14 Anti-shake shooting skills

Although using a tripod or a monopod is usually considered as an ideal choice to keep the camera stable, they are not the only anti-shake methods. Here I have summarized several very practical anti-shake methods to share with photographers. 1

steamed bun stuffed with sweetened bean paste

Bean bags are very practical for photographers. It can be adjusted into various shapes to fix the camera body or lens. Just like on a rock, it is difficult to find a suitable place to put a camera or lens, but putting a bean bag can solve this problem well: it not only prevents the camera from being worn by a rough surface, but also avoids the problem of unevenness or inclination on the rock.

Bean bags are also suitable for low-angle overhead shots, such as putting the camera on the grass. The bean bag makes the position of the lens just above the leaves, and can tilt slightly upward towards the subject. When many photographers use telephoto lenses, they also press bean bags on the fuselage or lens to reduce the vibration caused by touching or turning the camera upward.

The making of bean curd is very simple and cheap. A few pieces of cloth and a few beans can be done. It is more convenient if there is a zipper or a hook and loop tape. You can refuel after you arrive at your destination.

2

Weighted tripod

No matter how strong the tripod is, sometimes extra help is needed to ensure that it is more stable, especially when it is windy. Some tripods have hooks on the sides of the middle rod and the bracket to hang heavy objects.

Bean bags or even camera bags can be used, no matter what it is, as long as the tripod can stand firmly on the ground. Of course, it is necessary to ensure that these heavy objects can hang down steadily instead of swinging in the wind, otherwise it will add more trouble.

three

rope

In the absence of tripod or monopod, an old method to fix the camera is to tie the tripod screws under the camera with a rope, let the rope fall to the ground naturally, and leave a little space, then step on the rope with one foot and lift the camera to straighten the rope. However, this method is not suitable for left and right rotation shooting, but it can play a very good role in up and down rotation shooting.

four

Lean against a tree

When you can't find any auxiliary props, you can lean against trees or posts everywhere. Of course, you don't put the camera on it, but point it at it. The best way is to stick the bottom of the camera on a tree or post, because the area of the bottom of the camera is larger than the side of the camera, which can be more stable.

It is also a good choice to use some tape, but don't use it to fix the camera in one position, which is very risky, just to slow down some jitter.

five

Delayed selfie

Remote control (wired or wireless) is very useful, but it is not always available. If you are in this dilemma, start the delayed selfie, which will automatically release the shutter and reduce the vibration. In most cases, a delay of 2 seconds is enough.

If possible, using delayed self-timer combined with mirror locking or exposure delay mode can effectively prevent blurring caused by shaking the mirror.

six

Dispersed weight

Even a good tripod can hardly keep the shooting stable in some places, such as wet beaches. The reason is that the stent will continue to sink into the sand. Although it can be stable when it is deep enough, sand will cover the whole bracket and the joints will often be damaged.

Some manufacturers produce snow boots to disperse the weight of tripods and prevent the brackets from infiltrating into the snow, which is also suitable for beaches. If you don't have snow boots, you can make your own tripod boots, such as flat stones, old plates or roof tiles. There are many ideas to consider.

seven

Take the camera

The way you hold your camera determines how stable it is. Dragging the camera from below is the best way. For example, it is better to hold the lens with your elbow down against your body than to tilt your elbow outward.

Some photographers put their left hand on their right shoulder when using long lenses, so that their left arm forms a tray. Walls and columns are also good things to support elbows.

You can also kneel on your right knee, put your left elbow on your left knee, and hold the camera or lens with your left hand. Is this formed by the weight of the camera? Human monopod? Skilled words can be very stable. When shooting at a low angle, you can lie on the ground and separate your elbows to make it firmly fixed on the ground like a bracket. The position of standing is also very important. Try to avoid windy places and look for places with trees, walls or stones.

eight

take a deep breath

Even if you use a high-speed shutter, hold the camera tightly before shooting. Before pressing the shutter, take a deep breath and hold the camera firmly, which can effectively reduce the jitter of the fuselage.

If you don't have a shelf, here are three tips to help you improve your stability.

nine

Correct posture

Most photographers hold their cameras in the same posture, but they often ignore the importance of body posture. Many people lean forward and use their arms to keep the camera stable. The correct posture is that, like lifting most heavy objects, the best way is to bear the weight with your legs, so you need to adjust your foot posture to adapt to the following principles.

