Learning From Photography Fails

Acknowledging your photography ‘fails’ is the best way to improve

It happens to everyone at some point – our equipment fails, you forget an important piece of gear, the weather doesn’t do as expected or predicted – insert your experience here as I’m sure you’ve had them too …. 

If you haven’t failed, have you really tried?

And let’s be honest, we have all had photography ‘fails’. The real failure is not acknowledging our mistakes. The only real way to learn and improve is to examine where we have gone wrong so we can improve.

The word ‘failure’ itself can be an incredibly strong word. You can see that I have been putting it inside quotation marks to possibly soften it. 

So much of our world is filled with what I refer to as false positivity. Everything has to be perfect – just spend half an hour on social media and you can feel inadequate. 

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.“

~ Thomas A. Edison (American Inventor)

I will keep on referring to these lessons as ‘photography fails’ but no more quotation marks as it’s important to call it what it is.

We really need to take responsibility for our mistakes and not blame equipment or outside circumstances wherever possible. Trying to figure out how you can improve next time is key. This is where growth and learning can occur.

Sometimes, despite our best intentions and efforts, our photography fails. SH*T happens as they say and you may feel all is lost – but it doesn’t have to be that way.

Let’s look at some of the causes and see how we can learn from these photography fails. They will only help you grow and become a better photographer as a result.

Not Taking The Photo

I honestly believe this is the biggest photography fails of all.

Whether it’s fear, uncertainty or self doubt, we often don’t get the camera out for an opportunity we see, or we don’t press the shutter.

Once that hesitation has occurred, that opportunity will never return.

I’ve lost count of the amount of times that I’ve seen something and just not acted. It’s usually on a road trip and I keep driving. I think ‘I’ll come back later’ and it just doesn’t happen.

If it’s safe, and you have your gear – stop and take the photo!

Stop worrying about how many photos you take, especially when learning.

It’s so important to take numerous images of the same scene if you can with different settings. That way, when out and about you don’t need to stress too much about which ones are the best. 

You will get a fair idea from the back of your camera screen, but don’t rely on this 100%. So take some extra clicks with minor adjustments to be sure. If you’re shooting at sunrise or sunset this is critical as the light is constantly changing.

Very few people shoot on film these days, so who cares how many photography fails we save to our memory cards. That’s what the delete button is for when we get home and look at them on our computer.

Not Knowing Your Gear

Ever looked through your viewfinder and wondered why it’s all black?

Yeah, take the lens cap off. I’m sure I’m not the only one here!

All The Gear And No Idea!

Jokes aside, when I first started photography I was always looking for that next piece of gear that would make my photos perfect.

Somehow that just never happened – I actually had to learn to use what I had.

It really does come down to learning the basics of photography and especially knowing how to use your camera. Whether that’s reading your manual, the good old university of YouTube or just practising at home. 

This also applies to any extras you may use, be that your tripod or any filters or remotes.

My classic nemesis is the circular  polarising filter. This is a fabulous tool, but as the name implies, it’s circular (and it spins – yes that’s the technical term), and you have to actually have it in the right spot for it to work correctly.

I have lost count of the amount of times I’ve forgotten to adjust it when I change my camera angle, resulting in less than optimal photos. I now tend to only use it at waterfalls and in forests because of this.

They are fabulous for enhancing greens in waterfalls and forests etc but they can ruin skies if not positioned correctly. I’ve had so many photos affected by this.

Whatever it is, learn what you need to do before you head out for an important shoot. 

Lack Of Planning 

Planning is Queen!

There will be times in your photographic journey that things just don’t go as you had hoped despite how much you plan ahead.

But so much of a successful photography shoot comes down to planning – times, conditions, gear to take – the list goes on.

I will give you an example and leave it at that.

A friend and I decided to go and shoot this amazing waterfall after a heap of rain in the area. What we didn’t research was the effect that all of this said rain had on the area. So much so that many roads were closed and we couldn’t actually get to the waterfall …

So, over 700km in a day later, with no coffee I might add, this is the only photo I have from that day – lucky he’s cute (the cow  of course) …

To redeem ourselves, we did go back a few weeks later (and after proper research this time) to be rewarded with this –

Poor Conditions

Ok, so you’ve done all the planning, or you only have the opportunity to photograph a location once. And the conditions are rubbish …

Think lush green rainforests when you’re on a once-off tour, but when you get there it’s all but a drought and it’s clear blue skies every day.

