One of the more interesting lists to consider.

Selfies, weird borders, and crappy sunset shots. We’ve all rolled our eyes at these clichés, but what’s worse is that we’ve all been guilty of them at some time or another. (from PictureCorrect)

25 PHOTOGRAPHY CLICHES TO AVOID (OR ELSE)

Taking selfies. Please stop? (With my good cameras, I don't take them. With my cell phone, I do at some family events. However, I were standing at the top of Mt. Everest, I might just take a selfie.)


Bokeh, bokeh, and more bokeh. Bokeh is great—in small doses. (I don't do a lot, but if the scene warrants that kind of shot, go for it.)

Signing your photos. In Kai’s words: “Who do you think you are? Picasso?” (By signing, what do you mean? If I print a photo, frame it and give it to a friend, most likely I won't sign it. If I choose to sell it, I might.)

Adding cheesy filters. Just… no. (Cheese w/o wine is not good.)

Putting text on your photos. A good picture already paints a thousand words.

Taking the same-old sunset photos. “Red sky, red sky, red sky, red sky, red sky…” (Of course, things can get boring, but again, the day, the place, the scene, can dictate the result.)

Using obnoxious watermarks. It’s good to protect your work, but if no one can see your photo behind your large opaque branding, then what’s the point of posting it online? (Most likely agree; nothing should distract from the the photo.)

Adding borders. Don’t be a noob. (Since I am against borders, especially ones built with taxpayers money, I agree.)

Light painting names. Just forget it—the writing would look juvenile anyway. (Never even thought about this.)

Creating B&W photos with selective colors. Good for poignant tales. Not so good for random flowers. (Disagree)

Making B&W artistic nudes. A nude is a nude no matter the color space, people. (Though I am 75, my wife still won't let me hire nude models; but if I could, I would choose to do B&W.)

Blurring waterfalls. If shot incorrectly, blurred waterfalls look like “a load of old ladies’ hairs.” (No comment.)

Capturing boring landscape panoramas. 90 percent of landscape panoramas are probably just green grass at the bottom and blue sky at the top. (Well, isn't this up to the individual photographer? I know many of my photos are boring to me, but others have liked them.)

Taking lots of cloud photos. Take photos of cool cloud formations, sure—but don’t make clouds and sunsets your entire portfolio! ( I like interesting clouds.)

Inserting fake sun lens flare. Get your own sun flare! (Agree!)

Overdoing HDR. HDR is best done tastefully or not at all. (Agree, though I have found some very interesting subjects for HDR.)

Changing better-suited color photos to B&W. Just… why? (Why did you climb Mt. Everest? Because it was there...or something to that effect by George Mallory.)

Using the zoom burst technique. Okay, you can try it ONCE—but never again. (???)

Creating dutch angle shots. You’ll have to work hard to set your dutch angle shots apart. (I have never tried it; so now you got me interested in doing this.)

Making “postcard” images of tourist attractions. You know those touristy shots that you’ve seen a million times? We don’t need another one floating around out there. Try something new! (NO, NO, NO)

Photographing people who are less fortunate than you. Everyone photographs homeless people. Make your images unique or don’t make them at all. (Interesting comment; i usually try to take photos that can tell a story or convey a meaning. I have taken such pictures as you have indicated and I hope they have been unique. In fact, two days ago, I shot some photos of a musician playing outside a restaurant in a rural town in Georgia. I asked him for permission, and did tip him.)

Taking “I’m a Photographer” selfies. Don’t you do it! (Agree)

Every. Single. Stock. Photo. Ever. Made. Perhaps not every stock photo, but certainly most!

Devising optical illusions. You might think you’re clever, but…(I'm not clever enough to do them, nor am I interested.)

Photographing people with trollies. Apparently, Kai does this far too often.