DSC_4491You think you are good. You think you are experienced. You packed your gear hundreds of times, preparing for a shoot.
And still. Sometimes you make the same dumb mistakes. Yesterday I experienced a new one. I had all my gear with me to shoot the signature of a contract at work. I unpacked my gear, checked the flash, checked the camera and – D’OH ! Camera battery 2 %, spare batteries lying conveniently on my desk at home. Stupid stupid stupid. I was lucky. The camera still made several shots (2 % is quite some energy left…) and the official photographer from university showed up unexpectedly (initially he had no time for the pictures because of another job, which is why I was asked to take the pictures). Bottom line – no harm done.

But what did I learn today ? Check your gear. Check memory cards. Check batteries, Check spare batteries. Everything in the camera bag ? Everything ready to use ? Camera settings ok ? Check ISO, Aperture, any other settings which might interfer with making a great job.

Here is a short list of classic fails I experienced in my photographing career. Perhaps you’ll recognize yourself in these accidents… Read it carefully, take it as a reminder and don’t make the same mistakes.

  • Shooting pictures in the evening, ISO boosted over the rooftop. Next day in bright daylight… “Wow, incredibly short exposure times today !” (Everything overexposed or noisy)
  • Tapping the lens with your finger accidentally when putting on the lenscap. “Where did I leave the lens cloth… D’OH !”
  • Memory card full. No extra memory cards in the bag and formatting the card is not possible because not every picture has been downloaded yet.
  • Battery low. Extra batteries forgotten or depleted.