Say CHEEEEEEESE! and other ghosts

When I was a child, my parents kept telling me to not cut off people’s heads in photographs, to keep the sun in my back, to step back and make sure I have everyone in the frame, to make everyone says “cheese” in pictures. Smiles were important.

It took me a while to realize that my parents actually weren’t real photographers and that I could probably ignore that piece of advice. So I went on to make my own rules. (Actually my mother is going to participate in one of my photo workshops later this month to learn about photography from me now)

Have you ever started to question other people’s photography advice? Do you have any of those photography-related childhood leftovers that are still haunting you every now and then? Tell us all about them in the comments!

Author: Chris Marquardt

Chris Marquardt is an educator and podcaster. He wrote Wide-Angle Photography and is the co-author of The Film Photography Handbook and Absolut analog. He's the host of this podcast and a few others. Chris teaches photography all over the world. He is a regular on the TWiT Network.