Tip: Learn from your mistakes? Hah! Why not learn from a Pro's instead?

I've mentioned Joe McNally in another post: The best light available – in a flash.

Joe's been around the block. He was, in fact, Life magazine's last staff photographer. Photojournalist. Portraitist. Editorial, commercial, advertising photographer. If you want to learn about lighting, he is one of the pre-eminant sources for information and advice. His workshops are renowned around the world. Joe is also a fantastic, self-depricating, witty writer who's penned several books and writes a widely-read blog.

I've been getting a lot of questions lately about photography – what equipment to buy and advice about making better pictures. Today, Joe beat me to the punch. In his post, he says:

"My buds over at LIFE.com asked me to come up with a list of common mistakes folks make when starting out with a camera in their hands. Okay. No shortage of material here, right? And they came to the right source, ’cause I’ve made every mistake, basic and advanced, that one could possibly think of. Hell, I’ve even invented some mistakes."

Hence, Joe combined some historic photos from Life's archive with some sagely advice.

So, if you want some tips about what mistakes not to make and shoot better pictures, let experience be your teacher and and learn (and laugh) with a master:

• Mistakes at joemcnally.com


• or Photo Tips: Mistakes to Avoid at Life.com