Tripods and Supporting a Camera
Hand Holding a Camera. This is the obvious way to hold your camera and providing the light is good you should achieve shake free results. The photographs below show the way to hold a compact and DSLR/viewfinder camera in both landscape and portrait modes. Most camera are designed to used in the predominant landscape mode which means the portrait view is not so comfortable. When holding the camera get in the habit of not covering the flash or AF assist light.
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Your arms should be tucked in to the side of your body with legs slightly apart.There's a variety of advice given about breathing when you take a photograph. Some say hold you breath, breath out, breath in, you can take your pick. Our suggestion is to breath as normal and ignore these conflicting ideas. When making the exposure gently squeeze the shutter release. The general rule-of-thumb when choosing a shutter speed required to eliminate camera shake is to match the speed to the focal length i.e. 28mm 1/30 sec, 50mm 1/60 sec, 200mm 1/200 sec. Cameras that have shake reduction systems can be hand held with a speed at least half of these figures. Viewing the image on a LCD of a compact when the photograph is taken is less stable as the arms are out stretched so a higher speed should be used. A faster speed will also be required if it's windy, you feel cold or tired. There are many ways when hand holding to obtain extra support. Look out for lampposts, telegraph poles, walls, trees, fences, backs of chairs, tables, car windows these can all be used to lean or rest the camera on to provide a steady shot. |
| Tripods. These are the predominant form of camera support, a solid, sturdy tripod means that exposure times become irrelevant. It's preferable for a tripod to be heavy but unless it's only going to be be used for studio/home use the weight will be an important consideration. A compromise has to be made, it's no use having a tripod that's so heavy you can't be bothered to carry it with you. The tripod should be heavier than the camera/lens it's supporting, many allow a gadget bag or bag of stones to be hung from the centre column to improve stability. Points to check before purchasing a tripod include the maximum and minimum height available. The tripod legs should be easy to adjust with a strong lock mechanism to ensure no movement. A built in spirit level will indicate when the camera is horizontal. |
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There are two types of camera mounting platforms, pan-and-tilt and ball-and-socket. The ball-and-socket head allows the user unlimited movement but is usually only available on expensive models.
When purchasing a tripod it makes sense to get one that is manufactured by a recognised company such as Manfrotto, Gitzo, Benbo, Slik, Velbon. Monopods. This is a one-legged version of the tripod. Its main advantage is the small space it takes up making it useful in crowded conditions when a tripod would be impractical. Professional football, press, paparazzi photographers are often seen with a monopod supporting a camera with a long lens. The weight of a monopod is less than a tripod and it will allow you to use a shutter speed slower than hand holding the camera. Other Supports. Mini tripods are as the name implies very small tripods they have uses when a full size one cannot be used. They can provide a low level view or be rested on a table or shelf. The Gorillapod is a development of the mini tripod it has the added feature of bendy legs that can be wrapped around poles, trees, lampposts. A range of clamps are available, some are simple vice like devices others have extendable arms, they can be clamped onto a table, car window or branch of a tree. |