Photographic failures, disaster and rants (and lessons learned)

[Kym]

So what are some of your worst photographic experiences, outing, or events?

Tell us what went wrong and what you learned from the experience.

Some simple ones for me that I'm sure we all have experienced...

Forgot to:

• Charge batteries, esp for the flash
• Load memory card
• Bring the plate for tripod head
• Bring the right lens(es)

A check list can help!

Also having the wrong settings for a shot. Think!!

Another situation was a shoot for a dance group, I should have said no, but did it as a favour for a friend. Lesson: No is a positive response!

[ricktas]

Doing a photoshoot for a cousin and her young family. They are heavily involved in their church (this is not your usual church by the way). I arrived, got setup, had a coffee, then all these other church people started turning up. Firstly they just wanted to watch, but then I was being asked to take some photos of 'my family' too. When I said OK, but the fee will be $, it all went to crap. They all expected it for free.

I asked my cousin outright why these people are expecting that I would shoot them, when i had only arranged with her to shoot her family (at a $). Turned out she had mentioned it at the Church social evening, and had not mentioned that I was charging her. I am still not sure exactly how or why they all got the idea that I was going to shoot them all for nothing, to this day.

So if you do work for relatives, make sure you define exactly what you are providing, and to whom. Relatives can be the worst at taking advantage of you.

I have since been asked twice more to do photoshoots for them, and refused.

[rossco]

Two weeks of lugging a big fat heavy tripod around vietnam, last days im on an island perfect night shots, insane night shots, now where is that hot shoe ###!%^.

[Duane Pipe]

The flood shoot I did not so long ago. I raced out of bed to catch the shots as the sun was rising only to find the battery was flat.

[William]

Shooting a morning in Jpeg, I had been mucking around at home the night before and forgot to reset back to RAW, Now it just stays on RAW, Also wondering why I'm getting incredibly short shutter times before Sunrise , Then Realising the ISO was at some incredibly high setting for my 30D, Which it does'nt like Forgetting a tripod has also happened

[old dog]

was at Taronga zoo back in the old film days and half way through the day I said to myself....gee this is a long film...THEN I watched the winder not winding as I wound it on..... I was really angry at myself...but lesson learned.

[MiniFighter]

Pretty much most of the above lol

Being a begginer...

Flat batteries - No tripod - etc etc

Most common mistake is thinking something looks good on the view finder and settling for that one shot, only to see it on the PC and be horrified at the results ...I have since woken up with this one lol

[arthurking83]

battery recharging!! LOL!

One day I had a delivery to Chateau Tahbilk. Perfect!

did the delivery, and then grabbed the camera and tripod and went down to their famous cellar to shoot a few frames.

Got down there, and it's all quite dark and dingy, but very moody.. perfect. Very long exposures wil be required down here if quality is a concern.

Turn on camera and try to set a few parameters.. all by feel, as it's a bit dark to see easily, and the camera is all dark and unresponsive.
Push this button, turn that dial, nothing!
Slight panic sets in as the camera is frozen. Take off the lens, put lens back on and nothing .. camera doesn't turn on .. at all.. not even a brief flash of anything.

Damned! flat battery?.. they usually have some small amount of charge remaining after sitting for a while.
Dived in to check battery contacts and found the problem,

No battery! It was safe and sound back at home charging up again!

I've always had the intention to get back up there, as it's quite close to home form here, but that only leaves the weekend to do so, and at that time of the week, it's infested with tourists and it's hard to get a any half decent shots in between the wondering scene destroyer and the aimlessly rubbernecking sightseer.

that's the other disaster I dread!!..... the wondering nitwit!

9 times out of 10, most folks see you there all perfectly setup and looking like you're about to get your shot, and they stop and ask if they're about to intrude.
But there's always one that has their head so far up their assets, they just wonder in .... and then realise 5 minutes after they've done so .. "oooh! I'm sorry am I in the way?"



9.9 times out of 10, I don't sweat it and just let folks to do their thing and just wait for a free moment once they've all gone. But this clueless wondering nitwit is hilarious to watch.

[agb]

Shooting with my 15-85 ef-s lens on the 7D, on the tripod , and then forgetting to switch off the image stabilizer. Just could not seem to remember. I have some great shots, but all lacking in sharpness due to this simple mistake. After the last series of night shots in Brisbane I have at last got the message.

