Tips for handheld photography?

RobM

Distinguished Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2006
Messages
13,456
Reaction score
2,197
Points
2,284
A question for you expert lot... what tips can you provide for hand-held photography, i.e. without a tripod?

Most of my photography is of the outside world, walking around and looking for opportunities to catch a good shot. Rarely do I setup and stage shots in ideal conditions, but I do enjoy having my camera around my neck while out and about.

The trouble is this often needs very quick decisions in terms of shooting mode, customising the settings and not having the steady base a tripod offers means blurry images are more likely.

What can be done to avoid this, whilst still getting the artistic and unique results we all want?

Thanks in advance :)
 
Correct stance/position is most important.

Keep your shutter speed high, even if it means raising ISO slightly. I think the rule is your shutter must match your focal length, or something. So 200mm focal = 1/200 shutter or near as, however with the correct stance, you can go much lower of course, as long as it isn't windy. Stay aware of the lighting conditions, and you will soon instinctively change settings as you move.

If you can support yourself or your camera on something - Do! That means using a wall or tree or whatever, if it means you can still get your shot.

Use higher aperture to give yourself some leway on focusing - big difference between DoF at 4.0 and 5.6. Use 5.6+ to be safe, unless you have time to check focus is 100%.

This might help:



P.S. I love just walking around and togging things too. Great times. Remember, the shot you think you've under-exposed can always be fixed in post/editing. Blur can not!
 
Correct stance/position is most important.

Keep your shutter speed high, even if it means raising ISO slightly. I think the rule is your shutter must match your focal length, or something. So 200mm focal = 1/200 shutter or near as, however with the correct stance, you can go much lower of course, as long as it isn't windy. Stay aware of the lighting conditions, and you will soon instinctively change settings as you move.

If you can support yourself or your camera on something - Do! That means using a wall or tree or whatever, if it means you can still get your shot.

Use higher aperture to give yourself some leway on focusing - big difference between DoF at 4.0 and 5.6. Use 5.6+ to be safe, unless you have time to check focus is 100%.

This might help:

No more blurred photo's... Ever! - YouTube

P.S. I love just walking around and togging things too. Great times. Remember, the shot you think you've under-exposed can always be fixed in post/editing. Blur can not!

you can :)

http://www.avforums.com/forums/digi...6-slow-shutter-speeds-just-fix-photoshop.html
 
danjama - A HUGE help, thank you so much. I guess a lot of this comes down to experience and being familiar with your camera, something only time and countless photos can help with, but knowing where to start is a great help. I feel like I should have a question to ask in response but, honestly, your one post is enough to go on :)

And call me old fashioned, but I think knowing how to get it right in the first place is far more important than having software fix it for you afterwards. It's a nice option to have when things don't quite work out, but I want to get to the stage where that's not something I rely on :)

Thanks again!
 
Actually, one question if you don't mind... perhaps confusion on my part. You say keep the aperture higher, doesn't that limit the light coming into the lens? My simple brain tells me that would then require a longer shutter speed, making blur more likely?
 
Actually, one question if you don't mind... perhaps confusion on my part. You say keep the aperture higher, doesn't that limit the light coming into the lens? My simple brain tells me that would then require a longer shutter speed, making blur more likely?

Exactly - it's a balancing act! (But as I said, go ahead and raise ISO slightly to help) :D All we can do is hope for good light and a steady hand on request :)

As you say though, get familiar with your equipment and you will have less to do in editing. There will be a lot of bad shots along the way, but they will become less.

P.S. I hope i'm not coming across as some sort of smug guru. I'm new to photography myself, but this is stuff I've learnt from expriences so far and reading.
 
Last edited:
Dammit :laugh:

I think I've gotten into this 'tog lark at the wrong time of year, it's hardly the right weather to spend ages wandering around practising!

So, smaller aperture (higher number) to help with the focusing, to be compensated with a higher ISO and longer shutter speed. OR, larger aperture (smaller number) but matched with a faster shutter speed, possibly with a higher ISO?

