Are you having problems making great photos? If you’re not happy with your photography, maybe it’s the way you think about your photo equipment that’s holding you back.

We all have bad habits in photography. Some more than others. Even seasoned professionals have bad habits. And that’s alright. The important thing is to be aware of what your bad habits are and always try to improve.

Here are five photo equipment-related bad habits that I have either struggled with over the years or have seen in my student photographers. This list is far from being all-inclusive.

1. Always Buying New Equipment (searching for that photographic Holy Grail)

A very common affliction amongst photographers. One that I struggle with, even after nearly 40 years in photography. Buying new equipment with the hopes that it will make you a better photographer.

We want to be able to make photos like Joe McNally, so we buy the equipment that Joe uses. The problem is that it doesn’t work like that. You can have the best camera and lighting equipment money can buy and still make terrible images if you don’t know what you’re doing.

There’s nothing wrong with having nice equipment. Just don’t expect that to be the answer to all of your photographic prayers.

Rather than investing your money in the latest and greatest camera system, invest it in knowledge and experience. Read some books on photography, take some courses, study the masters. Invest time in shooting and in developing your photographic skills.

Knowledge and experience will trump brand new camera gear nearly all the time.

2. Not Using A Tripod

Modern digital cameras give us very good quality at high ISOs, allowing for higher shutter speeds even in low light. Yet, camera shake and soft images are still a very big problem.

Big equipment gets heavy, tires the photographer, and causes camera shake. Smaller equipment is lighter but more sensitive to any movement. Add in the wind factor, vibrations from passing cars, the excitement of trying to get that once-in-a-lifetime shot.

Then there’s the camera itself. The shutter and mirror on DSLRs are mechanical systems that induce internal vibrations. It truly is a miracle that any of us can get a sharp image.

The answer to most of these problems is simple. Put your camera on a tripod whenever possible. If nothing else, use a monopod. They really do make a big difference.

As far as what tripod or monopod to use, my only advice is to buy good quality. You don’t have to spend $1000 for a pair of sticks (tripod legs) and another $500 for a head though. I bought a good-quality aluminum tripod from Induro for a third of that and love it.

Please, do not put your expensive, and heavy, DSLR system on a $25 tripod that you bought at Wally World. I’ve actually seen this, and it was scary. An expensive rig sitting atop a tripod with scrawny legs flexing under the weight.

3. Not Taking Care Of Your Equipment

Why do photographers invest thousands of dollars in photographic gear, and then not take care of it? I’ve seen it hundreds of times. Cameras covered in a layer of dust, sensors that have 20 or 30 spots on them, lenses with fingerprints on the glass.

I am not saying that you should baby your camera. A camera is a tool. If you are shooting daily, then it’s going to get beat up. There will be scratches in the paint. Maybe a few dings. Generally, it will develop character. But it shouldn’t be dirty.

Before every shoot, give your camera a quick going over. Is it clean? Are the batteries charged? Is everything working? Is everything you need in the bag?

At the end of a day’s shooting, wipe down your camera, put the batteries on charge, clean the glass, blow out the sensor area, maybe clean the sensor if needed, and then pack everything away for tomorrow.

4. Leaving your camera set to full Auto

Letting your camera make all the decisions is okay if all you want to do is take happy snaps of your family and vacations. However, if you want to be a photographer and create photos that people will admire, then get your camera off full Auto.

You need to understand the exposure triangle and what the positive and negative effects are for each of your camera’s controls. I encourage you to put your camera in full manual and shoot in all kinds of lighting situations until exposure is second nature to you.

Once you have a full grasp of exposure, then you can start using some of the automated features. It’s very common for enthusiasts and pro photographers to use Aperture Priority and Shutter Speed Priority. This frees up their attention for other things like composition, focus, and posing.

5. Not reading the camera’s manual

Photography is not the only industry afflicted with the problem of not reading manuals. It appears to be an epidemic in every aspect of life, from the cars we drive to our stereo systems. It’s somewhat akin to men not asking for directions when lost. For some reason, we just have to figure it out for ourselves.

Today’s digital cameras have so many features, programmable buttons, menus to navigate, and accessories. It is imperative to not only read over the operator’s manual but also carry it with you.

I recommend downloading digital copies of your operator’s manuals and placing them on a cloud application like Evernote or Dropbox. Both offer free accounts and you will be able to access your manuals using a computer, tablet, or smartphone.

If you don’t have a tablet or cell phone to read from, then stick a hard copy of your camera’s manual in your bag.

Depending on the brand of camera you purchased, you may want to find additional sources of information to augment or replace the operator’s manual. I recently purchased the Sony Alpha a6000 mirrorless camera and found the operator’s manual to be somewhat lacking. I purchased a guidebook from photographer Gary Friedman that gave me over 600 pages of detailed information on the a6000. I use Gary’s book as the ready reference manual in my camera bag.

Despite what most people believe, being a photographer is hard work. It’s a life of constant learning, growing, and reinventing one’s self. Just when you think that you are at the top of your game, the industry changes, and you are back to square one.

Don’t make things any harder than they are. Develop good habits when it comes to your photographic equipment. By doing so, you free up your mind to concentrate on what’s really important. Knowledge, skill, and experience.

What did I miss in my article? Are there any other equipment-related bad habits that you struggle with? Leave a comment below and tell us about them.