What’s wrong with your photos? 10 common mistakes to stop making today!

Welcome to my latest blog, which this week takes a look at some of the common technical and conceptual mistakes beginners tend to make in photography, and how to correct them.

Relying exclusively on full auto mode will stop you from understanding about the fundamentals of exposure. If you don't make the effort to learn how aperture, shutter speed, and ISO (the exposure triangle) all work and interact with each other, then your photography is never going to improve. You can fix this by switching to Aperture Priority (A/Av) mode or Shutter Priority (S/Tv) mode. In simple terms, Aperture Priority (A/Av) is when you choose the aperture and the camera sets the shutter speed. With Shutter Priority (S/Tv) you choose the shutter speed and the camera sets the aperture.

You need to understand these three basic elements of taking a photograph. Confusing or not understanding how each component of the exposure triangle affects your photos will give you inconsistent results.

Here's a little reminder:

Aperture (f-stop) controls depth of field, that is how much of your image is in focus;

Shutter speed controls motion blur, too slow and moving objects will be blurred;

ISO: Controls sensor sensitivity and noise. 

Common symptom of incorrect settings are a grainy images (high ISO), blurry subjects (slow shutter), or flat backgrounds (high f-stop unintentionally).

So how can you avoid these common mistakes? Basically, it comes down to practice,but only after you've adjusting one parameter at a time in controlled conditions. Start with, say, playing with various apertures, then, when you know what effect this has, move on the playing with shutter speeds. Taking your camera off auto is liberating for you and your photography.

Poor composition is a major failing with many beginners' images. They tend to centre everything and ignore visual flow, unaware that the viewer's eyes will read an image in a similar way as they read a book, from left to right, from top to bottom. Poor composition means there isn't a clear subject, there might be a distracting background or an awkward crop with the cutting off of hands, feet or joints. 

Here's some tips on how to improve your composition. Use the Rule of Thirds as a guide; watch the background and the edges of your frame; leave some  breathing room around subjects. Then you should study the compositional discipline in work by photographers such as Ansel Adams or Henri Cartier-Bresso, not to copy style, but to observe structure. But remember, whilst observing the Rule of Thirds is a good thing, breaking it to create an image you're very happy with can also be a good thing. 

You ignore light direction and quality at your peril, so try to avoid shooting in the midday harsh light. Use backlighting, partial shade and side lighting, and become aware of the colours in your frame, and whether they clash. The hour just before sunrise and the hour after sunset (the golden hour) is the best light in which to take photos.

Learn to see light before you compose.

Overediting your photos can produce images that look unreal, even comical. Edit with restraint. If the edit is obvious, it’s probably too much.

If you rely on autofocus without understanding that the camera can focus on the background instead of the subject, your images will literally lack focus. You should try using single-point autofocus for more precision. Tapping the screen of your smartphone camera aids focusing.

Don't obsess about gear believing that better equipment equals better photos. It doesn't! Many iconic images were made with modest equipment.

Not paying attention to the background in a shot you're planning is another mistake photogrhers make. Background clutter kills otherwise strong images. You need to consider moving your feet or change angle, or do both. Use a wider aperture (smaller f number) to blur distractions, especially in the middle distance and far distance.

We're probably all guilty of this next mistake, which is shooting without intent, 

taking too many random photos without a conceptual goal. To fix this, before shooting, ask yourself, 'What is the subject? What is the emotion or message I am trying to convey? Is there a story here?'.

Beginners often want to dive straight in, trying everything at once, but this can lead to some bad decisions. A better approach is to set constraints, for example, master aperture before moving on the master shutter speed before moving on to mastering ISO. Shoot one focal length only for a week, say. Spend a week taking only black & white photos (this will teach you a lot about light and shadows).Or you could try photographing one subject topic for a week, say, landscapes, street or urban photography.

I'm showing you a photo I took in 2014, well before I knew anything about photography or how to take a half-decent image. Can you spot all the things that are wrong with it?

Every post I write is part of an ongoing conversation — not a conclusion, but an invitation. If something here resonated, challenged your thinking, or sparked a new idea, then it has done its job. Take what’s useful, question what isn’t, and most importantly, apply what matters. Progress rarely comes from passive reading; it comes from deliberate action. Until next time, stay curious, stay critical, and keep building something better than yesterday.

You can also follow me on Instagram and Threads at smart_phone_photographer_53, and on my new WhatsApp channel, Smartphone Photography.

© Mike Young 2026.