How to Hold a Camera
While it's important to hold your camera in a way that feels natural to you, it's also just as important to hold the camera in a way that will prevent blur and unsharp images due to camera shake.
Here are a few tips to help you properly and securely hold your camera when shooting with a tripod is not an option:
1. Brace Your Arms Against Your Torso
Bracing your arms against your torso will help steady your arms. If your arms are splayed out to either side of you, you will be giving the camera less support.
To support the front of your camera, place your hand underneath the lens. Placing your hand on top of the camera not only takes away support, but you can accidentally push the camera at this angle, resulting in blur due to camera shake.
Be sure to stand up as straight as possible. Relax you neck, shoulders and take deep breaths in between shots to avoid tensing up. You may also find it helpful to hold your breath when pressing the shutter.
2. How to Brace Your Camera When Shooting at Low Angles
Rather than bending over at the waist to get a lower angle, try bracing your arms against your legs, or even getting all the way down on the ground to provide maximum stability. By bending over at the waist, you will have less control of your balance, but if you get into a slightly different body position, you will have the same angle of view, but you will be less likely to have a blurry photo as a result of camera shake.
If you have good knees and decent balance, you can try positioning the back of your upper arms on your knees when squatting down (this is a fairly easy position to get in and out of quickly):
If you are like me and have bad knees (hello, knee surgery...I know you well) and cannot squat down and stand back up quickly and with ease, then try sitting, with your elbows resting on your knees:
3. How to Brace Yourself While Standing
Just because you do not have a tripod doesn’t mean your images will be blurry! Finding something to lean against will really help you steady yourself by supporting your arms, torso and hips. Anything sturdy enough to support your leaning body weight like trees, walls, doorways, etc. is perfect.
Check Out the Other Blog Posts in Our Guide to Sharper Images Series:
- Choosing the Lens That's Best for You
- Choosing the Correct ISO Setting for Sharper Images
- Choosing the Correct Shutter Speed & Aperture Settings for Sharper Images
- Back Button Focus 101 for Sharper Images
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