purchasing a new lens. What brand you stay with, what sensor size will you end up with, are questions to ask rather than purchasing a bunch of good deal lenses that you will end up selling or dumping if you do jump brands or sensor size.

[@mrdev9843]

Always be a student, adopt the attitude of constant learning. Thats my 5 cents😁

[@roberttangen2942]

Mr Dev I agree totally. Once you think you know it all and there is nothing more you can or need to learn it is time to do something else.

[@michelmorin1937]

I love your comments. Frankly, I thought you were talking about me in the last couple of tips. I still have some way to go. Thanks a lot.

[@robinwong]

Ah I think the last few parts refer to most people, including myself. A reminder for us to keep going on and improving.

[@marcusvaldes]

0:00 Don't use a cheap tripod 1:44 Learn the fundamentals of photography (exposure triangle) 3:00 Overprocessing Images 4:50 Underestimating the kit lens 6:58 Ignoring subject content 10:20 Not enough curation 12:40 Instant gratification

[@MrRensan404]

Very good advice, Robin! They come from the lips of somebody with a wealth of experience in the art of photography. I hope a lot of beginners and even long time enthusiasts like me will have the opportunity to see this video. One can learn from it as a beginner, or use it to validate what they have already learned from experience.

[@mikedavies9020]

Thanks for the tips Robin, I didn't realise how many of these mistakes I was making. Great video for a photography beginner like me

[@JaysfStop]

Excellent message. Thank you.

[@Sunshineleroy]

Thanks Robin, well spoken. It is hard for a beginner to cut free from their emotional attachment to an image and see it as another person would. Going from taking snapshots to real photographs is a long journey. Pay attention to advice from others that know what they are doing.

[@Paul_anderson_creative]

'The what'. Exactly. Great work, as ever. Thanks.

[@robinwong]

Thanks Paul!

[@madphotographer762]

Great list of mistakes... I smiled whilst watching....I have made every single one of them over the course of the years...!

[@northguilford]

Good advice. Thanks. By the way, I wish I could sample the food in some of the photos you use to illustrate your points. It looks delicious.

[@andressandoval9006]

Awesome video Robin, thank you

[@thejosher1510]

Very true. I would like to add one more tip, don’t sweat the iso/noise, getting a noisy but meaningful photo is better than a blurry low noise photo. If the light is not on your side bump up the iso and enjoy your shutter therapy

[@lindadee2053]

When I first started photography as a hobby back in 1979, I bought a cheap tripod. I mounted my new Nikon FE with Nikkor 80-200 f/4 gorgeous lens on it, and just as you said, it tipped over. The front of the lens hit the ground first, and my heart stopped for a moment. The front element now had a chip in it about one-third of the way from the edge since I had removed the protective UV filter in order to get a "pure" image, but fortunately the camera was unharmed. I was extremely upset, but somehow that little chip never affected the images that beautiful lens could produce. Just lucky I guess! It's now 40+ years later and I still have that lens, but I immediately invested in a decent and sturdy tripod. Excellent tip! And BTW, I never remove the protective front filter anymore either.

[@1957PLATO]

All very good points. Storytelling in photography is everything. The great photographs of the past are more often than not severely flawed technically, but nobody even notices it. The stories they tell are so intresting that we just not care about sharpness, motion blurr etc.

[@robinwong]

Precisely, I think a lot of photographers this generation are too obsessed with technical perfection. The content matters more!

[@dovidell]

Hat tip to you Mr Wong for saying what many other photography tutors are too proud to say , namely that kit lenses are versatile bits of kit which are great to learn photography ( for me , it's my go to lens , a lens which I have been using in one fashion or another for 13 years )

[@peterhewitson71]

Thanks that was very inciteful and made me stop and think what I want out of my photography .

[@iceusmvmc4369]

Excellent video, thank you for positing. Some of the best advice I've seen on youtube. Philosophy vs micro-techniques.

[@robinwong]

Thanks, appreciate that

[@davebutler3905]

Great tips Robin! Thanks! I am not a good photographer... What I am working on is... 1. Training my eyes to notice opportunities. 2. practicing working the camera so that i have more chance of capturing an decent image when I do notice an opportunity.

[@valdiskrebs566]

Great advice! #2 is most important! #4 is often overlooked - beginners should focus on pancakes not Pros(lenses). My favorite learning lens is the Olympus 14-42 mm EZ kit lens with the auto-open lens cap.

[@robinwong]

Thanks. Kit lens rocks!

[@leonfourie5717]

I still got my kit lens and still using it when feeling like it.

[@geebee2276]

Great tips that really “hit home” Robin - especially the last couple! Thanks.

[@robinwong]

Thanks!

