Beginner PHOTOGRAPHY TRAPS to avoid...

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

I've re-labeled my coffee to reduce my chance of a heart attack. Thanks for watching :)

[@WhiteWulfe]

You'd probably hate the area where my coffee is then.... Decaf is "banned" in our house.... But there's plenty of coffee beans here. Well, so some say, hubby and I kind of look at it and go "hmmm, we've got at most a month's supply, give or take"

[@epv221]

One might suggest that Decaf coffee is a little like swilling de-alcoholized wine - why not drink something else.

[@poshlady43]

So Mr James when are you coming to the states to do your teachings?

[@heathbarlow8769]

This would be the one time ink pen would be better than pencil. You don't want it to rub off ✒️✏️😊😂

[@matssandquist9258]

I thought the whole point with drinking coffee (except it taste good) is to have the caffein boost. :-) Yes, and I admit, I take far too few photos but I´m working on it.

[@mikedionr]

One thing I learned about taking as many photos as possible. Only you know what trash is on your memory card. The outside world sees the good stuff. If the memory card is filled with 99% trash, so what! That 1% may be masterpieces.

[@Simon_PieMan]

I think it depends on why you’re taking photos. Sometimes the ‘taking’ is the fun part as much as viewing the processed result.

[@joec1995jc]

To speak on the post production point, I try to edit my photos as little as possible. Like maybe tweak the color a bit or crop it differently but that's it. I like the idea of a photo being as real as possible. It just seems like the point of photography for me. To share something as it was, not what it could have been. Not that there is anything wrong with editing. There is an art to a well edited photo, but I personally prefer the realness aspect of a photo over the art factor, if that makes any sense. I preferred all your before edited photos over the afters that you showed. Even though they were all artistically better after editing. Just my 2 cents.

[@thelemon5069]

Definitely depends on the style you are going for. Editing brings out alot if you're more of an impressionist shooter.

[@MichaelGerrard]

Years back I used to take lots of shots of the same subject, just altering something to get a slightly better shot. Ultimately I often chose the first shot as best. Sometimes you should know when to stop and move on to another subject. Also, post processing is important for many, especially pros, however, for some it is the challenge to get the picture right in the camera that is key and post processing is a pain. I don't feel either approach is good or bad, they are just different ways we may wish to photograph. My two pence worth 😁

[@NikiY]

Omg the top about likes is SO TRUE! I'm in a local photography group that love taking nature shots, macro butterflies, trees, leaves, etc... I find it so bloody boring to take photos of but feel I kind of "have" to because that's what everyone else does. The other day I was in London and had a great view of the shard, got some really lush shots of the Shard and the skyline (27th floor of Guy's hospital, great place for taking photos!) Then got lots of great shots underneath the shard. Swapped them all over to black and white, LOVE them! Black and white photos with really crisp lines and reflections, just love it. Gritty architecture shots are so much more my thing than endless photos of leaves for me!! 😁

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Sounds awesome Niki - and what a building that is :)

[@cotedurhone1]

Mistake 5 ;letting the weather dictate when you take photos.

[@maxlin2800]

Michael Lowe I let weather dictate wen I shoot cause rain and snow can destroy my camera

[@UmbraXCVII]

Tbh I let whenever I feel inspired to dictate when I take photos

[@TheSlackassCrew]

Unless its wind becomes fuck dirt in a lens

[@lsamoa]

@@maxlin2800 Same

[@thelemon5069]

@@maxlin2800 get a pentax

[@acatssoftnose3940]

I can't stress how important it is to just take pictures that make you happy. Quite honestly, some of my favorite photos have involved me just shooting around my house in monochrome, and in low light.
However, my family is unimpressed by them.
But, when I take pictures of people, they tend to like them more (despite the fact that street photography usually involves a lot of anxiety for me ... and thus, less joy).

[@villemononen5303]

Interesting. There could be many reasons, and we all like different things, but perhaps there are some issues with the family self image? Women especially. Almost as if some fantasy image, ideal, is upheld and now this black and white, straight-on picture is there to challenge. But mainly, i'm speculating for my own amusement. Still i'd say, that you don't need their approval for what makes you happy. You don't need anyone's approval for what brings you joy. Ultimately it's the exterior, something outside of yourself. Have a good day, and happy shooting! :)

[@thelemon5069]

This! Some of my favorites have the most grain and so much noise and I'm sure many technical photographers would deem them bad but I love them for some reason.

[@doady69]

Composition of photo is not analoguous to the font or the book cover, it's analogous to the writer's choice of words. The imagery, the point-of-view, the metaphors, the details, and so on. These are the aesthetic aspects of writing. Composition in photography is as important or as unimportant as composition in writing. Each writer and each photographer has a certain style which make their works stand out and appeal to people.

