{"id":23509,"date":"2019-08-06T10:59:32","date_gmt":"2019-08-06T19:59:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/?p=23509"},"modified":"2019-08-06T11:00:32","modified_gmt":"2019-08-06T20:00:32","slug":"how-i-hold-my-camera","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/how-i-hold-my-camera\/","title":{"rendered":"How I Hold My Camera &#8211; Best Practice Tips for Outdoor Photographers"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"epyt-video-wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\"  id=\"_ytid_75585\"  width=\"480\" height=\"270\"  data-origwidth=\"480\" data-origheight=\"270\"  data-relstop=\"1\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Sv_ah7CtxNs?enablejsapi=1&#038;autoplay=0&#038;cc_load_policy=0&#038;cc_lang_pref=&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;loop=0&#038;rel=0&#038;fs=1&#038;playsinline=0&#038;autohide=2&#038;theme=dark&#038;color=red&#038;controls=1&#038;\" class=\"__youtube_prefs__  epyt-is-override  no-lazyload\" title=\"YouTube player\"  allow=\"fullscreen; accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen data-no-lazy=\"1\" data-skipgform_ajax_framebjll=\"\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p>Today&#8217;s lesson is called <strong>&#8220;How I Hold My Camera.&#8221;<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I realize this might seem like a rudimentary topic, but I\u2019ve actually heard from more than a few photographers who are struggling with this, especially shooters who have recently switched from DSLRs to Mirrorless. I received one email from a gentleman who was having problems with cramps in his hand when he was trying to shoot.<\/p>\n<p>Given that DSLRs are often twice as big and twice as heavy as mirrorless cameras like the Fujifilm X-T3. My guess is that they\u2019re having a hard time adapting to the much smaller and lighter bodies.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>So, I&#8217;m going to play show and tell and let you know I hold my camera. If you&#8217;re having a hard time getting comfortable with the camera, then hopefully you\u2019ll find these tips to be useful.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Left hand<\/h2>\n<p>Under the lens. Always. I\u2019ve seen people hold the camera with the left hand over the top of the lens, but that\u2019s not the best way to hold the camera. Aside from making you look a bit amateurish, it doesn\u2019t offer you the same level of stability and functional control.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>If I&#8217;m using both hands, then I always hold my camera with my hand cradled under the body, not holding hard, just resting it there, and this puts your fingers in the right place to operate the focus and aperture ring. This also gives you a much more steady grip if you\u2019re using a bigger lens.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Right hand<\/h2>\n<p>My right hand grabs the molded grip in an easy, natural way. Not tightly at all. It\u2019s just there to help keep the camera steady and keep my finger on the shutter.<\/p>\n<p>By not holding it very tightly, my right hand is also free to operate the other controls, like the dials on the top deck and various buttons and the focus joystick on the back.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In fact, when the camera is up to my eye, it\u2019s hardly holding the camera at all, it&#8217;s a surprisingly loose grip that offers me that\u00a0that extra stability.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Of course, there are some times when I\u2019m shooting one handed. I\u2019ll grip the body a little more tightly, but I\u2019m not squeezing very hard at all. Most of the stability comes from just resting my fingers and thumb on the contours of the body, and this puts my finger right there above the shutter.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I realize that everyone&#8217;s hands are different size and shape, so it might take some practice for you to get a feel for the best, most stable one-handed grip.<\/p>\n<p>However, in most situations, I\u2019m just doing this little back and forth dance between my two hands, but neither hand is holding very tightly at all. Sure, I might have a little firmer grip with a bigger lens, or when using the battery grip, but again, I\u2019m never squeezing<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0 <\/span>very hard.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Natural Tripod<\/h2>\n<p>When I\u2019m shooting handheld, especially when I\u2019m using slightly slower shutter speeds, or if I need added stability, <strong>I usually try to hold my camera up to my face and suck my elbows into my chest.<\/strong> This creates a natural tripod between my elbows and my face.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>When I\u2019m about to shoot, I\u2019ll slowly let my breath out, the right when it\u2019s at the bottom of my breathing cycling, when my body is the most still, that\u2019s when I press the shutter.