[Ezookiel]

Flat Batteries.
Drove up the Mnt Franklin road which I knew had great scenery, and found the camera had been put in the bag still "ON", and unlike normal it had NOT gone to sleep, so it had a totally dead battery, and the spare had self discharged because it's a cheap ebay one. Got no photos at all from a very long drive in superb conditions, with views to die for.

Wrong settings.
MANY many many times had the camera set on a setting from another time and location that spoiled the shot. Though worse than that is ....
NOT CHECKING THE RESULTS when you take a shot, so I end up spoil multiple shots, where if I'd checked the first shot on the LCD screen, I'd have seen there was a problem.

Not too many of the other issues yet, but they'll happen over time no doubt.

[Lance B]

Forgot memory cards once.

However, I have been accused on numerous occassions of being a pro photog:

Once, A friend and I were sitting at the end of Harris Street at Pyrmont on a bench seat with our camera gear near the water, we had been taking "street" photos. Harris Street was a dead end at the water and just near us, about 15 mts away, 3 Bentley Wedding cars (the old looking type not the modern ones) were there waiting for the wedding party to return from getting the official wedding shots taken at some location nearby.

The wedding party started to approach the wedding cars to obviously go to the reception. As they got near, a Scottish "gent" started yelling at my friend and I from a cafe about 20mts away, to, "leave them alone you 'effing' paparazzi '@rsoles'!! We were quite taken aback as we had not shown any interest in the wedding party at all. To top it off, this guy was with his son, who was about 8 or 10, and he was yelling out these swear words right in front of him at the top of his voice and in front of about 20 other local people going about their business! He then continued with his onslaught and asking "who were they and why were we taking their photos"!! "Why don't you leave them alone you parasites" etc etc. We hadn't even raised our cameras as the wedding party approached their cars!!

Now, my friend and I were not going to take this lying down, so just to stir him up, we both raised our cameras and started taking a few photos, which just burned this guy up even more and he came over to yelling his abuse as he came over. As he approached, he asked againb who the wedding party was that we should show such interest. We then came clean and said we had no idea and had absolutely no interest in the wedding and that we were just amateurs taking "street" photos, but he still didn't believe us and walked away muttering to himself and went back to the cafe.

Another time, I was down at Woolloomooloo Finger wharf just across from the pub on Cowper Wharf Road as I was taking more "street" photos around that area. It was spring time and there some large council planter boxes with new flowers in them and I was taking photos of them for about half an hour. At about 1:30pm, a guy walked past me that looks to have come from one of the restaurants and looked to be a little on the pi55ed side. As he walked last me, he says in a slurred voice, "So, who you waiting for?", "Who is here that you want to get photos of?" It took me a few seconds to realise what he was talking about and then it dawned on me that Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf houses quite a few celebrities and that this guy must have thought I was serepticously waiting for one of these celebrities to venture out so that I could get their photo! I just said that I was only taking these flowers and not waiting for anyone. He slurred, "Bullsh!t" and staggered off. I had to laugh.

There have been a few other times and no one ever seems to believe me that I'm not a pro and all the times I have been accused of being a pro was when I was shooting with Pentax gear, not Nikon!! Go figure!!

[William]

Quote Lance :I However, I have been accused on numerous occassions of being a pro photog:

I can relate to this , Most mornings now that I'm known around the beaches , I always carry a heap of business cards , Have'nt had any trouble ( Actually quite the opposite) I have people telling me there name and wanting to get photographed

[outstar79]

Uluwatu Monkey Temple, Bali - 1997. Right after high school and before basic training I headed to this place. Beautiful set of monasteries but while taking photos, one of the cheeky little buggers grabbed my camera and took off up the nearest tree. After plenty of coaxing, I finally got him down with the promise of a bag of banana chips, which he greedily took. But instead of handing me my camera back he threw it to the ground where it broke into a few pieces!

[Art Vandelay]

Many years ago a couple of ants made a home in my camera. I didn't notice untill the film was developed and the photos looked like something out of Jurassic park with giant ants crawling over everyone. Took me a while to see the funny side of it.

[Lance B]

Quote Lance :I However, I have been accused on numerous occassions of being a pro photog:

I can relate to this , Most mornings now that I'm known around the beaches , I always carry a heap of business cards , Have'nt had any trouble ( Actually quite the opposite) I have people telling me there name and wanting to get photographed

That's a good idea, I might take some business with me. Thanks for the tip.