Bad Photography

Or: How Not to Take Pictures

We all like to take pictures, right? Well, if you do, I'm sure that you have a few that didn't turn out well. Here is a short collection of some of my bad photos and how I could have done better. Hopefully, you and I will both learn something from these.

Lighting (VERY IMPORTANT)

When setting up a shot, try to get the primary light source behind you. Better yet, have a white surface beside you for light to reflect off of (this is what professional photographers do; remember those white sheets on stands that they arrange prior to taking your picture?).

Everyone knows that too little light can make your pictures look bad, right?

Not everyone realizes that too much light can be just as bad. It makes your pictures look "washed out". Compare, for instance, these pictures of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh: notice that the picture of Prince Philip looks better because the sunlight comes from behind the camera instead of just to the left of the field of view.

Sunset photos are hard to get right unless you know how to vary your exposure time. A basic autofocus camera is not always up to the task:

Focus

Always focus on the object of the photograph before you press the button. Sounds easy, right? Well, it's easy to run into trouble if the object is way too close to you!