[@rascalhusky8129]

Great video , you are a very educational photographer. I always learn something from your videos. I recognize kuching in your street shots . In September we spent time there and we have taken the boat down the Rejang river to Sibu, Kapit, and finally to Belaga and overland to Kudat the tip of Borneo . I took a Olympus tg5 , a great travel camera . Borneo is a great travel location with a camera .

[@grantmedical]

Well done as usual Robin... I would have liked to see that you would speak more on the perils of gear acquisition syndrome and the phenomenon of "buyer's remorse"... In my journey I am fortunate that my wife controls my hobby expense account, so limiting my ability to just "buy and buy"... Still, even with a limited budget I still found myself having bought 2 lenses that I really haven't used much in over a year... Thankfully the m43 lenses are relatively affordable...

[@marcusvaldes]

"Let's DO this!" Love your channel Robin. Come visit us in the USA!

[@robinwong]

One day, I must travel to the USA.

[@tenzinpeljor]

Very helpful, Robin, so many good tips. I am a total newbee but learn a lot!

[@AmbientNoir]

Bravo!!!! Great Vid! Keep up the good work!

[@CheikoSairin]

Nice video and useful tips, Robin. Thanks for sharing. Have a nice day.

[@christophergrove4876]

I used to teach photography and a common "mistake" that I saw was where the photographer wanted to take photos of family and friends but ALWAYS shot them from a distance, getting the whole person including their feet in the pic. SOMETIMES this context is important, I grant you, but much more often the result is much more emotionally CONNECTING when the photographer moves in as close as possible to get facial expressions. The eyes really ARE the windows to the soul! HAVING SAID THAT, the average photographer does not always realize the facial distortion that occurs when using a point n shoot, or a cell phone's built in camera with their wide angle lenses. Stepping back but zooming/cropping in can reduce that distortion. People who are conscious of their appearance will appreciate that when seeing the slimmer result in the finished photos. ULTIMATELY, however, the candid photo that you DO get is much better than the photo that you miss out on! ;-)

[@aerialfilm1]

We’re all beginners in many aspects. Embrace the discovery and don’t run or hide from the beginner label. The best time of my life in photography was when I was a brand new, and knew very little.

[@robinwong]

Thanks for adding that!

[@leonfourie5717]

True,true,true words and excelent said.

[@williampegram]

Thanks Robin for the very good tips that I'm certainly going to try to make good use of.

[@robinwong]

No worries, it was my pleasure sharing.

[@evannhaas3346]

I spend so much good times when i listen to you in your videos (in Alsace, France) . I really really really really appreciate the way than you do this. Thank you so much to share your knowledge, your experience, always with your communicative cheerfulness. Is that possible to find some books to see some of your photographies ? The best for you 😉

[@thienthongtran7494]

Now when I watch the video again, the part 3:21 makes me lmao. As away, good video. ty

[@Rafaga777]

Thanks a lot for your tips. Indeed very useful for a newbie like me.

[@robinwong]

Thanks, glad the tips are helpful.

[@sl-rt5kv]

Really fine compendium. For me, number 5 (the "what") is the most important, followed by "curation".

[@MichaelGerrard]

Some great tips there. I agree so much about the kit lens, they are all great. I would go further and say don't start with m43, restrict yourself more, try to get a shallow depth of field shot, you will learn how it is achieved that way. About telling a story with photos, I am not fully convinced by this. That sounds more like documentary style or street photos. Lately I take mostly macro or close ups of plants, I am looking not for a story but for a pleasing look. Something a bit different. I have no illusions about passing on a deep message. I post to Instagram just to brighten someone's day. It is nice when my photos are liked but I get so few likes because my exposure is low. However, I like to post at least a picture a day, this helps my motivation. Again, thanks for your great videos and blog. You have helped me and continue to do so (I am motivating you now ;-)).

[@kathleenhickey7793]

Very interesting! Lots to think about in this video.

[@robinwong]

Thanks! We all have lots to think about.

[@KhunAdam]

I agree with one of your first comment - I wish someone had given me this advice when I started.

[@marklaurendet1861]

A nice round up of ideas. Also liked the group Mu/43 hookup you recently participated in, hope we see more of them to promote the system

[@robinwong]

Thanks Mark, we are planning to do more. Stay tuned!

[@AliAlireza]

Thank you very much for this video. Your tips really help me in my journey of improvement even though I am not new to photography having started in 1976. I love your channel because I have learned a lot from you and always look forward to your latest one.

[@robinwong]

Thanks for the kind words, and I am glad I can contribute in small ways and can be helpful. More videos to come surely.

[@jq8151]

Great tips. I personally find them very helpful.👍

[@robinwong]

Thanks!

[@ОлегФедянин-т9к]

Hello, Robin! Thanks for the video! Do you have any videos about how to tell a story on a photo, about angels of shot, about plans (foreground, middle, backgroud) to make a volume to a photo or something like that to increase your skills? And I haven't found any videos about measurement of the explosure on Olympus cameras.