[@carlkim2577]

Finally, a photography channel. So many are gear heads talking nonsense, other than buy buy buy. I breathed a sign of relief after watching this video.

[@nikkiswart5006]

Lol at this stage my best shots are the accidental ones, where I get myself in a position and can't see my screen or view finder.

[@JohnDrummondPhoto]

*American hears "That coffee's knocked me for six"*
*Checks Urban Dictionary*
*Reads the phrase derives from a cricket score when the ball exits the circle without leaving the ground*
*Becomes even more confused*

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

hahaha!

[@spamboli]

think "home run / knocked out of the park"

[@Dogsandsewon]

spamboli - means becoming suddenly ill or overwhelmed. Knocked sideways is another way of expressing it. That flu knocked me for 6

[@twotone3070]

ummm "without TOUCHING the ground" ? In fact leaving the ground is okay, they just have to retrieve it from the car park... oops sorry parking lot.

[@JohnDrummondPhoto]

Twotone that would make more sense. I just copied what Urban Dictionary said. I don't know cricket (although I do know what a car park is).

[@gabsmith1]

I've been binging a few of your videos lately and I may have found my new favorite youtuber when it comes to photography. Thank you for these vids!

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Thanks so much :)

[@tomwebb3081]

Thank you for saying what your "shit to hit" ratio is. Mine has always been an awful ratio and I'm glad that it's not just me.

[@nunofarizo]

First time watching your videos. Love that you're a professional giving real tips with such an insecurity on your points, it makes you real man.

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Thanks so much :)

[@Crunchy0Frog]

I disagree about the "bonus" trap. Better photographers may end up taking more shots, sure, but a major beginner mistake is to think you can shoot a ton of pictures to make up for a lack of thought and planning. You end up missing shots because you picked up the camera before considering other angles and subjects. Check out John Free's videos, he talks about this sometimes.

[@rrteppo]

I think there is a golden ratio of photos taken where you start to see opportunities you didn't before.

[@alangauld6079]

When I started in photography I used a folding Ensign camera with 120 film stock, so 12 shots. On a long mountain walk I'd take a second film, just in case 12 wasn't enough. Sometimes I even used it, but usually not. When 35mm replaced the roll film I used 24 exposure cassettes because 36 exposures took too long to use and I didn't like waiting weeks for the results... Now I shoot digital and think myself profligate because I sometimes take 50-60 shots on a single walk, once I even went over 100... But never "hundreds", I can't begin to imagine what I'd do with all those frames. :-)

[@SteveSmith-cj7sd]

personal honesty is the best policy, You are a master of this...well in fella

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Cheers mate :)

[@ciaran.laverty]

I can honestly say there isn’t a single video I have watched of yours that I haven’t enjoyed. Thanks for inspiring me to not only start photography but also start a TH-cam channel lol!

[@user-oq2nn6cg6s]

"Not taking near enough photos". I shoot film.

[@AnthonySchnitzel]

I shoot film too, but I take way more photos now that I upgraded to film than before on digital.

[@user-oq2nn6cg6s]

@@AnthonySchnitzel i understand!!! Shooting has this feel of rush and excitement so I also tend to take more shots than intended

[@yardhog]

Yep, take lots and lots of photos, especially in the this digital age. The old adage when I was shooting film in collage was "one keeper out of 36 and you had a successful shoot."

[@damonlawson9447]

Get more film.

[@MrKikoboy]

taking hundreds or even thousands of photos at a time and hoping for a few good ones means you're not training your eyes ( and brain ) to see the things that you want to photograph - yes you may end up with a few good shots but someone who has ( for lack of a better term ) the " vision" to see what he or she is looking for and takes 6 photos - of which 5 are excellent and one is almost but not quite is way further ahead no matter how cheap sd cards or even film is ( and I started on film )...just my 2 cents

[@Heiko_K]

I really like your sentence ". . . do you have questions about it, and NOT questions like ´I wonder what focal length that was shot on or I wonder what aperture they used´ -- [but] questions about what´s happening in the photo . . ." I totally agree with this, as often indeed pictures are held favourable just "because they have pretty colors". Good post.
And, concerning your "bonus trap" -- the issue about not taking enough photos and where you say that people would be surprised to learn how many pictures famous photographers take/took before getting the final image they publish. This is something which is not only true in the present, but was also the case in the past (with film). I read an article at least 25 years ago about a photographer for National Geographic Magazine who wrote that when on an assignment, he takes along about 200 rolls of film (36 exposures), sometimes even double for a longer assignment. In the end, maybe 10-15 images get published in the final article.

