How to hold the camera to decrease motion blur?

Rezen

I am absolutely TERRIBLE at holding my camera.

I swear, it seems that even with the most simple of shots (even at ISO 1600 and f/1.8 with super fast shutter speed), I still seem to get blurry results a lot of the time.

So, any suggestions on how to hold the camera? Any exercises I can do to practice holding it steady?

It's not practical to carry around a tripod or monopod everywhere.

Thanks for any suggestions

jogle

I like Joe McNally's approach

In text and pictures:
http://www.joemcnally.com/blog/2008/03/10/da-grip/

In video form:
http://www.joemcnally.com/blog/2008/03/11/clicks-cover-shot-explained-vertical-grip/

basically get your elbows nice and tight against your body so your arms are like solid bits of engineering rather then wobbly sticks out in front of you

pyry

In addition to those very good pointers about the grip, also remember to calmly squeeze the shutter release rather than sharply pushing down on it.

Try taking multiple frames. I find I can get better results by shooting 3-5 frames on continuous drive than just taking one shot (the first and last frames of the burst are shakier than the middle).

Tanuki

Rezen wrote:

I am absolutely TERRIBLE at holding my camera.

I swear, it seems that even with the most simple of shots (even at ISO 1600 and f/1.8 with super fast shutter speed), I still seem to get blurry results a lot of the time.

So, any suggestions on how to hold the camera? Any exercises I can do to practice holding it steady?

It's not practical to carry around a tripod or monopod everywhere.

Thanks for any suggestions

Assuming that you're using a DSLR...

The way that I practice is to aim the camera at a small stationary object behind the center focus point and and watching to see if the object moves relative to the center focus point after the mirror blackout is over. If the location of the object "jumps" relative to the center focus point, then my technique could have been better.

I second the recommendation for squeezing the shutter, rather than stabbing.

I also find that where I am holding the lens (along the length of the barrel) is a factor in how much the mirror slap causes the camera to shake during the exposure. There's a sweet spot for each lens, and it takes some playing around for me to find it.

Mike

Qarik

Rezen wrote:

I am absolutely TERRIBLE at holding my camera.

I swear, it seems that even with the most simple of shots (even at ISO 1600 and f/1.8 with super fast shutter speed), I still seem to get blurry results a lot of the time.

So, any suggestions on how to hold the camera? Any exercises I can do to practice holding it steady?

It's not practical to carry around a tripod or monopod everywhere.

Thanks for any suggestions

can you post a smaple with exif data so we can verify if it is indeed motion blur and not a DOF or ISO noise issue? If you r not using a telephoto it is actually kind difficult to get camera shake blur with shutter speeds less then say 1/250s or so.

pathfinder

Are you sure it is motion blur, and not depth of field??

Shooting at f1.8, unless you are meticulous about focusing and depth of field issues, will be very challenging. Focusing at f1.8 is not something you can just leave up to your camera. It will require very careful use of single AF points for your image.

How about posting a couple images along with exif data for folks to examine and comment on.

Tim Kamppinen

Also, in addition to how easy it is to mess up the focus at f/1.8, and the possible ISO noise/reduction blurring, there's also the fact that any lens is going to be softer wide open than stopped down, and sometimes this effect can be quite pronounced.

JohnBiggs

Shoot at f4 and see what happens. If anything post one of those blurry f1.8 ISO 1600 shots. It's probably not motion blur.

Rezen

Thanks for the info everyone.

The last few shots I've taken have been much improved.

Thanks again.

MannyWallace

Great tips!