1. Hold the camera with both hands. In which the left hand holds the lens and the right hand holds the body and controls the shutter.

2. Take a half step forward and keep your knees slightly bent. In this way, you can distribute your weight evenly on your legs.

3. Raise the camera and pose for shooting. For digital SLR cameras, the viewfinder is held in front of the right eye, while for portable digital cameras, it is held at the eye height of about 15cm in front of the face.

4. Clip your arms to your sides. The left forearm should be completely vertical, and should not go forward beyond the toes. Be sure to avoid leaning forward, otherwise it will cause camera shake.

Take a deep breath and press the shutter as gently as possible between breaths.

10

Portable tripod

Tripod is very inconvenient to carry. This skill teaches you how to use a portable tripod when shooting in low light.

1. Before going out to shoot, cut a piece of rope about your height and put it in your pocket or camera bag.

2. At the shooting scene, wrap one end of the rope around the camera lens and let the other end hang on the ground.

Step on the rope on the ground with one foot, and then slowly lift the camera to your eyes. Straighten the rope carefully, but be careful not to use too much force to avoid affecting the fuselage and lens interface.

4. When the rope is stretched into a straight line, press the shutter gently according to the posture described in the prompt 1.

1 1

Joe? Mcnally retention method

Photographer Joe, who is famous for his quick lighting skills? Mcnally often takes photos for publishing houses. Although he has to shoot in all kinds of light, he seldom uses a tripod. On the contrary, he has his own way of holding the machine. This method requires the left eye to observe the scene. With a little practice, this method of holding the camera allows the photographer to shoot with a low-speed shutter. (Only applicable to cameras with vertical grips. )

1. The posture of footsteps is the same as that of 1. The left foot is in front, the right foot is behind, and it is shoulder width.

2. Turn the upper body so that the left shoulder faces the subject.

3. Hold the machine with your right hand and place the frame in the depression below the clavicle between your left shoulder and your body.

4. Fix the camera inward with the left hand and completely fix the right hand. Keep the weight of your body distributed on your feet and observe the viewfinder with your left eye. Take a deep breath and press the shutter.

On the camera, you can also improve the jitter through the following three tricks.

12

Increase shutter speed to prevent hand jitter

When shooting by hand, increasing the shutter speed of the camera is particularly effective as a method to prevent hand jitter. But even with a stable posture, 1/30 seconds is the maximum limit of general hand-held shooting. If the photo is taken very dark, other items must be adjusted. If you want to improve the shutter speed while maintaining proper exposure, you can improve the ISO sensitivity in addition to improving the brightness of the subject and opening the lens aperture. However, it is difficult to adjust the light quantity of the main body. Therefore, there are only two ways to improve the shutter speed while ensuring proper exposure: opening the aperture of the lens or improving the ISO sensitivity.

13

Open the aperture

If you put the inside of the camera? Aperture? If the aperture is larger (smaller), the amount of light entering the camera will increase and the shutter speed will increase. 1 aperture is equivalent to 1 shutter speed. In other words, opening the aperture by 1 is equivalent to doubling the shutter speed. This can well prevent the occurrence of hand jitter. In addition, it is easy to get a higher shutter speed by using bright lenses with the largest aperture (the minimum aperture value that can be set will be different according to different lenses), so these lenses can be actively used when shooting night scenes by hand. However, the larger the aperture, the smaller the depth of field (focus range), so you must pay attention when expressing your shooting intention.

14

Improve ISO sensitivity

In actual shooting, there are some cases where you can't get enough light even if you use the maximum aperture, and there are some cases where you want to improve the shutter speed by fixing the aperture value for some purpose. At this time, the shutter speed can be improved by increasing ISO sensitivity. Theoretically, if the ISO sensitivity is increased by 1, the shutter speed can be increased by 2 times while maintaining proper exposure. For example, if ISO 100 and ISO 1/8 seconds can be properly exposed, if the ISO sensitivity is increased to 400 (two steps higher), the shutter speed will also be increased to 1/30 seconds. However, just like using a tripod to challenge the advanced shooting skills in real photography, improving ISO sensitivity will make the image prone to noise and reduce the image quality.