[@akashiYT]

Lovely advice, but I reacted on two things:
1. The quote "If your photo isn't good enough, you're not close enough" by Robert Capa, is, how I understood it, more about physically being close and in the scene than having a telephoto lens. By being close to your subject, you will be more in the scene of the action rather than observing the action from a distance.
2. Only minor but for instance taking 200 pictures of the same thing from the same angle won't help. I'm sure that was not what you meant but it can be a bit misleading. Personally I'd say to take pictures often rather than many :)
Hope you'll see this :P haha

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

All different angles mate - which is why I hate tripods :)

[@akashiYT]

@@JamesPopsysPhoto Yeah, same same, usually only use the tripod as a stand for the camera when I'm not using it during a shoot :P

[@nicetom33tyou]

Great tips!!! I'll stop feeling bad taking 600 images in a three hour shoot

[@NHCH]

i thought this was a clickbait but actually you said something that is underrated and not so banal for a beginner, thanks mate

[@clinty51]

"...Shoot for what you enjoy shooting, shoot for yourself, and not because of the feedback of others". That, good Sir, is a life lesson as much as your intended lesson. Thank you.

[@tsvetephotography]

It's weird to me because I enjoy shooting almost 100% of the time simply because every time I want to compose a picture, the task of finding a good angle is just pure fun for me...

[@villemononen5303]

I also enjoy finding the right angle, or right composition for that matter. Also, i often think about what's the point in this picture, the main focus? But not too hard, better to just let it flow. At that point, it's often bye bye to straight horizons because they're NOT that important. Sometimes yes, but more often not in my current style.

[@philcampbell5827]

Another great video! Glad to hear even the pros take lots of photos to ensure you are getting some keepers. Watching some, they give the impression every photo they publish was one and done.

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Cheers Phil! I'm sure some get it perfect in the field - I definitely don't :)

[@Archibald_Quincy_Stanton]

Stick men idea was top shelf James. Perhaps a stick dog in the future vids and maybe some stick sheep.

[@tectorama]

A lot of good comments James. Too many people have a "hang up" about
getting it right in the camera. It's more about capturing the moment, especially
in wildlife and sports photography, which is mainly what I do. When it's often
better to take a wider shot, and crop to get the composition. When shooting a
game of hockey or on a wildlife outing, I will typically take up to 300 shots, ending
up with maybe 50 keepers.

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

That's a nice ratio :)

[@dozerjohn]

Trap no. 5 - storing third tier raw files on your external hard drive will not make them magically better 4 years later. Instead of buying another expensive hard drive just spend 30 minutes on archive culling, suddenly you have 10 gigabytes of free space you thought you don't have. Same goes for B-roll, either put it on shutterstock and delete it, mate, you haven't looked at those files since 2014.

[@dozerjohn]

Ah fuck this comment is an actual video idea, have a go at it James but I am typing the script down right now for my own secret channel, this is my private account, we'll battle later!

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Thats a good one for me! The number of drives I have full of underexposed, blurry rubbish is mad :)

[@dillogdall1]

Must admit, hard drive cost is a pretty miniscule compared to what money i spend on photography in general. I mean, 10 gigs, it is only 1/4th of a dollar of HDD-space, you get 8 TB for around 200 dollars. For me that would store around 400 000 RAWs

[@Kirschesaftmann]

I've also been wondering about this lately and started slowly culling out 'near-duplicates' and bad shots. Its so motivating to see over a GB of files in the trash bin just before you click 'empty' :D

[@barrycohen311]

@@JamesPopsysPhoto Some Alien race will find them in 10,000 years and they will be hanging in Alien art museums.

[@christophermcardle9915]

I use other presets to build my own for quicker editing processes. Then from my presests I will tweak and finetune the details, exposure, etc.

[@Rob.Cumberland]

Totally agree about not taking enough photos. This is one of the best tips. I can't stress enough how important it is to not just take one shot of something

[@jfphotography69]

I am not a landscape photographer, my majority of shooting is wildlife/birds/macro, but I thoroughly enjoy your videos and your British dry sense of humor. I also agree, I take as many shots as possible, at the end of the day only a few are keepers, some day's none are keepers, but as long as I was out there shooting is all that matters to me.

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Definitely! :)

[@october001]

Thanks for this one! Excellent advice. My last outing (with dogs), I took 138 photos and kept six of them :)

[@JunyaYashiki]

Love this video. It serves as a useful reminder about the pitfalls we can all fall into as photographers. Subbed!

[@EcuadorLive]

I really like the way you present your content, really enjoying these videos, keep them coming 👍

[@andrewbell8964]

Its nice to be able to tweak an image in post production but too much and you have to ask....is that really the picture I took! In my opinion, post production should just compliment an already good photo where necessary.

