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Getting a Steady Shot Without a Tripod
There is nothing like a tripod to maximise your lens performance, to slow you down long enough to really consider your composition or to place your camera where you just can’t get it otherwise, like in the middle of a wild river for a 3 second exposure of those cascades! That doesn’t mean you will always have a tripod with you. Sometimes it is not practical (bicycle touring?), sometimes not convenient (on an aircraft, perhaps), and sometimes it isn’t allowed (say, in an art gallery); and sometimes you just don’t want to be bothered. I can appreciate that, but does that mean you have to hand-hold every shot? Certainly not, and you shouldn’t. In another Intel I suggested that tripods can do more to improve your photos than any other accessory. In this note I want to show you the next-best approach for when you have no tripod available. Camera and Shooting Techniques
Start out by reading your camera manual. The designers had a particular style of photography in mind when they laid out your camera, and that included how to hold it to get the best results. If the manual doesn’t advise you to breathe out gently and pause for a moment while your press the button, I will! Do not hold your breath, as this will induce tremor. If your camera has a viewfinder, use it! With your eye to the finder, the camera pressed against your forehead and arms correctly placed, you provide a stable base for the shot, and are not likely to induce more movement as you press the shutter release. Spreading your legs slightly and flexing your knees improves matters even more. Find a firm support and brace your body against it…a wall or tree can be a simple and effective “third leg” for your human tripod, and a table can be an excellent base to make your 2 elbows and chest into a solid tripod, too. When you have no viewfinder, or your angle of view makes the screen a better option for a particular composition, bracing is even more important. Try adapting the marksman’s trick of using a strap held taut around your arm to steady the shot. The camera strap goes over your shoulder and back under your elbow where it is held firmly, cross tensioning the system. If your camera strap is too short, try stretching it out at arm’s length. this works very well for macro shots at ground level and for pictures with the camera above eye level. Equipment and Tricks
The strap technique probably comes under equipment , but every camera comes with one, so… Every camera also comes with a tripod bush in the base. You could do worse than buy a firm mini tripod, although an equally small device with flexible arms sold by Joby (Joby.com) under the brand “gorillapod” can secure a camera to just about anything - posts, rails, trees; it can also stand alone like a regular minipod and comes in a range of sizes to cope with cameras of different sizes and weights. In a similar class are “clamp-pods”, which consist of a ball head on a “C”-clamp. They are quite robust, but like the Gorillapod, ultimately they depend on the presence of something to attach to, and how rigid that support is, though like the Gorillapod some feature small legs to substitute as a table pod. Monopods take up more room than minis, but are quite compact when telescoped down. They are very useful when fast action is on the shooting agenda. I suggest fitting a ball head, although others prefer to attach them directly to the camera.Fewer sections are better than many, although the trade off is a longer telescoped length. I am willing to have a slightly longer folded pod for the extra rigidity it offers. Like their 3-legged brothers, monopods are available in a variety of materials, including aluminium and carbon fibre. Some monopods have auxiliary feet or legs, allowing them to be free standing. Although this is useful, it adds to their weight without making them stable enough to replace a tripod or to risk your expensive camera to unattended. Others have a section at the base designed for your foot to rest on fro extra stability. Bean bags are compact, light and excellent camera supports. Mould them to whatever is available and work the camera into the top. Is wont move, and what is more, the beans will help absorb vibration (like on a train) that a tripod only magnifies. The bag also lets you get your camera down to ground level and even gives you a soft seat between shots! One final gadget you might like to consider: a piece of rope. Almost any kind will do. Cut a length a little longer than your body height plus arms raised. Put several large knots into the rope, about 60cms (12 inches) apart, starting near the end. At the other end, attach a screw to fit the tripod bush on your camera, which you can get from a camera or hardware store. To use it, bring the camera up to the level of the shot, step on the rope and stretch the knot tight against your foot. Who needs electronic shake control?! |
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The copyright for this content entitled "Getting a Steady Shot Without a Tripod" has been specified by the contributor as:
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This intel was contributed by David Rich
David Rich
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February, 2012
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