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Ferdinand Mels’s YouTube discussion about the seven deadly sins of photography got me thinking about the habits we bring to our work.
He talked about pride, equipment obsession, envy, and frustration with clients. Those are worthwhile subjects. But I found myself questioning some of the examples. Does using a camera’s high frame rate make someone greedy? Does relying on autofocus make someone lazy? Does bringing fewer lights mean we have stopped trying?
For me, the better question is: What is driving the decision?
After years of photographing assignments and teaching, I believe some of our biggest obstacles come from habits we may not recognize.
1. Defending the photograph before listening to the feedback
We remember everything it took to make a photograph: the travel, the difficult lighting, the time spent waiting.
Our audience sees the photograph.
When someone says an image isn’t working, explaining how hard it was to make doesn’t resolve the communication problem. We need to ask what they aren’t seeing or understanding.
On a client assignment, their feedback can help us understand the purpose more clearly. Listening is part of the work.
2. Buying equipment without identifying the problem
I appreciate good equipment. My cameras have changed considerably over my career, and those improvements have helped me do my job.
But before buying something, I need to identify what it will help me accomplish.
Will it improve reliability? Help me work in difficult light? Make something possible that I cannot currently deliver?
Sometimes the next step requires practice, a better question or more preparation. We need to recognize which problem we are trying to solve.
3. Collecting subjects without exploring them
A photograph can clearly show an animal, a person or an event and still leave the viewer with little understanding.
Where are we? What is happening? What relationships matter? What details help us understand this person’s life?
This is why I teach variety: an overall view, a medium photograph, a detail, a moment and a relationship. Each photograph should contribute something.
Getting close enough to fill the frame is one accomplishment. Helping someone understand what they are seeing requires further exploration.
4. Letting familiarity replace curiosity
Experience helps us anticipate. It can also tempt us to assume we already know what matters.
We have photographed this kind of meeting before. We know the standard lighting setup. We recognize the familiar picture.
But the people in front of us deserve our attention.
What is different today? What matters to them? What have I overlooked?
Curiosity keeps experience useful.
5. Confusing effort with effectiveness
Carrying a heavy bag doesn’t prove commitment. Using manual settings doesn’t automatically demonstrate better judgment.
I use technology to help me concentrate on timing, expression and communication. The responsibility for the photograph remains mine.
The same applies to lighting. Sometimes bringing strobes is essential. Sometimes available light gives me exactly what the assignment needs.
The discipline is in making an informed choice and evaluating the result.
6. Comparing someone else’s opportunities with our own
It is easy to look at another photographer’s access, clients or travel and imagine that those opportunities explain everything.
A more useful response is to study the work.
How did they use the background? What makes the moment effective? How did they build enough trust for that expression?
Admiration can lead to learning when we give it a question to answer.
7. Forgetting the people who make the photograph possible
Our subjects give us their time and, often, their trust. Clients rely on us to understand a need. Viewers depend on our judgment about what to show and how to present it.
Those relationships deserve care.
Before making a photograph, I want to understand why it matters. Before delivering it, I want to consider whether it communicates clearly and represents people fairly.
The habits I want to strengthen are teachable: listen carefully, prepare well, stay curious, make deliberate choices and treat people with dignity.
Those are things I can practice with the camera I already own.