[@JimiCanRead]

A few years ago I quit caffeine for a few weeks and a colleague was inspired to join me. After a few days he told me he felt amazing and had loads more energy than he’d had when he was drinking caffeine. Then one day I saw him making coffee in the staff kitchen and pointed out he was using the caffeinated coffee. Turned out he’d been mistakenly drinking the caffeinated coffee the whole time and having loads more of it than usual because he thought it was decaf 🤣

[@derekbrown6832]

Hi James, great points, as usual. Personaly, i'm not one for spending hours in front of a computer editing photos, i always to try to get as much right, as i can, in camera. But i always shoot in raw + jpeg, those raw files sure come in handy, especially for exposure latitude.

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

I know what you mean Derek, I much prefer to be outside - although I'll never say no to editing photos with a beer either :)

[@villemononen5303]

@@JamesPopsysPhoto Editing with LSD is the best, some say.

[@C01dEyes]

When I first got serious about photography when I was a teenager I met a guy who had been a professional photographer for 20 years. His exact words to me were "I've taken hundreds of thousands of photos... And probably a thousand or less of those were good and worth paying for" back then we were all shooting on film was the norm. I remember so many days of just cracking film canisters in the dark, throwing them in my development pot and then going into the lab to develop them... So many disappointing shots just to get the couple of good ones. Thank God for mirrorless digital cameras😅

[@borrero-md1196]

Birds and macro aficionado here. I almost never use presets. Heck, i don't even know how to install them! i always need to look for a tutorial to install them and use them. I almost always edit my photos from scratch. Sometimes i do a lot of adjustments. sometimes i do very little. And of course if i have many very similar photos and i have already found the right set of adjustments, i just copy settings and apply them to the rest of the photos and see which one i like the most. I think i enjoy editing more than taking the actual photos (which i love). So, yeah. Go and edit your pictures! it's the only way to actually show the story you want to tell with them!

[@kevinharding1181]

Massive thumbs up for your observations on actually all 5 subjects of this video ! However especially re. Pre-sets (personal bête noire - hmm maybe I should start selling them !) and failure to learn how to edit.

[@KarenHRiceScott]

I absolutely love your videos. I whole-heartedly agree with taking a number of photos to find "the one" lightning in a bottle is rare. I could definitely improve in post-processing to interpret better what I saw initially; I prefer a "makeover" versus "plastic surgery" on my photos.

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Thanks Karen :)

[@robertofontiglia4148]

6:07 -- What I'm getting from this is : "Trap #3 : not going to awesome locations." Which leads me on to this questions : could you possibly share tips and tricks, or interesting stuff that might up an *amateur* photographer's game ? Someone with a day job, who can't just pack up and go to Greenland whenever ? I get how it's your job, so of course you can go. But I can't. Sorry if my comment's a bit passive agressive. It's just... I'm looking forward to a two week vacation in August, but until I get there, I'm stuck here, in the city, and sometimes it feels like I'm running out of things to shoot for fun, and when I see shots like these, I think "yeah, you can well say that what makes it a good photo is this clever composition", but come on! If I'd just shot a boat from far away anywhere else...

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

There's always plenty to shoot in cities mate :)

[@robertofontiglia4148]

@@JamesPopsysPhoto I know... I guess I'm just not "game" enough. I'm always shy to whip out my camera when there's loads of people around... I do try, but it's a little awkward... Unless I'm on vacation and then I'm actually a tourist, so it's fine... Isn't this odd ?

[@markhume3503]

Thanks James, just found your great channel. For me getting back into photography a couple of years ago it took a while to remember that I had more than just 12 exposures on my roll and could take as many as the card could take. So I was quite cautious with how many I took.

[@skymedic48]

Good vid, 3 and 4 definitely resonated with me. Shoot what you like. Good reminder.

[@kenjepson1908]

Interesting takes there, and not just on photography. On your remark about getting better feedback than you expected; I've experienced similar things where I've put loads of effort into something and had no or poor feed back and other times with no effort I get fantastic feedback, similarly some of my pictures which I love and think are brilliant get nothing while a "snapshot" taken with a point and shoot is raved about... makes you think.

[@zach.hanford]

Not shooting for likes is a constant struggle in the age of social media, but is part of the reason that I've made the conscious decisions that I have with Instagram.
You want to be successful on Instagram? Take big landscapes with a person in the frame, 4x5 aspect ratio, and vibrant colors.
That's not what I enjoy shooting. I enjoy intimate and candid moments of friends and family, wedding clients, etc, and I enjoy shooting black and white. And if I bent to the will of the platform for popularity my feed would look entirely different, but I wouldn't be happy.