This can make it really hard when you’re on the shoot, but you really do have to make the most of what you’re given at the time.

For me it’s usually sunrise so a lot depends on the sky. When this doesn’t happen It could be a great opportunity to get in close and shoot photos without any sky or try some black and white photography.

There are always options although I do draw the line when it’s pouring with rain or too windy for the tripod to stay upright.

Equipment (or user) failure

As frustrating as it can be, gear does break from time to time no matter how careful you are. I’ve been on shoots where people’s tripods have broken, the SD card has failed, their camera has just stopped working, so it’s not really that unusual.

I guess I’m lucky that those scenarios have never happened to me. I do feel blessed that when I did have my lens fail I did have a back up. It wasn’t ideal, but at least I came home with photos each time this happened (long story and back and forth with Canon, but hopefully now sorted).

Packing Too Light

Whether it’s just a day outing with a decent walk, or a plane trip where every bit of weight counts, I get caught out every time I try to cut down on my gear. That lens you left out is guaranteed to be the one you want, or even worse, the necessary tools that would have been able to fix my L-Bracket that fell apart on my recent tour to Tasmania.

The other one on that trip was only taking one decent pair of shoes, only to be caught by a rogue wave one sunset. Despite using the accommodation’s heater overnight, I did have to put up with wet shoes for the next couple of days – no one else to blame but me but once again a lesson learned.

Road trips are a whole other issue – I can totally fill my car and who cares, no such weight rules when you’ve got your own car.

When You’re Just Not Feeling The Love

You do all the right things – pack everything, get in the car and get out there. But, you get to the location and it’s just … Blah (yes that’s my technical term).

This is not so much an issue when you’re at home and you can go back at any time, but when you’re on a tour it can be an issue.

I’ve found you really do just have to go through the motions and hope the inspiration kicks in – it doesn’t always work, but it does more often than not.

I was recently on a tour and just wasn’t feeling motivated by the location for sunset. I decided to give it a miss as I knew we would be revisiting here more before the tour was over.

Now, I live on my own and am not always used to company 24/7 – this changes on tour and I often make the choice to miss a shoot just to get my much needed solo time. That is what I decided to do on this occasion – and yes, the wine was delicious.

After having my relaxing night off, it was time to get back into it and no regrets from me.

Final Thoughts

After all of the above, try to remember your WHY. Is it really all just about getting that photo ‘trophy’, or are you getting caught up in that old perfectionist trap.

If it’s a paid gig, or recording someone’s special life event, or for a competition, then maybe.

Otherwise, this article is for us who are out taking photos for the love of the experience.

That can be easily forgotten so here’s your reminder.

It’s also easy to get so caught up in trying to get the photo that you don’t appreciate where you are or what you are experiencing. I’m sure we’ve all been guilty of that.

It’s good to remember that as much as the outing may be about photography, photos are meant to reflect the experience, not BE the experience – take the time to just chill.

Anyhoo, we all learn from these experiences, and they can make for some great stories. Once you’ve had time to recover you can look back objectively and with our sense of humour restored.

And at the end of the day we hopefully won’t give up so easily next time. Because there will definitely be a next time, even if it’s not at the same location.

Photography is not an easy skill – it requires a lot of learning and patience to reduce the number of photography fails. 

While some of these instances might slow you down, the important part is learning from failure. We truly can grow from our mistakes, and become a better photographer as a result.

I truly hope you’ve enjoyed this post.

When do you call it quits on a location, grab your now empty coffee mug and head off looking for breakfast and more coffee?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. How did you adapt/recover from such high expectations, or when things went wrong – please share so I know I’m not the only one.

Hopefully we can share and learn from each other’s photography fails.

Let me know in the comments below.

That’s it for now – Keep clicking and stay caffeinated

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Note – This post does not contain any sponsored or affiliated links. All suggestions and opinions are mine. Unless otherwise stated, all photos are mine and remain my copyright images – Sam Wilson Photography.