5.  Holding the Camera Steady.



This is an area that has been treated in volumes of

written word, but it is still one of the most discussed areas

among photographers.  So with your permission, I'll ramble a

bit.



Holding a camera steady isn't as critical when using flash

indoors as it is when using available light, either outdoors or

indoors.  But if you can manage it, the quality of just

plain normal photos will improve immensely.  And there is

the added benefit of being able to achieve some effects not

attainable otherwise, either by holding the camera steadier or,

in some cases, actually moving it while shooting.



Wanna waste a couple shots of film to find out just how blurry

zoom or telephoto shots can be?  Next time you're outside

with a camera aim it at a distant scene with the lens set to take

in the largest area possible (zoomed out).  Hold the camera

while looking at the scene, but pan the camera at a moderate

pace, like a videographer does of scenic shots, while you click

the shutter.  Now zoom the lens in on the subject so you get

a lot "closer" to it and do the same thing, at about the same pan

speed.  When you get the prints back, the one that was

zoomed in will be considerably blurrier than the wide shot. 

The degree of blur will partially depend on the shutter speed,

but also on the amount of "telephoto" effect.  The faster

the shutter speed, the less the blur, and the greater the tele

effect, the more the blur.  So it's imperative to use a fast

shutter speed or, in lieu of that, have a steady camera, when

taking the tele shots. Note:  If you try this experiment on

a bright day, pan fairly fast to better see the effect.



By the way, when you drop the film off for processing tell them

to print every frame.  Sometimes they omit the ones that are

way out of kahooey. But if they don't print them, you can still

look at the negs to see the effect.



So, if possible, use a faster film, and thereby a faster shutter

speed, for any telephoto or zoomed in shots you want to take. But

if you can't do that, all is not lost.



How do you steady a camera?  Well, some people have tripods.

There are actually some fairly good ones around for a reasonable

price.  One thing though.  Make sure you can tilt the

camera sideways if you want to.  Some video tripods aren't

bad at all for the money, but you can't tilt some of them

sideways to take vertical shots.  But if you already have

one of these, don't despair.  If you want the camera

positioned to take a vertical shot, you can turn the camera 90

degrees where it attaches to the tripod platform and then swing

the whole thing over to the side.  You will have to leave

the camera a tad loose so you can turn it to crop the shot, but

it will work in a pinch.



But, if you're like me, you hate to tote something around that

you probably won't have to use (famous last words).  So what

do you do if you have to steady the camera and don't have a

tripod?



There's always something nearby that will help.  I've taken

time exposures of one to ten seconds with the camera resting on

fire hydrants, garbage cans, car hoods or roofs, ladders, stumps,

rocks, fences, or anything else that will act as a stable, flat

surface.  To adjust the angle of the camera, rest it partly

on a wallet, key pouch, twig, whatever is handy.  One of the

greatest accessories a photog can carry is a plain ol' beanbag,

large enough to cover the whole bottom of the camera. 

Laying the camera right on the ground might include a little

out-of-focus grass in the lower part of the shot, adding a little

interest and providing a pet's eye view of a scene.  Another

thing that works surprisingly well (although some people think

this idea stinks) is to rest the camera inside a shoe.  It

can be munged around and easily adjusted to frame the image just

like you want it.  Trouble is that when you get down to look

through the camera, you may pass out.  Oh well. Can't have

everything!



If your camera has a timer and the subject isn't moving, just set

that to trip the shutter for you.  The camera will sit there

for around 10 seconds and then the shutter will pop, all without

you having to touch it at all.  If you don't have a timer on

your camera, try to press down on the camera so it's firmly

seated on whatever you're using and gently press the shutter

release with a finger, remaining as still as possible while the

shutter is open.  A cable release also works great, but a

lot of people don't have those lying around.  They're

actually fairly inexpensive at a camera shop.



But for just low light photos of people, like on heavily overcast

days or in wooded areas, or shots where you're zoomed out to

the  max, try leaning the camera body against a tree or

pole.  Or you can lean up against a wall or tree yourself

with your head pressed firmly back, hold the camera pressed tight

to your forehead, nose, and cheeks, and steady it that way. 

If you must stand in the open, try keeping your arms in tight

against your body and your feet apart when you shoot.  Or

sit down with your knees up toward your face and rest your camera

and forearms on your knees.  You can also either stand

against, or lay on the hood of a car, table, whatever, with your

elbows resting on the whatever.  Then press the camera

against your face or forehead, gripping it like you're trying to

keep it away from a mugger, and shoot.  In general, the less

you're able to move, and the firmer the grip you have on the

camera, the steadier it is.



Let's see, what else can we use in a pinch?  Gotta broom? Or

rake, shovel, baseball bat, tennis racket?  You've seen

workmen leaning on a shovel or rake to steady themselves while

resting. You can use that little trick to steady a camera

too.  I've grabbed brooms and rested my hands and camera on

the end of the handle to steady myself while shooting in low

light.  Works like a champ!  You might want to play

around to find a comfortable way to hold the camera and the end

of the "helper" together.  Or you can simply press the

camera down on the end of the handle. That works remarkably well

as a camera steady.



Another trick is to tie a rope or heavy string to the camera,

step on the end of it, and lift up on the camera and stretch it

tight as you shoot.  I've never done this, but I understand

it works very well in a pinch.



Well, since I've done it a few times before, let's do it again.

Instead of trying to get the sharpest image possible, how can we

use blur to advantage?



Blur can be a great way to suggest movement in a still

photo.  A shot of a car or child on a bicycle can be much

more effective if it shows some "movement".  By following

the subject as it moves by and totally disregarding whatever is 

behind it, the car or child will be rendered in sharp focus, but the

background will be streaked and give the illusion of speed or

movement.  You often see sports shots like this, and it's

very effective.



Another tactic has been used by a great number of photogs, but

it's so darn nice that it hasn't reached the rank of "cliche"

yet, is to shoot water with a slower shutter speed.  A

waterfall or stream shot at a half second or longer instead of

1/500 second will create a soft, flowing image instead of showing

the texture of the water.  This is particularly effective if

there are people in the shot, but they should remain fairly still

during the exposure so they aren't blurred too, unless you want

that.  Here again, rules can often be broken to yield a

better product.