I love trends. But what I love more is making them happy. Be it lighting trends, aperture selection trends, or post-processing trends, these are some of the things we should have done a long time ago.
Lately, I’ve been browsing through a lot of amateur photography sites/camera clubs. While they highlight work that looks good, some images stand out more, because they are strikingly similar. How can that be? The model, lighting, background and everything else are different, but the pictures don’t look much different when compared. As it turns out, there are a lot of similarities when it comes to the visual aspect. Here are some trends photographers use to this day that should have long since been overlooked.
canvas backdrop
Are you okay, Annie? Are you Okay? Michael Jackson, clearly concerned about Annie Leibovitz’s well-being, probably asked if she was okay after so many people used canvas backdrops the same way she did. There are many portrait images taken with canvas backgrounds. For some unknown reason, they all look the same.
The reason is that they all have a canvas background. Some people have portfolios where the only thing is a canvas background. I admit that I also have a canvas background, but I rarely use it. The interface is very outdated, and now, the world favors more gradients and solid colors. So maybe it’s time to step away and try something new. Seamless white is always there for you. 
Bokeh So Creamy It Was Shot on f/0
What is the widest aperture you can take? Mine is f/2.8. What is the maximum aperture you take? For me, it’s f/8-f/13. What’s remarkable about the super-smooth bokeh is that it’s become an icon of quality in portraiture. If your image doesn’t have any background out of focus, it cannot be classified as a professional portrait. I don’t quite understand this trend towards lenses as fast as possible. Sure, it has its benefits when used in low light, but you shouldn’t obsess about a background as smooth as possible, so that can be a pause to buy that super-fast lens. When I buy Canon 70-200 f / 2.8 IS, I shot everything at f/2.8 as if it couldn’t be stopped. Why would you even need anything slower than f/2.8? Turns out, to have sharp stuff. Currently, I use it at f/8-f/13 most of the time, and even if I could switch to f/2.8, I’d still prefer it at f/3.2 as there’s no noticeable difference in bokeh effect, but all the difference in sharpness.
Illuminate the overhead umbrella
How does no one get bored with this light setup? Why do people even use lighting setups? Sure, if you’re starting out, they’re useful, but you quickly realize that using them is a bit monotonous and boring. They are not anything but a quick fix for the symptoms of poor understanding of light. Denying the use of light settings, playing with height, distance, power, angle, diffusion, characteristics, size, flags, etc. will definitely help you to break away from the tendency to use settings. The light looks the same.
Low ISO
There is a tendency to keep the ISO as low as possible. This is probably one of the things I understand best, as I also sometimes try to keep the ISO to a minimum, but I don’t mind increasing it as required. After all, a high ISO is simply grainy and a little loss of detail. Arguably, you’d hardly notice the loss if you posted it on Instagram. High ISO is also an aesthetic factor, as it adds texture to an image that might otherwise be too clean. One trick to better photos might be to add a little grain at the end. One of the photo editors I often work with, Zahar, adds grain at the end to add volume and make the image more upscale. Honestly, if you’re adding cereal at the end, why worry about it being there in the first place. I took pictures at ISO 6,400, even higher, if needed. No one hit an eyelid. Also, I shot the work at ISO 100 with the best quality studio lights available and added grain to the image at the end because it looked good.
The point is, fear of grain or high ISO is a trend, or rather a fear, you should leave behind. Don’t be afraid to raise it a little higher than usual. If you want to know a secret, some customers accept not only high ISO images, but also slightly out of focus ones. It’s about the feel of the photo, not about the sharpness of your lens, unless you’re taking a lens histogram.
Crazy skin retouching
Oh, can we talk about this? It’s like after frequency separation was discovered one decided to use it for everything. It is guaranteed that one uses it to such an extent that the skin has no change in tone, just texture.
This trend started around 2010 with the advent of Photoshop courses and amateur photography on the internet. Sadly, for us, it still doesn’t stop spreading the crazy skin retouching trend.
Not only does it scream amateurish hours to everyone viewing the image, but it also lets everyone know that you’re not taking the time to use more advanced post-production techniques.
Stop thinking
So there you have it: five trends we should have long left behind. These are, in my opinion, either overused or just amateur screaming. In a nutshell, canvas backgrounds are a thing of the past now, not every image has to be at f/0, an overused overhead umbrella, grain isn’t scary and the frantic skin retouching should stop.
