5 Common Errors in Snapshots Photography

A snapshot is a picture of a unique moment. Good snapshots have the correct exposure, focus, and white balance. They then have adequate light and shade, colour, composition, and content.

A photo has to be interesting or have technical and artistic merit to be worth seeing. The vast majority of snapshots are not worth seeing because they are riddled with errors. Here are 5 of the commonest snapshot errors.

1. The Photo was taken from Too Far Away: this is a very common error. It is not that it is easy to get in closer to the subject because normally it isn’t. This is the reason camera and lens manufacturers make telephoto and zoom lenses. If you can’t get in close to the subject, don’t bother taking the picture.

2. The Photo has Too Much Contrast: this error is common in holiday snaps because the pictures are usually taken in glaring sunlight. Buildings look okay when well lit by sunlight, but living things and landscapes do not. An image with too much light and dark is not pleasant to look at.

3. The Photo has the Wrong White Balance: Most snapshot photographers don’t even think about adjusting their cameras to suit the ambient colour temperature and therefore shoot with the camera set to the wrong white balance. You need to be aware of this and make sure that auto white balance (AWB) is selected if possible, as that is a good all-round setting.

4. The Photo shows Blurring: this very common snapshot error is usually caused when there is not enough light entering the camera and the exposure time becomes long enough for the motion caused by hand-holding the camera to be recorded in the image. Most DSLR cameras and lenses have stabilizing technology to help fight this problem. The thing to do is to put the camera on a stable mount, or increase the camera’s ISO setting.

5. Failing to Capture the Moment: the point of interest will quickly vanish if you’re not prepared to take the shot in order to capture the moment. It’s why you want to take the picture in the first place. You need to be very familiar with how your camera works in the first place so that you can act quickly when the time comes. This takes a lot of practice.

These errors will crop up whether you have an expensive DSLR camera or a simple compact camera. It makes no difference, so it’s really up to you to ensure that they never appear in your images.

Chris Smith gives photography tips in his ezine that you can get every week for no cost. He has also put together a complementary report for you called ‘How To Master White Balance’, which helps you solve any white balance problems. To download it instantly and to obtain the ezine please visit: photography-expert.com