[@miloa.2684]

couldn't have said it better

[@JIFAMPodcast]

Super entertaining. Thank you for sharing your personality with the world

[@Petercookeuk]

New Subscriber - loving the videos James and in particular the emphasis towards enjoying the process rather then the technical aspects - thank you.

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Great to hear Peter, thank you :)

[@nicholasjlloyd]

I’m working my way through your videos and learning a lot thanks James. A video expanding on pre-production, production and post-production would be greatly appreciated! Perhaps try and summarise by taking us through those three elements for a particular shot that ended up being a keeper! Keep up the great work cheers! Nick

[@mattcom2]

Yes, thanks, to the tips. But the biggest item of interest in this one is the lighting and position relative to the lens. You’ve nailed it perfectly for to-the-camera presentation. Better than anything seen elsewhere on TH-cam. Any details you’d be willing to share would be appreciated.
Oh - and the audio is flawless. Whatever you came up with combining mic choice, placement, and acoustic treatment for the room cannot be improved upon.

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Thanks Michael! I'm sat exactly in the middle of the lens and the lights - with a big soft box light to my right at 45 degrees. My shotgun mic is just above my head, attached to the camera via a Rode extension lead, hope that helps :)

[@robbienation4847]

Your color grade looks really good

[@AndyGreenWildlife]

Couldn't agree more about the bonus trap (such a ridiculous phrase) - I take crazy amounts of shots and often just have 1 or 2 that I'm happy with.

[@JasonMilner]

Interesting point about the number of images taken. One thing that puts me off id the thought of the inevitable culling process, the "should I pick this one or that one", the umming and aahing over infinitesimal differences - any tips on efficient culling?

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Do it with a beer :) it can be a painful process, although not as painful as getting home without the shot!

[@ivantarantsov]

I agree with most of what you say, good stuff as well, but I comletely disagree to that bit about editing and how important it is. I'm not saying no one should edit at all but I think that images should look the way they actually looked when you were there and what it looked like through your's and other's eyes. It adds to the story imo.

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Hey Ivan - we do plenty of editing in camera too, we just don't call it that. But long exposures, long focal lengths and wide apertures all manipulate the world around us.. :)

[@ivantarantsov]

@@JamesPopsysPhoto Yes of course! But hey, I guess everyone has their way of doing things and that's perfectly fine.

[@bgray-youtube]

Honesty and Integrity are vital in the social media space. That's why your fessing up on the geography result 'story' is appreciated. 👍👏☺
Besides those of us following your career from the early TH-cam days know you get lost all the time and would've seen through it straight away. 😉😉😂😂😅😅 Have a good one. Kind regards, BG

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

haha, very true! Thanks mate :)

[@JohnsJunk]

I shoot to please myself. I hate that social feedback has an influence but it does. However if you're in the biz of selling your photos and no one is buying, you're going to adjust to suit buyers. My personal record for 6 days of shooting was 10,000 images with around 300 keepers (the targets were accelerating from 0 to 150+ MPH in 1320 feet). Culling that took a lot of time.

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

I can imagine that was a lot of screen time! I hope you had a beer when you were finished :)

[@JohnsJunk]

@@JamesPopsysPhoto That was in September and I'm still not "done". My photography catalog is like building a hotrod, it's never finished.

[@carmencarmensita5422]

You gave me the best insight in photography and I thank you very much for it. Before I click the button I ask myself : is this picture of this thing or about it? Sometimes I use presets as a starting point,not the finish point. I enjoy your photography philosophy as well as your pictures.

[@RichardMcL]

Hmmmmm, not big on comments but your content is good enough to give it a goooooo.
Shooting to please others: Daaaaaaa!!!
Shoot to please yourself. To many styles out their to please everyone. Best you can hope for is a following of “like” minded people who follow you, many times for unknown reasons.
Understand who you are as a hobbyist. Me I’ve decided I’m a “Point and Shoot Tourist. Who enjoys still photography. (That doesn’t mean I don’t study other styles to expand my own knowledge)
With a graphics background I enjoy editing. I use group tours for covering a lot of ground in a short period of time. That means I’m going to shoot a lot and going to shoot fast. (No time for tripods or the perfect moment) I believe when shooting you need to stop a smell the roses. When the tour guide is speaking I may meander around in site of the group looking for different “Points of View” I prefer to research the locations before and after the visits. (Perhaps missing some of the guides story telling)
Guess what? In editing I get to see all the stunning detail I missed during the tour while composing and shooting. (Shooting RAW, with. Sony A7 with my favorite F2-28mm w/a, especially in low light and inside. Switching occasionally in good light to a 24-70mm telephoto for outside composition.
I avoid lugging my Nikon D7200 around all day, the A7, F2-28mm giving me the most bang for the buck)
A 10 day tour of Italy turns into a glorious 4 month editing tour of stunning detail, photo enhancements and location research. (Yes 4 months, some 7,000 photo’s. Spending around 1 hour a session no more the 4 sessions a day to control rushing and burn out) Lets call that extending the photographic experience.
Sorry I’m retired now, I don’t have to make a living and it beats family/neighbors small talk who don’t have a clue of what I have to say about photography.
About photo sharing (Facebook, Flickr, 500px. Google+Arghhhhh!!!) Most people spend less then 1 second reviewing photo’s, perhaps 2 seconds if “their in it”only to tell you have bad they look.
Your comment about photo story telling is meaningful and helps cut down on shooting, just to be shooting. But shooting a lot sometimes captures that moment that someone else’s “point of view” finds his own story. Occasionally an unexpected comment will come up that makes sharing worth it. O’well what else does a hobbyists have to do with his photo’s?
In merciful conclusion, if your a hobbyist, shoot for yourself, look for like minded enthusiast if you want to share your photography. Never be overly concerned about comments.
No reply is necessary just thought your audience may find a useful tidbit or two in my commentary. Cheers Richard.