[@rocking1313]

Curation hit home - know too many people who click with complete abandon on a trip and never look at their photos again or vomit every shot on social media !

[@kaimunroe586]

Great advice as always

[@robinwong]

Thanks!

[@vaisb]

Thx Robin

[@georgriedl9042]

Thank you!!!

[@izuanalyahya5205]

Thanks for these points, Robin. It's good to revisit these from time to time to see how far we've gone or how far we've diverged from our learning. However, the most pressing question I have is: Where can I get that delicious bowl at 5:40 ?! 😱

[@eddieslam]

Great advise.. Thanks a lot.. 🙏🙏🙏 I'm newbie 🙈

[@robinwong]

Cheers, glad I can help! Go out and shoot more.

[@kikeaMoldova]

I have a bit different point of view about kit lens. But not about kits lens, what about beginners kits (body+lens). So before I bought my first camera with interchangeable lens, what is EM1 M2 with "kits" lens 12-40 2.8, I have many suggestions from my friends to start with body kits like Nikon D3xxx or Canon 1xxxx with lens 18-55mm. Most of 10+ years I didn't decided to buy something like these from different point of view: - a lot of images I had in rooms with insufficient light even in sunny day. In cloudy day, outside, that the beginners kits struggler with light and pop up the flash. The issues with auto-focus when strating to take photo of kids when moving. Even doesn't sound that is important, but when I would like to make some subject separation, was very hard to do or almost was impossible. Yes, is possible to shoot with that combination if to carry more about light, for example to have good flash and better to have flash with remote control, but flash a bit out from beginner photo kit. There for until last year I shot almost my images with automatic point and shoot camera and phone. For make memories was good enough cammeras but with enough limitations for artistic works (I know that all limitations are in just my head, not in camera - but any way a good camera always is a pleasure to have). When I tried to do some artistic works, because was so hard to achieve - the most time I was desperated and I aboundated the work. With good camera is easer to achieve something if you know what you want and how to do. My hint for beginners, get the camera which you can afford and you know what you want from that camera and lens. If you are not sure what you want and you don't know if is photography is for you, but you want to try interchangeable lens - then start with beginners kits, they are good for you to make decisions like: directions, what you like and you doesn't. But you don't want to care all about techical parts of photography, you doesn't like to have weight and space of your camera and you more thinking about compositions, then today is possible to get excelent photos with phone cameras.

[@giorgiodegrandi6718]

thank you, very good tips !

[@robinwong]

Cheers!

[@rudolfabelin383]

Hi Robin! I am sorry that I couldn't participate in yesterdays live stream. This video was damn good!!!

[@robinwong]

Oh please don't apologize, the stream is there and you can still watch it, so no loss really. Thanks for the kind words.

[@hansmeyer1270]

Here’s a tip that I need to remind myself of a lot: don’t let instruction (including KZbin) be a substitute for practice!

[@carpediem6326]

Thx very much Good tips

[@robinwong]

Cheers

[@Centauri27]

Good advice, Robin. I have both the 14-42 EZ kit lens and the 12-40 PRO, and I am constantly impressed by the quality of that tiny collapsing zoom! I don’t use tripods much and cannot bring myself to spend many hundreds of $$$ for legs + head! MIne is a small carbon fiber travel tripod that’s worth a couple of hundred dollars. That’s not considered cheap, is it?

[@begr_wiedererkennungswert]

I agree with everything but the kit lens. I bought my first DSLR because the possibilties of interchangeable lenses were so fascinating for me, but then I was stuck with the boring kit lens because I had spent my last money and the whole experience wasn't different to my bridge cam. I know many enthusiastic beginners who leave it there. So after months I bought an old manual lens (50 1.7) for 25 Eur and a split image indicator for my camera. Only then I learned the basics. I always think I should keep the kit lens, but then I NEVER use them. Better buy one interesting lens / focal length and learn to use it. But then also me: I have to remind myself of WHAT I like to photograph from time to time. But a fixed focal length helps me to concentrate more on the content of a picture.

[@bioliv1]

I stopped posting on Instagram because I got tired of only getting 2-3 likes all the time. Now I've some likes on the first images, but that's just people clicking because they hope I'll follow them, they have no interest in my work. So now I just post on ancient Blogger, where I have my blog as a photographic diary entirely for myself. If anybody else has any interest, I don't care, as I photograph only for myself and my forefathers. People alive today I don't care about!

[@RobShootPhotos]

Great video. With tip one, use the hook to put weight on the tripod but nothing that will sway in the wind. Yes, it is amazing how good kit lenses can be. Olympus 40-150 to me has been really awesome but the 14-42mm has been really good too.

[@robinwong]

Thanks for adding the tip. However, I also notice that not all tripods have the hook (mine, as shown in the video, does not). But if the hook is there, yes add on more counter weight to hold the tripod down in place.

