What's something that people tend to overlook when taking/editing a photo?

I was just curious to get opinions on what photographers tend to overlook when either taking or editing a shot in post? I'm far from being a professional but one thing I seem to always notice instantly when photographers post photos on facebook and sites like that is if horizontal lines in the photo are actually horizontal. Example might be the horizon or maybe if a model is sitting on some stairs and they are tilted at an angel. I know there are times when these things are done on purpose for effect, but most of the time it completely turns me off to a photo.

What others do you have? I'm sure there's going to be loads that everyone could probably learn from.

I think "horizon" is a little too specific. For portraiture, I would expand that to "backgrounds" in general. If the background distracts or detracts from the subject, then the portrait is a failure.

This is especially true when there's clutter like trash cans, other people, cars, etc. That stuff drives me nuts. Take half a step to the left and the clutter would have been out of frame or hidden by the subject... ugh.


Aside from that, most of the MWAC/GWC snapshots you see on Facebook are going to have little regard for lighting, composition, pose, expression. They're just snapshots, whaddaya expect.

nathancarter wrote in post #16481692
I think "horizon" is a little too specific. For portraiture, I would expand that to "backgrounds" in general. If the background distracts or detracts from the subject, then the portrait is a failure.

This is especially true when there's clutter like trash cans, other people, cars, etc. That stuff drives me nuts. Take half a step to the left and the clutter would have been out of frame or hidden by the subject... ugh.

Good points. Yeah, saw a few photos the other day where the model was in an ally way posing all nice and cute and there in the background was a big green steel trash bin. Just took away from the photo I thought.

nathancarter wrote in post #16481692
Aside from that, most of the MWAC/GWC snapshots you see on Facebook are going to have little regard for lighting, composition, pose, expression. They're just snapshots, whaddaya expect.

As for my comment on facebook posts, I was mainly referring to other "photographers" who post session pics. I'm friends with a few people who are photographers and get paid to take photos and I see their work all the time after a session and there's distracting objects in the background, horizon is titled 30 degrees, etc. Just distracting and these people are getting paid to do this.

Granted... I've only done two sessions currently and I have a lot of things I could also fix in my own work so I'm not excluded from this, e.g., cutting off fingers, or arms. But... I don't get paid to do it and both sessions I've done have just been freebies for friends so that I could gain more experience.

For glamour stuff, I hate seeing tags or stray threads dangling from lingerie.

Dust spots. They're so obvious (unless you happen to see a UFO, the sky obviously doesn't have random dark blobs floating in it) and easy to remove in post if you can't figure out how to clean a sensor, yet I see them in SO many images...even some by really talented photographers.

deronsizemore wrote in post #16481604
I was just curious to get opinions on what photographers tend to overlook when either taking or editing a shot in post? I'm far from being a professional

I'm far from it as well. I too often overlook irrelevant objects in the background, even large ones that I really should have seen. No excuse, and I don't have software that would enable removing things in PP. I overlook inappropriate settings left over from the last time; getting better at checking first.

I have to go with backgrounds as well.

OhLook wrote in post #16482424
I'm far from it as well. I too often overlook irrelevant objects in the background, even large ones that I really should have seen. No excuse, and I don't have software that would enable removing things in PP. I overlook inappropriate settings left over from the last time; getting better at checking first.

Same here. I have a hard time framing subjects and not cutting hands, arms, legs, etc off. I try to compose and frame the shot in camera so I don't have to crop in post which leaves me paying attention to the compositon and then forgetting about extremities I may be cutting off. Work in progress.

Stray hair. I always notice it after I have taken the shots and get home and realize most of the pictures have stray hair in the middle of the subjects face. Yes I can usually minimize or remove it, but it takes more time than it is worth in most cases.
The other is any outdoor photography. I have done a couple of family sessions and in each case the families invariably want to do the session mid day and the high sun just kills contrast and makes the lighting flat. Sometimes I just want to kill the whole session and reshoot, but the timing usually doesn't work out for me or the family.

sirquack wrote in post #16482514
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The other is any outdoor photography. I have done a couple of family sessions and in each case the families invariably want to do the session mid day and the high sun just kills contrast and makes the lighting flat. Sometimes I just want to kill the whole session and reshoot, but the timing usually doesn't work out for me or the family.

You really need to move into the shade when you shoot. If there is any bright sunlight in the background it may blow out so you have to watch it. Use an off-camera flash that can generate more light than the sunlit portion. Then the sunlight becomes fill light and you have complete control over the main light to shape how you want. It will also allow you to darken the background a bit which provides a little separation. If you want to get even fancier, you can look for "edge light" to provide some highlights on the hair and such. That can be tricky but is awesome when you get it right.

Your flash sync only goes so high but if your flash supports high speed sync you can use wider apertures and faster shutter speeds. If you don't have access to that, a good ND filter can also be used to let you shoot wider apertures and keep the shutter speed below the flash sync speed.

Vertical and horizontal lines. Makes sure they are straightened. Watch the edges of your frame. "Things" can get chopped off. Or "things" may get in and they may ruin your shots.

I need to train myself to leave some room for cropping to avoid the missing fingertip or flip of a shirt. I tend to work very fast with models and at times having a bit more room to play would have saved an otherwise nice shot, since the model moved too fast out of frame and I didn't pay enough attention.

Of course there's always the crap in the background or the studio ceiling behind her head (I often shoot from low positions) or the background paper ending too early, LOL

I think the most overlooked thing is the photo itself. No point spending 3 hours on editing on a boring shot.

Other than that, I'd say the white balance gets overlooked quite often.

My own problem is shooting too tight. I forget to back up a little, wanting to use every available pixel and it screws me when someone wants, say, an 8x10.

I agree on the shooting too tight. A little room allows you to straighten horizons or balance the overall placement of the subject. Too many times I try and fill the frame and then when you straighten, you start chopping things off