Aperture gets the light into the lens, but the larger it is (smaller number) the shorter the depth of field?

(edit) You're not at all coming across as smug. You're coming across as somebody who knows what they are talking about, which is a great help to me. You're also explaining it in words and phrases I can cope with :laugh:
 
Dammit :laugh:

I think I've gotten into this 'tog lark at the wrong time of year, it's hardly the right weather to spend ages wandering around practising!

So, smaller aperture (higher number) to help with the focusing, to be compensated with a higher ISO and longer shutter speed. OR, larger aperture (smaller number) but matched with a faster shutter speed, possibly with a higher ISO?

Aperture gets the light into the lens, but the larger it is (smaller number) the shorter the depth of field?

(edit) You're not at all coming across as smug. You're coming across as somebody who knows what they are talking about, which is a great help to me. You're also explaining it in words and phrases I can cope with :laugh:

You've got it. Putting it into practice you will quickly get how changing one affects the others. (Shutter, Aperture, ISO) This all depends on what you're photographing and in what lighting conditions of course. There's enough variables to make your head explode :suicide: Also, remember sometimes it will be light enough to have a fast shutter, high aperture AND keep your ISO at 100-200. Depending on your camera, you can probably raise your ISO to 400-800 without introducing too much grain to your photos.

A good way to practice is to go to a public event, doesn't have to be a big one, and sit somewhere out of the way, and blend in. Just mess around with settings and practice with different focal lengths and manual focus, just togging people.

And here is a thread on 'holding your camera' - http://www.photography-forum.org/showthread.php/65485-Holding-the-camera!

Out of interest, what camera and lens/lenses are you using?
 
Last edited:
Danjama nearly said it, depending on the camera you have keeping your shutter speed at the very least 1.0x your focal length or even better (if you have Nikon DX) at 1.5x. To avoid shake.

I never use my tripod really, I use my black rapid rs-7 strap RS-7 R-Strap » BlackRapid.com which makes it so comfortable to have my camera dangle by my side all day long and not strain my neck nor look like the 'japanese tourist'.

Besides danjamas post this book is absolutely brilliant to fully understand the magic triangle and improved my photos immensely. Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera: Amazon.co.uk: Bryan Peterson: Books

So matey are you going to join in our competition on this section then? Or even better make me pay to charity for the photos you'll shoot in November http://www.avforums.com/forums/digi...-money-mos-charity-challenge-make-me-pay.html :)
 
— As an Amazon Associate, AVForums earns from qualifying purchases —
Out of interest, what camera and lens/lenses are you using?

A Canon 1000D with the kit lens (18-55) and, when it arrives today, a Canon 55-250mm MK2 zoom lens. I bought it as it was a good price second-hand and seemed a sensible way of getting into photography :)


So matey are you going to join in our competition on this section then? Or even better make me pay to charity for the photos you'll shoot in November http://www.avforums.com/forums/digi...-money-mos-charity-challenge-make-me-pay.html :)

A fantastic and very generous offer there, Sir! If the opportunity arises I'm in! :smashin:
 
Danjama nearly said it, depending on the camera you have keeping your shutter speed at the very least 1.0x your focal length or even better (if you have Nikon DX) at 1.5x. To avoid shake.

A Canon 1000D with the kit lens (18-55) and, when it arrives today, a Canon 55-250mm MK2 zoom lens. I bought it as it was a good price second-hand and seemed a sensible way of getting into photography :)

With the Canon 1000D, wouldn't the multiplier become 1.6x?

So full frame camera would be 1.0x, Nikon DX 1.5x and Canon APS-C 1.6x.
 
I'm gonna need a calculator...
 
I'm gonna need a calculator...

Just write a table with the focal lengths of your lenses and the corresponding shutter speeds required and keep it in your bag for reference.

After a while you will find you don't even need to refer to it :thumbsup:
 
Lol you get the hang of it quickly enough. It doesn't have to be exact, more so when there is low light.
 