[@jjoshh2564]

Ah such a shame you can’t be there on the Saturday and Sunday! Would’ve loved to see you, maybe next year.

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Me too Josh - hope you have a great weekend there :)

[@Retset]

Tip 5: Get out there and take more photos! I happily spend hours tweaking photos in LR, and occasionally PS but simply don't get out there enough to take new stuff. It's my resolution for 2019 ... can't post-produce what wasn't produced ...

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Good tip! :)

[@Nick-eu5lr]

I use bought and self-made presets to get a overall view how my picture can look. When I start editing I often scroll through my presets and see what looks good to me. After I found one I start editing on my own. Sometimes I change almost every setting again but I often need this to see what is capable with my photo. I am still learning to edit properly so it helps me...

[@griffin1695]

Bonus trap was the real talk for me. Taking 500 shots makes me feel like ive increased the amount of effort I put into any of my special shots that stand out. I feel like it just adds more value too, due to the amount of trial and error needed when taking shot after shot!

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

I love the feeling of knowing I've given myself the best chance of a good result :)

[@CrashMaverick]

Peter McKinnon needs to watch this

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

haha, I watch too many of his :)

[@polmacdhomhnaill3021]

I'm just decorating at moment and when finished I'll start uploading videos. I'm sure James *winks* will like my one video. I'm doing one on folk keep telling me I should try shooting at sunrise and not at 2pm.

[@hmuz8388]

why if i may ask

[@polmacdhomhnaill3021]

@@hmuz8388 my own approch. The guys in U.S who've made videos in 2012-2015 are missing things out of there videos. There's one guy who has a channel who does photo shoots at not to far away and could invite him to shoot on the top of the valley where I live at the trig point.

[@MaximC]

Great videos. Thank you. Keep it up.

[@goateyephotography808]

Another trap: Not keeping track of your experiences. For example as a diary. You can always look back into it, re-read you experiences with night photography (or any other kind) when you are planning for your next trip. That goes hand in hand with your trap not to take enough pictures: From only one picture, you can learn only so much. From 10 pictures of the same subject, but maybe with different settings, or compositions you can learn much more. How high can I get with my ISO before noise bothers me? With which exposure time can I get away when photographing stars? What compositions of similar subjects worked in the past? And so on. A diary is - in my opinion - a very worthy step in post production *but* it can influence your future pre-production immediately.
My second favorite trap: Not bothering about pre-production. I think every step of these three is as important as the others. The pre-production becomes a bit more important when you are on longer trips, especially in remote areas. Enough food and water? Enough spare batteries? Appropriate clothes? Emergency kit just in case? *But* made sure that you aren't overpacked? Took care of how you get there? Checked the weather (And I *don't* mean the well-known, basic "On Sunday, it'll be raining" weather report you can get in the TV)? Made up a Plan B if your primary plan fails for whatever reason? And so on.
Probably as a conclusion of two traps there is a third one: To see pre-production, production and post production as three separate steps. But as we can see from the points I mentioned earlier, all of them affect each other, and they do so quite strongly.

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

That's a great tip! :)

[@gapcreekonline948]

All excellent points 👍🏻

[@RayLenses]

Totally agree whith the first point not, shoot to please others, im always getting bored of one style after sometime, and when I change new style i feel my audience doesn't appreciate new style and sometimes i go back shooting old style just to please the audience. But lately i just do what I like md make me happy. Just like to be dinamic

[@lelandzelinsky82]

Absolutely son, I sometimes think I shot to much. I have chosen to ignore this. The reason I shot alot is... I like my results. Always coming away with some good ones.

