4 ways to keep camera shake at bay

If you don’t want to carry a heavy, cumbersome tripod with you all  of the time, there are ways to stop camera shake spoiling your shots when you’re shooting handheld.

The first step is to select a shutter speed fast enough to freeze any movement, but there are other ways to reduce the chance of shake, even at slower shutter speeds.

Make sure that your arms are down by your sides, rather than away from your body, and that you take the weight of the camera with your left hand. This is even more important if shooting with a telephoto lens.

Search for something you can lean against or rest the camera on. This can be anything from a tree or fence to a rock or even your car. If you can’t find anything suitable, just kneel down to find a more stable position to help reduce camera shake.

If using slow shutter speeds, simply place the camera on a wall or a rock, then fire the shutter using the self-timer or a remote release – you can even use your camera bag as a makeshift platform for some shots. Just make sure that your camera is safe and stable.

Below are four tried and tested methods of reducing camera shake that you can put into practice today!

Hold fire
The first step to sharper images is to make sure that you are holding the camera correctly. Keep your arms down by your sides, and cradle the camera and lens with your left hand. Press the shutter release smoothly to minimise any movement when you take your shot.

Kneel down
If you are on open ground and you can’t hold the camera steady standing up, you’ll find that kneeling down will provide a more stable platform. This technique is useful if using lenses with long focal lengths, because you can rest your left elbow on your knee for greater stability.

Get some support
You can stabilise yourself and your camera quite effectively by finding a tree, fence, wall or rock to lean on while you take your shot. With a bit of practice you’ll be amazed at the slower shutter speeds you can get away with without introducing camera shake.

Use your bag
There’s a straightforward way  to get sharp shots when you want to use really slow shutter speeds and you don’t have a tripod. Simply rest your camera on top of your camera bag and then release the shutter using the built-in self-timer or a cable release to keep everything still.

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