[@michelbrochard8224]

Curation is the most difficult part

[@RaleX89]

The biggest problem nowadays with us young photographers is that we are not used to taking a picture and getting stuck with it(film). Now you can take 100 pics and delete 99 of them. Back in the old days you would take a picture when you surely know the exposure, focus, subject and so on are in perfect situation. That i think is a key learning curve that we don’t have compared with 40+ years old photographers. Thanks for the video!

[@garryneil753]

Sage advice.

[@philliplivingstone5336]

Hi Robin, sage advice in this presentation, thanks. I also have a question: I have OMD EM1 Mk2. Fast Card slot saves RAW; 2nd slot saves JPEG. For the same image, the JPEG time and date is correct, but my RAW file shows a different date (next day) and time?

[@lorenschwiderski]

When I used a film camera, forgetting to reset the ISO/ASA speed was the biggest pitfall. Fast forward to today, changing the light value on my digital camera and continuing on without resetting it back to neutral for the lens in use -- same thing as the old days of loading new film with a different ISO = ouch! As for kit lenses, as the sun begins to set, or shooting in the shadows, keeping up the shutter speed to stop movement, and also keeping the ISO from going off the chart and getting too grainy, is the challenge. I like the 12-32mm Lumix kit, the 14-42 RII Olympus kit, and the Lumix 45-150mm kit, though once into longer range it struggles. Best bargain was the $249 paid for the Olympus 45mm f1.8, and the Lumix 25mm f1.7 is OK ( avoid f4 due to focus shift ). Mostly it is OK even at f4 however. I may consider the 14mm Lumix some day. The Oly 60mm Macro seems an awesome deal. Robin's smile however, is greater than all of Olympus combined. :)

[@robinwong]

Thanks for the kind words! Also appreciate your sharing and experience, indeed the kit lenses are amazing, and there are many ways to get a good shot. I shall continue to smile on :-)

[@wolfcoding]

Nice!

[@edwin_ac]

Common mistake no. 8, bokeh is everything :)

[@philipchesleyiii]

Disagree.

[@Gregory_Laborde]

@@edwin_ac Bokeh is overrated. Often a crutch for poor composition.

[@williamborges3914]

Curation is critical. (Pun intended). Years ago I shot lifestyle and travel stock for agencies in Chicago and Phoenix when that was still a thing. The first and hardest lesson I learned was to be brutal in culling out not just the out-and-out bad shots, but the "almost" and "not quite" shots, too. And, then, I would go back several days later and do it again. After all that the only images other people saw were those that I thought were publishable. We're they? Meh! But, at least people only saw my best and there was no evidence to the contrary. 😉

[@simtruckerz]

hi robin, can you do em10 m2 review. i know u done it in blog but youtube version please.? some shop still selling this brand new as kit 14-42ez at a very much affordable price.

[@robinwong]

I don't have an E-m10 Mark II and I think a lot of reviews are already available out there. Plenty of resources to help you make a decision.

[@huislaw]

Camera sellers need to stop giving free cheap lousy tripod as freebies.

[@Revangelistautube]

You found some use for the cattle butchery in KL streets... Looks more tolerable.. Not so much blood as I remembered

[@MissMyPie]

Hello, Robin. Do you have an online school? Thank you!

[@andrewnoden9117]

Hi Robin, Andrew here in Ottawa Canada. Recently started following you and love your channel. Also great analogy you presented on cooking🙂 You have a new fan and follower. Cheers Andrew

[@robinwong]

Thanks for the support Andrew, appreciate that!

[@Oxydus1]

Yeah, but Social media wise, the more followers in Instagram for instance opens for you other doors that one small creator does not have! My Instagram struggles to get 1000 followers, not saying I am good or bad, but i see other creators with less quality with thousands of followers....

[@rio_nakayama]

Thumbs up :)

[@lichtloper]

no subtitles available, alas

[@leotheron5919]

Tip for beginners: Watch this video again!

[@LarsKiel]

👍💪

[@kennynvake4hve584]

Another tip...is to not get into feature searching....as in...looking at all the features different cameras have, and buying all these different camera's, you can get caught up in it real easy..I know ,,,because I did just that...I got stuck worrying about the spec's of different cameras...and not learning how to become a better photographer...and Im still doing it..to a smaller extent...after a while you will either become a better photographer, or you will quite all together...I am a repair person, and repair all types of electronics...so I go thru every camera I have...and checking it out..exploring all the features...then all of a sudden Im bored with it..It is not a good feeling..

[@robinwong]

Thanks for sharing! Good tip indeed.

[@johnvaleanbaily4859]

The escalator shot is reversed...

[@dvshkimsze]

All the mentioned 100 percent not avoided lol😅

[@bestshots.catalin1862]

[@Revangelistautube]

2 cameras died because of cheapo tripods + wind..