by Darren Rowse 

One of the common problems that many new digital (and film) photographers have is ‘camera shake’ where images seem blurry – usually because the camera was not held still enough while the shutter was depressed. This is especially common in shots taken in low light situations where the shutter is open for longer periods of time. Even the smallest movement of the camera can cause it and the only real way to eliminate it is with a tripod. Adding to camera shake is a technique that is increasingly common with digital camera users of holding the camera at arms length away from them as they take shots – often with one hand. While this might be a good way to frame your shot the further away from your body (a fairly stable thing) you hold the camera the more chance you have of swaying or shaking as you take your shot. Tripods are the best way to stop camera shake because they have three sturdy legs that keep things very still – but if you don’t have one then another simple way to enhance the stability of the camera is to hold onto it with two hands. While it can be tempting to shoot one handed a two hands will increase your stillness (like three legs on a tripod being better than one). Exactly how you should grip your camera will depend upon what type of digital camera you are using and varies from person to person depending upon preference. There is no real right or wrong way to do it but here’s the technique that I generally use:

Gripping a camera in this way will allow you flexibility of being able to line up shots quickly but will also help you to hold still for the crucial moment of your shutter being open. Another quick bonus tip – before you take your shot take a gentle but deep breath, hold it, then take the shot and exhale. The other method people use is the exact opposite – exhale and before inhaling again take the shot. It’s amazing how much a body rises and falls simply by breathing – being conscious of it can give you an edge. Of course each person will have their own little techniques that they are more comfortable with and ultimately you need to find what works best for you – but in the early days of familiarizing yourself with your new digital camera it’s worth considering your technique. One last note – this post is about ‘holding a camera’ in a way that will help eliminate camera shake. It’s not rocket science – but it’s amazing how many people get it wrong and wonder why their images are blurry. There are of course many other techniques for decreasing camera shake that should be used in conjunction with the way you hold it. Shutter speed, lenses with image stabilization and of course tripods can all help – we’ll cover these and more in future posts. Follow along with future tips by Subscribing to our email or RSS feeds.

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Dear "X":

I Like the shot. Sometimes we are forced to take what the situation gives us. But this image has personality - looking right into the lens. Have you ever talked to your subjects. You got the most important part of this image sharp, from what I can tell - the eye and secondarily, the beak. Then one can crop out everything else (the foreground foliage is soft). In these contrasting lighting conditions you might try using a polarizer to cut down the glare from the white areas. Also, using the EV -- about a “-2” might have saved this shot. Attached is how I would crop it - you can see where the problem areas are. Also, if using the tripod, it would be possible to decrease the aperture thereby increasing the depth of field. Use the d-o-f preview button to determine how much you want to stop down. This still wouldn't make past the editors desk. Possibly would have to go to Photoshop for some "cloneing" work, but you can't bring back details in whites where none were captured in the original image.

Go find another one -- you’re on the right track... Make notes of your experiences about the shoot. When you get that real strong image or images send them out to magazines with the words in article form -- I did that to Florida Wildlife and they snapped it up - paid $$ -- and others get to enjoy your experience. Thanks for sending the work. Take a look at the web site - there is a piece I included in “Photo/text Packages” page. After I learned that I would have to do stories to get my photography published, when I went out shooting I was always “on purpose.” Days of boredom were few. It’s a neat way to go...

Bob

Hi Bob:

It is actually warming up here at last (almost 70 degrees today).  Went to that park today and took a few (mostly throw away) images.  I am attaching several for your critical eye.   BTW....I can handle criticism so lay it on....I do not get offended...

Dear "X":

Glad warm is getting to you. I remember those days. Actually, I would prefer to be thought of as just another set of eyes, perhaps a little more. objective. I recall when I first started and had a few sheets of what I thought were pretty good images, I sought the advice of a pro who taught and he just looked at my work and said “keep shooting.” I wasn’t quite sure what he meant by that but kept shooting. But at least he looked at my work, I thought. So, I’m actually just another pair of eyes. I realize that when we are shooting we only have so many options open to us to bring home the bacon. I think today we are so fortunate to be able to mess around in post photo programs. For both of these I used Nikon Capture NX2.

I really like both of your images - blue looked very intriguing with the misty background. Background becomes one of our biggest challenges.

I cropped the White Iris to get rid of the disturbing background (the legs weren’t sharp anyhow)and used brightness/contrast slider to reduce the brightness and bring up the contrast slightly.

We started with a more or less mundane shot of river flow in winter near my home in Clyde which sits in the mountains of Western North Carolina. When I shot this I had nothing in mind -  it was one of the many images I took to capture the moment on Dec 23, 2009 at 10:51AM.

Photographed with my Nikon D70s with one of my favorite lenses the Nikkor 18-200VRII in RAW with lens set at 48mm focal length f/16 1/1000 sec Aperture Priority EV set at -.03 Meter center weighted ISO200. That is pretty much my standard setting and I seldom change it. About the only thing I change is my focal length of my 18-200 zoom. So, actually you could say that I have turned my SLR into a Point and shoot. I like to be free to let my eyes wander and sense the moment rather than have to think about what the camera is doing. This image could have very well been taken with about any Point and shoot camera.

Now for what we did then. 

I cropped the image to make a long narrow image just including the things that looked most interesting to me

Next I used the "invert" tool in Photoshop to give me this look -- Keep in mind where you find this "tool," as it can be a great help in both color and B&W images that don't quite make the cut as they are.

I liked this more than the original ...

However, something was missing.

I looked around the different menus in the tool bar and spied "Find Edges."That was it - just enough of edging but it still looked a little flat so…

I also added a little color… a bit of yellow and a bit of red to make this sepia tone which I liked best. If you are not familiar with the color wheel it may help in your composition. Try Googling color wheel or checking into art class.