| On
Handholding Technique
by J. Ramón Palacios
Username: jrp
Nikonian in Mexico
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DEVELOPING
A PROPER HANDHOLDING TECHNIQUE You may have wondered
how come some of your images look "soft" or
blurred. Although at times it is an overestimation of
the depth of field, quite often it is simply due to
improper handholding
technique. Your shuter speed is slower that you can
hold steady. So you need to work on that. A
little DSLR is used for the illustrations.
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| "Winged"
handholding with lens cap on and hanging strap |
An old rule of thumb -developed
from practice for 35mm film photography, before VR technology-
says that one can shoot, safely, with shutter speeds around
the reciprocal of the focal length of the lens mounted; for
50mm, 1/50 sec; 105mm at 1/125 sec; etc. For
digital photography the crop factor has to be taken into account.
But unfortunately the statement
is not complete, you can do it if with appropriate
handholding technique. Such technique aims to provide
for
a more stable hold when neither a tripod or a monopod is
at hand. Reported disappointments in the forums
made me remember how and when I learned: by watching
my father
and uncles shooting their Nikon F cameras, when I was just
a teenager, barely emerging out of puberty.
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| Arms up in the air do not provide
a steady hold. Unused camera strap
defies Murphy's Law; use it around your neck. |
Arms tucked in.
Finger on shutter button
gently squeezes, as
against jerking it. |
Shooting in vertical format is no
excuse for not tucking the arms in for more steady handholding. |
As
the old rule emerged in the days of the prime (single focal
length) lenses, it gets tougher with zooms; but once you learn
it, it can also be applied to these lenses.
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| The right arm will induce rotational
motion. Closed left eye could make you loose a moving
subject. |
Turning the camera around allows
for both arms to be tucked in. Gently squeeze the shutter,
don't jerk it. |
With bigger lenses, tucking in the
arms becomes even more critical. Left hand always cradles
the lens. |
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| ° |
Don't
hold the camera from its sides. One hand cradles
the
lens, the other rests on the camera with a finger ready
to half depress or trigger the shutter button. Don't
jerk it! |
| ° |
Plant
your feet apart for a steady stand, one in front. |
| ° |
If
you can lean against a wall or a tree, do it; make a
tripod out of your own body. |
| ° |
If
you can brace yourself to a post, a fence or a tree,
do it. |
| ° |
If
you can slow breath, do it. (Inhale, exhale; inhale,
exhale halfway, hold, shoot - this is a well proven
rifle sniper technique) |
| ° |
If
you have to lower yourself, rest on the ground as steady
as you can, otherwise the whole tucking-in contortion
is useless. |
| °
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Get
a rubber
eyecup for the viewfinder. Helps to avoid stray light
coming into the pentaprism; comfortable for eyeglass
wearers and avoids eyeglasses scratching; but more important,
by pressing it against your eye you provide one extra
point of contact, therefore additional support.
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At
right, a wildlife shot of a Bengal tiger image made
with a Nikkormat FS camera, 135mm Steinheil Tele-Quinar
f/2.8 lens, on Kodachrome 64 film. f/16, shutter speed
1/60, under "controlled conditions" (at the
Fairmont Park Zoo in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania).
With
just a little frequent good practice you will be able
to even beat the old rule of thumb with this technique,
but the trick is to make it a habit; better yet: a conditioned
reflex. |
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