My Top 5 Photography mistakes

I’m the first to admit I have a type A personality.

I like to plan.

I like to get it right.

I like to be an expert.

But how do you get to that point? Lots and lots of failing. Like, a lot. And then a desire to never have that happen again so you learn, adapt, and try again.

I’m here to share the top 5 heart-dropping, sweat-inducing, gut wrenching photography mistakes I’ve made and advice on how to avoid them.

  1. I spent $600 on oversize and overweight baggage fees flying my equipment

    Airlines aren’t playing around: if your bag is 1.5” too long, they’re charge you. If your equipment is over the 50 lb limit, they’ll charge you A LOT. The next year, I looked into renting in the location city and saved about $540. Renting is a great option, or challenging yourself to pair-down your kit is necessary when flying. But if you’re road tripping, pack that car until the trunk can’t close!

  2. I’ve been cheated out of hundreds of dollars because I believed “a check was in the mail”

    I hate this so much, but you just need to require payment up front: no other option. This was one of the most awkward, yet fastest lessons I learned. It happened once, and I’ve never had it happen again because I adjusted my workflow right away. Also contracts are a necessary evil of running a business. Do you research, get a lawyer to look it over, and make every client sign to ensure your business is covered.

  3. I’ve had a card corrupt on me—twice—and I swear I’m going to go grey faster because of it

    Never rely on only one copy of your images. Look for cameras that allow you to dual-rite your images (like my Canon 5d Mark iii) and shoot both copies with the highest resolution possible. Taking it a step further, make multiple copies on multiple storage devices that auto-sync to ensure you have backups.

  4. I forgot the power cord for my lights and couldn’t start the photoshoot until i got it

    Yep, pretty dang important part of being able to do a photoshoot. Thankfully my husband saved the day and jumped in the car to run it to me. Right after this, I made a packing list & follow it every time.

  5. 50 images were half-black because my settings were wrong

    Particularly, I went from shooting outside to studio lighting, and didn’t adjust my shutter speed so every image was 1/2 black because my shutter speed closed faster than my lights flashed. Whoops! Unfortunately, no tips here: just get in the habit of taking a test image to ensure your lighting and settings are correct before you start going.

In all situations, keep your calm and keep smiling to your clients. Use your problem-solving abilities to improvise and come up with an immediate solve, then figure out a long-term solve later.

Fail big, and fail quickly to ensure you get smarter with each lesson learned.

Here’s to my future mistakes & even better photography because of them.

Brittany Link