[@Wildwillow76]

Great video James, top points for traps, especially the Pen and Pencil comparison. Everyone should enjoy photography and it shouldn't be done to please others on social media. Shoot what makes us happy and every now and then we'll get that photo that fits somewhere in the middle, A win for everyone. Those fast new primes of yours look smashing mate.

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Cheers Mark :)

[@bdfrankmeow]

Great advices, all 4 of them . The one on lens choice for focal lenght better adapted to subject confort me on my choice on M43 as main system . Small light lenses allow me to be able to carry several of them and switch on location for various subjects .
It is in fact the main reason i am still reluctant to get a FF limited to a single lens like the Tamron 28-75 . A matther of total weight and worry of dust on sensor. I would probably get a little more IQ, certainly more resolution and a lot better low light ability but i take too many good shots out of that range.
By the way, try the Sigma 60mm f2.8 on M43 at f4 : in my opinion, best IQ for the price by far. I carry it with that 25mm f1.4 among others...

[@pauldowney7130]

The video looked great - and thanks for the useful “trap” tips 😃

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Cheers Paul :)

[@jshariff786]

Great video as always! Regarding the "bonus trap": you talk about having a 3% to 4% hit rate when it comes to photos you've take that you approve of. How worthwhile is it to you at this stage to work to increase that rate? Or is it the case that the hit rate initially increases as you move from beginner to novice, because as you improve technically and artistically, your ability to hit the bar for a shareable or publishable photo increases. But then as you move from novice to expert, perhaps the hit rate declines again, because you develop higher standards and a more discerning eye, and end up raising your own bar? Is it a problem that everytime your surpass your previous best effort, doing so again in the future becomes exponentially more difficult?

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

That's exactly it - your expectations of yourself just keep rising - which can actually be quite annoying.. :)

[@TheNonsenseAdventures]

Not got my tickets for the show yet, so will use your link, save me money towards a new bag! But I'm going the Sunday, would have been good to hear you talk outside of a screen!

[@gregcampbell4467]

At the risk of spiking your dopamine levels and thereby influencing your creative preferences,.. yeah, that 25mm 1.4 Leica Lumix is dope. Your chin hairs have never looked better (not scarcasm). This front light (with eye catchlight/highlight?) and 2 lights on the back wall is a pretty good setup.

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Cheers Greg :)

[@benzh11]

very nice caps!

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Thanks mate :)

[@swagrip1931]

Grest vid. Got a g9 last week with the leica 12-60. Gonna start improving my photography skills by taking the camera everywhere and practice everyday at least a bit

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Great to hear! It's a brilliant piece of kit :)

[@WestonNey]

What am I doing watching this video? I've been a photographer for 12 years! I'm no beginner!
But still this video was so good, even experienced pros can get good advice from a video meant for beginners! Great video!

[@AndrewPowerTower]

Phew! *wipes brow* Based on the thumbnail I thought the trap was going to be Panasonic lenses. I just ordered the 25mm f/1.7 this morning.
I think I'm definitely influenced by people that like a certain photo of mine a lot, especially when it's a shot I don't particularly care for. I'll try to replicate that feeling with a similar photo, but won't get the same kick from it. I will try to take your advice and just shoot photos for me!

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

haha, never Andrew - they're little powerhouses! Enjoy the 25mm :)

[@Work_G]

Very nice, thank you !

[@KaiMattern]

I really like you honest and even a bit goofy style. And I agree to all 4 points.

[@s.m.s.m.630]

Hi James,
Pana-Leica 25mm f1.4 is great, almost bought it in Berlin last year. But, unfortunately not weather sealed. That was the main reason I grabbed the Olympus 25mm f1.2 (and the feathered bokeh as well). This lens is a pure joy to use! Take care!

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Awesome! I'm loving it so far :)

[@bdfrankmeow]

Hi , the limitation with weather sealed primes is that you won't risk changing them in the field in bad weather anyway . That is why on my G85 i can live with 2 zooms (Lumix 12-60 f3.5-5.6 and 100-300 II) that are WR and IS II with a few small nice primes including PL 25mm f1.4 , none of them being sealed . The 12-60 is usually pre-install in the bag.

[@percy127]

I hadn’t decided on what day to go up to the show, so I’ll come up on the Tuesday and meet up with you.

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

See you there! :)

[@percy127]

@@JamesPopsysPhoto Can't miss me, fat bald northerner with a beard. I'll no doubt thank you for the great reviews of the G9 which led me to buy one.