I'm hoping for a clear weekend this weekend, so I can get out and have a play with my new lens. In the mean time, here's a swan:

P1000179.JPG
 
One point with respect to the comments on aperture and DOF.

Another important factor in DOF is the distance to the subject - the further away the subject is, the greater the DOF for a given aperture

So, with a 50mm lens (for example)

f/4 @ 1m; DOF = 6.1cm
f/5.6 @ 1m; DOF = 8.5cm
f/4 @ 5m; DOF = 1.62m
f/5.6 @ 5m; DOF = 2.33m

So while there is still a significant difference on DOF at 5m, the actual DOF will often still be sufficient at f/4, and you may well be better using f/4 and getting the commensurate increase in shutter speed.

As already mentioned - it's all a balancing act, getting the right combination of setings for the available light and the style of shot you want.
 
Faldrax, many thanks. It's a very well timed post in fact, as I was playing around with the new lens tonight and noticed the difference distance can make, even with a zoom. Granted, it was just indoors and aimed at my fat cat, so hardly ideal conditions, but it was just a chance to have a play and see how changes to setup affect the image.
 
Lovely picture, amazing sense of texture :)

I should have said before actually, the picture of the swan I posted is an old one taken on a Panasonic TZ6. I'm quite keen on trying to repeat it on the 1000D to see the difference.
 
just remember everything comes with a practice :)
 
Shame I didn't get into this when the sun was still out then! :)

Can anybody recommend a good umbrella... ;)
 
I can't believe this thread has gone on so long without mentioning "Undertanding Exposure" - so I will :) The book "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson (eg. Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera: Amazon.co.uk: Bryan Peterson: Books comes highly recommended for learning about the interaction between iso, aperture and shutter speed etc.

Also, I would say don't get too hung up about the shutter speed to focal length equation - it really is just a rough rule of thumb thing, and takes into no account things like image stabilisation and subject movement.

Coming back to the OP regarding camera settings - one key tool is practice, practice and more practice. Eventually you will instinctively know just by looking at a scene what sort of shutter speed will be required and gauge by how much light there is what sort of apertures and iso you will need to achieve it. You will also just become naturally aware of where the light is coming from and whether or not you will likely need some exposure compensation, or at least if your first shot goes wrong you will know straight away why it was and know what to change to fix it.

You can read about all this stuff in books, but there really is no substitute to getting out there and doing it. Also, don't expect to get great shots from day 1 - photography is an acquired skill that takes time to develop, but at least it's fun while learning (at least it shoud be fun).

Cheers,

John
 
— As an Amazon Associate, AVForums earns from qualifying purchases —
jradley said:
I can't believe this thread has gone on so long without mentioning "Undertanding Exposure" - so I will :) The book "Understanding Exposure" by Bryan Peterson (eg. Understanding Exposure, 3rd Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera: Amazon.co.uk: Bryan Peterson: Books comes highly recommended for learning about the interaction between iso, aperture and shutter speed etc.

Also, I would say don't get too hung up about the shutter speed to focal length equation - it really is just a rough rule of thumb thing, and takes into no account things like image stabilisation and subject movement.

Coming back to the OP regarding camera settings - one key tool is practice, practice and more practice. Eventually you will instinctively know just by looking at a scene what sort of shutter speed will be required and gauge by how much light there is what sort of apertures and iso you will need to achieve it. You will also just become naturally aware of where the light is coming from and whether or not you will likely need some exposure compensation, or at least if your first shot goes wrong you will know straight away why it was and know what to change to fix it.

You can read about all this stuff in books, but there really is no substitute to getting out there and doing it. Also, don't expect to get great shots from day 1 - photography is an acquired skill that takes time to develop, but at least it's fun while learning (at least it shoud be fun).

Cheers,

John

It hasn't, see my first post on the previous page ;)
 
— As an Amazon Associate, AVForums earns from qualifying purchases —

The latest video from AVForums

TV Buying Guide - Which TV Is Best For You?
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Back
Top Bottom