Tag: Lesson

3 Beginner Photography Mistakes I Made So You Don’t Have To

by Madison

As a photographer forging her way into the world of lifestyle, portrait, and family sessions galore, there are a lot of mistakes to be made. Lots of bumps in the road!! Thankfully, we recover and learn from them. And thankfully (most) clients are gracious. Whether you are just beginning to toy with the idea of grabbing your dusty camera hidden at the top of your closet or are heading into your 2nd, 3rd, or 4th holiday season as a photographer, here are some mistakes I made so you (hopefully) don’t have to!

1. Always Turn On Your Camera BEFORE a Shoot… And Always Bring a Backup

Check your battery, your SD card, and that it actually takes a visible photo!
Storytime: A little over a year ago, I was parking my car and walking up to meet a client at Lido Marina Village. I greeted them with a big smile, chatted for a bit, and then got to shooting. I found the right location and lighting, then set her up with her first set of posing directions and began to click away. As always, I checked my screen to take a look at the photos and lighting and adjust accordingly. I noticed that my screen was black. Yes, you read that right, black. My heart stopped for a second and I panicked. I had to think on my feet and didn’t want them to notice anything was wrong yet. So I lifted my camera back up to my eye and began to shoot some more. Still black… I told them I needed to fix the lighting and quickly scoured every setting I could possibly look at. I removed my lens and put it back on. Nothing. At this point I couldn’t hide the fact that something was off so I had 2 options: Continue to shoot and pretend everything was good and then say that something happened to the SD card (keep reading for the storytime on THAT subject) or tell them that something was wrong with my camera and that the photos weren’t capturing. I went with option #2 as that was the most honest, even though it was harder, and started explaining to them that I had no idea what was up with my camera, that I checked every setting and had no solution for the problem at that exact moment and needed to take my camera to the camera shop. I offered to take some iPhone photos for her so that she at least had a little bit of content from that day and assured them I would send back their deposit as this was completely out of their (and my) control. She and her husband were very gracious even though I could tell they were obviously very disappointed. I assured them that once my camera was fixed, I would reach out to them and offer a discounted session price to make up for this inconvenience. Clients prepare for shoots whether that be a hair appointment, taking off of work, buying a new outfit, or making a drive to the location you are meeting at. It is very important to give value to their time. It turned out that they did not end up wanting to reschedule, which is completely understandable. That was definitely a negative result of a beginner photography mistake! I didn’t beat myself up for it, mistakes help us grow and become better, but it was definitely a major lesson for me.

Moral of the story: Had I checked my camera prior, this situation could have been completely avoided. I would have seen that something was off with my camera and simply rescheduled or just started the shoot with my backup camera. Had I had my backup camera, none of this would have happened. I would have simply switched to my other camera, changed over the lens and SD card, and kept the session moving. ALSO, never put your camera in overhead storage on an airplane. 🙃

I now ALWAYS check my camera before leaving the house. Does the shutter close all of the way? Does the image appear on the screen? Do I have enough room on the current SD card living in my camera? How is my battery level? I also never go to a shoot without a fully charged backup camera with a blank SD card inside. I never want to freeze on the spot like that again or lose a client’s faith in me!

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When God literally stops you in your tracks.

by Madison

I am back again with another traffic light story. God speaks to me when I am driving, when I am the most un-Godly version of myself. Our God has a sense of humor, FYI. If you haven’t read my other post where I talk about my love/hate relationship with patience and red lights, read it here.

Last Saturday, I was driving to a photoshoot at the beach. It was early, I was tired, feeling uncreative, and somewhat dreading the small talk I was about to partake in. It’s SO cool that I get to meet new people each and every week and be a shining light for Jesus. At least it’s cool until I haven’t had my coffee or am not in my shining light of Jesus mood.

Besides the early morning and lack of motivation, I was ignoring God. I was ignoring the gut feeling that God has given me (and you). I was ignoring facts, ignoring myself, and ignoring sound counsel from friends. I was ignoring God’s word and I was ignoring the shallow emptiness that was slowly beginning to creep back into my life. The familiar tendency to search, to please, and to gain satisfaction from life instead of God. From people, instead of God.

I was driving along, actually, the same place I was driving in my previous post, just the opposite direction, and suddenly, out of nowhere, the light turned yellow. I was annoyed and verbally said, “What the heck, there is NO ONE HERE” as I slammed on my brakes. I probably slammed my steering wheel too, dramatic. (I wonder how Jesus would have spoken as he drove????) There was no one on the road. Not a soul. And yet still the light turned from green to yellow to a halting red. At that exact moment, I recognized my annoyance and remembered Jesus. I remembered the patience that he had been teaching me (until I decided to ignore him) and thought okay God, I get it. I hear you. You’re trying to tell me something. And immediately, I kid you not, immediately, the light turned green. I was stunned because lights normally last like 5 whole minutes and I was suddenly no longer forced to be stopped and sit in my guilt, but I was allowed to go. I thought I was going to have to sit in patience, in self-control and learn some long lesson, but the light turned. Maybe that’s what growing in our relationship with Christ looks like. Understanding his character and needing less long life lessons and more quick snaps to turn your attention back on his face?? Idk, I’m still learning.

I was driving along, depending on myself (and coffee) and God L I T E R A L L Y stopped me in my tracks to say, “Ummm hey, hi. Remember me? I’m God. I have your best interest in mind and I have something really neat coming soon for you. Quit what you’re doing right now that you know isn’t from me. Cool, now that we’ve got that cleared up, continue on.” I was ignoring him, I wasn’t listening, and he got my attention. God doesn’t always work like this, and sometimes we pretend not to see it, but I couldn’t ignore this.

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