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h1>The Strap<\/h1>\n<h3>Security<\/h3>\n<p>This is a big one with me. I always use a strap. Always. There\u2019s never a time when my strap is not on the camera. It\u2019s always there, and I use it for security, safety and stability.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>It ensures that I won\u2019t ever drop the camera, and because I know it\u2019s always there, it allows me to keep that relaxed grip on my camera, because I know I can always just let it drop safely back down. I&#8217;m so used to having it there, that it feels completely natural.<\/p>\n<p>Funny story. No&#8230; It&#8217;s actually a scary story. There was one time a couple of years ago, when I was shooting right next a glacier pool. The tripod was precariously perched on this little incline right by the water, because that was the vantage point I wanted.<\/p>\n<p>At one point, I accidentally kicked the tripod and it started tipping forward. Without even thinking, I just threw my hand across and snagged the strap with my forearm, and saved the whole rig from falling into the iceberg filled lake. Yikes!!!<\/p>\n<h3>Stability<\/h3>\n<p>I often shoot using the live view mode on my LCD screen. If I\u2019m holding the camera away from my body, then I\u2019ll use the strap to help brace the camera and give me extra stability.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I do this a couple different ways. Pulling it tight against my neck gives me an extremely stable grip. This method is very effective for ensuring the kind of sharpness you seek in your images. I&#8217;ll often shoot\u00a0<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">down to single digit shutter speeds and still get sharp images using this method.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>I can do this same thing down at my waist, just by flipping the screen up. By pulling tight on the strap, I get that extra degree of steadiness.<span class=\"Apple-converted-space\">\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>If I\u2019m shooting one handed, I\u2019ll grab and hold the strap with my left hand. This gives me that same level of stability and it also allows me to shoot at different vantage points, like over my head, using the flip screen, or holding it down below while shooting from a low vantage point.<\/p>\n<p>So, again, I can\u2019t accentuate enough how important the strap is in my life with the camera. It offers steadiness, and it offers freedom. And if I need to get it out of the way, I just sling it around my shoulder.<\/p>\n<h3>Freedom<\/h3>\n<p><strong>The strap offers me an incredible degree of creative freedom<\/strong> and liberation from always being tethered to your tripod.<\/p>\n<p>I know that there are some photographers out there who never use the strap. These are usually people who almost always shoot with the tripod, and they don\u2019t want it to get in the way.\u00a0If you&#8217;re one of those people, then I can\u2019t force you to use the strap, but I don\u2019t see why you wouldn\u2019t. I just think it makes life so much easier and more fun.<\/p>\n<p>Think about it, this means you can never just walk around with the camera around your neck as you\u2019re looking at the world and surveying the scene. It also\u00a0means that whenever you take it out of your bag, you have to grab it and hold it with this level of desperate security, so that you won\u2019t accidentally drop it. And really, how fun is that?<\/p>\n<p>If you really don\u2019t want to have the strap on your camera when it\u2019s on the tripod, then you could get one of those quick release straps so you can take it off once you\u2019ve got it securely fixed on the tripod.<\/p>\n<p>I know that some people like that Black Rapid sling style strap. If it works for you, then that\u2019s great. I just prefer the regular old-school strap. Always have. It\u2019s a very simple design, but it\u2019s extremely functional in the widest variety of settings.\u00a0Either way, I highly recommend using the strap.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-23510\" src=\"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/JAN19-01091A-e1565117375621.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"466\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Today&#8217;s lesson is called &#8220;How I Hold My Camera.&#8221;\u00a0 I realize this might seem like a rudimentary topic, but I\u2019ve actually heard from more than a few photographers who are struggling with this, especially shooters who have recently switched from DSLRs to Mirrorless. I received one email from a gentleman who was having problems with [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23510,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[218],"tags":[22,288,89,182,149,171,93],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23509"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23509"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23509\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23514,"href":"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23509\/revisions\/23514"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23510"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/danbaileyphoto.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}