[@sander5086]

Some great tips again James, I did not fall for the preset trap. But I need to take more photo's, only got 600 photo's from my last 2 week Scotland trip. (Still got some nice shots😉)

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

That's a pretty good count! I hear conditions have been good up there :)

[@sander5086]

@@JamesPopsysPhoto only I was there before the snow😭😭

[@Ridemx223]

I subscribed when you mentioned not buying other peoples presets. Now I'm going to look for that video. Nice work man. Looking forward to checking out your channel.

[@highlander200107]

I absolutely love that 15mm F/1.7, it is my everyday lens for my camera.

[@eviem70]

Ooooh, that background lighting 🙌🏽🙌🏽

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

:)

[@JoshSmith93]

Snorted coffee on myself laughing at parts of this video, so thanks for that! Stoked to hear you're at TPS - I've got a trade stand this year, first time Ive ever been! Come say hi on A71 if you find yourself with time to burn!

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Haha, thanks mate - see you in Brum!

[@RudiZimmerer]

I have tested all Photo editors and the DXO is the easiest and the best to make awesome pictures....

[@evaderknives]

I think #2 goes for just about anything, especially being a TH-camr, you start making videos that you enjoy, then you notice a trend that people like, so you want to start making that type of content, whether you really like it or not... We've got to find a balance with everything, which is hard because we'll never make everybody happy... if we can find a small bit of happiness, in everything we do, maybe it'll make the bad things better too.... thanks for all the tips, have a great day, take it easy...

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Definitely Dave - well put!

[@LittleTipple]

Fantastic set of tips - still very muchwith you on presets for photography, although I have to admit to using them for colour grading my videos...

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Thanks mate :)

[@ashstubbings2603]

The example of the photo you took with the boat about 6m 30secs into the video, also is helped I think by how small the boat is in the photo compared to immensity (that's a big word) of the sea, the mountains an d the sky. It's good storytelling! :)

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Cheers Ashley!

[@jeff_freestone]

James, great discussion. All the points covered were covered well and in good detail. I completely agree with all and think they are ones that may not be so obvious to many people so lots of value here. The only part I found I didn’t entirely agree with is Trap 1 and where you said colour theory and composition are nice to haves but what’s more important is the story. I understand where your coming from but I’m learning more about colour theory and how much it can help convey a feeling or story. Also composition is pretty key to a great photo and telling story.. along with choosing the right focal length. Anyway- great discussion.

[@johnstewart3519]

I have been watching your TH-cam videos for some time and enjoy them very much. I was wondering if you use sky filters for lens protection and perhaps rely on the lens shade for that. Keep cranking out the videos!

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Cheers John, mainly just hoods to be honest :)

[@zoehatton5444]

Totally agree with you about post production. Such an important and fun part of the process. Have had many discussions about straight out of camera vs edited photos, as I am sure you have too. I also take lots of pictures but then struggle to work out which are best for editing. Maybe a future vlog could cover that? Still really enjoying your channel. Keep it up 👏

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Thanks Zoe, I'll add that to the ideas list :)

[@obscurity7]

Oh thank goodness, because I was starting to think I needed to go all Heaton on my photography, but I'm also the type to take lots and lots of images. I've been shooting for 12 years, and I don't really see myself slowing down any time soon.

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Awesome to hear Christine :)

[@darrenpang1318]

Probably a better title for the video would be the "4 Fallacies in Photography"... Some of your points are ok and acceptable. But some just aren't quite helpful. Taking more quantity shot is just the norm for these digital ages, not because u're just a beginner (or not). It's just that technology has improved so much that allows us to do so. However, more shots doesn't necessarily lead to more keepers; one must learn and be able to differentiate the keepers from the 'non-keepers'. Understand the reason, of each taken frame, and how to make each frame count. Over time, it'll be quality over quantity. A well-taken shot, reduces the post-prod work needed for the frame. However, post-prod also means just more than that. Post-prod is where one can really "elevate" their well-taken shot to be masterpiece. Of course, that's only do-able in the digital age. Back in the old days, 90% of what u got is what u shot; again technology has changed the field of photography over time. To stay relevant in the photography sphere, one would need to enhance their techniques and continuous learning is needed to adapt with the developing technology, or else one would fall behind and be left in history as time progress..... Good perspective from your video. and Just my 2 cent.

[@volens31]

Good luck with the 25mm 1.4 James, I had to sell mine as it was horrifically noisy! Thanks for another entertaining vid 👍

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Thanks so much, I'll let you know how I get on with mine :)

[@tcvaldez]

Great advice. Great information. Thanks

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

Thanks! :)

[@michaelcarrithers6811]

Thank you very much. Very useful, very much to the point, and valid, I think, for photographers at any stage. I'd love to hear you talk more about pre-production, when you get a chance.

[@JamesPopsysPhoto]

That's a good idea Michael - will do :)