I’m a competitor- whatever I do, I want to throw my all into, and I want to win. Or do my best, whichever one gets me to the top. In college I was used to scoring the highest, being the most informed, and wanting to succeed more than anything (most definitely to the annoyance of my classmates). So when I approached photographty, my mindset was immediately “I need to be the best, and I need it NOW.”

Well, art doesn’t quite work that way. There is no “best,” no point where you can say “I’ve arrived- I can stop learning now because I know everything.” I came into the game with a cocky attitude and an “I’m going to be better than you” mentality. Yeah, it was really unattractive. Fortunately I had a mentor that was really patient with me and found way to humble me without making me feel like a complete dweeb.

Here are some of my mistakes as a n00b to the industry:

1) I asked questions without doing research. It must have been really frustrating for Mike to spoonfeed me answers when I could have just as easily gone out and done my own research. I made him tell me which lens I should buy first instead of renting different options and deciding for myself. He was always incredibly patient with me and never hesitated to answer, but I know I would have gotten annoyed with my constant pestering. There’s no harm in asking someone else for their opinion, but definitely be willing to sit down at your computer and do your research first.

2) I failed to check my ego at the door. I came to the table thinking “I have a lot to offer” instead of “I have a lot to learn.” I’m kind of surprised Mike was able to be in the same room as me, what with my ego taking up so much space.

3) I acted superior because of my equipment. I felt like everyone needed to know that I had a PROFESSIONAL camera, and that I was a PROFESSIONAL photographer. “What’s that? You’re shooting with an [insert less expensive camera model here]? Oh, that’s nice. I have the D300s.” Seriously- HOW did I have friends?? [And I later learned that the D300s wasn’t cutting it for me, so really, I ended up looking like a jerk AND a fool.]

4) I overshot as a second. Nothing’s wrong with taking a few frames of the same subject to make sure you got the correct focus and exposure, but shooting 246 images of the wedding bands? Overkill, mate.

5) I once spent 2/3 of my shutter clicks from a wedding on images of people with their heads cut off. I was second shooting for Mike so it wasn’t the end of the world, but he’ll never let me forget it. I tried to excuse it with “I WAS FINDING MY PHOTOGRAPHIC VOICE!”

6) I was arrogant enough to assume that I didn’t really need all the “stuff” professional photographers spent their money on- I thought I could do just as good of a job with amateur equipment and little experience. Professionals invest in various equipment for a reason. Yes, you may only use a macro lens for the ring shots (so 10-15 minutes out of an 8 hour wedding day), but you HAVE to have that ring shot. You simply cannot get the same clarity with a 50mm portrait lens. I totally had myself convinced that I COULD get the same clarity with a 50, until I saw how awful my ring shots were. Then I bought a macro.

7) I gave terrible advice (due to a failure to research). My first ever engagement session was done at high noon when the sun was at the worst possible place in the sky, because I assumed “the brighter, the better, eh?!” Oh, Abby. How woefully ignorant you were of all things having to do with… anything. I also remember telling people to send me examples of photos they wanted in their sessions. That may have been a good idea for me to research on my own, but I was letting my clients dictate my shooting style because I didn’t trust myself enough to do a good job on my own.

Happy Tuesday!