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PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS AND TECHNIQUES
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Photography Tip #4:
Steady As She Goes! (Camera Movement = Blurry Images)
When you learn more about manual settings such as shutter speed, you gain more control over your camera rather than allowing your camera to make all of the decisions for you; some of which you can do a much better job of making. But even if you never venture into the manual side of photography and shoot everything on 'auto pilot', one seemingly obvious practice is most often overlooked by most.
First of all, understand that when it comes to focus, it's not like horseshoes; there's no room for, "Well, it's pretty clear." An image is either focused or not. Period. Image clarity is influenced by many things, such as the "shutter speed" function mentioned above, how effectively the lens was focused on your subject, and the quality of the camera and lens, among other things.
If your photos are more often than not blurry, have you considered that the disappointing results may have less to do with the quality of your camera or lens and more to do with how you're holding the camera? It's true; most amateur photographers pay little or no attention to how their handling of the camera can affect image clarity. What we're talking about here isn't related to a lens focus issue, but a motion blur issue.
In photography, speed is a relative thing. Did you know that a seemingly tiny bump or shake of the camera can result in greater motion blur than shooting a moving subject with a steady hand? Think about it this way; watch a commercial jet aircraft way up in the sky at its cruising altitude. Watching from the ground, it may take up to five minutes for the plane to cross the sky. Yet its speed is somewhere in the neighborhood of 500 miles per hour.
By contrast, if you pan your camera quickly or shake it unnecessarily while pressing the shutter, your camera is really moving at a very high rate of speed, relatively speaking. Many photos are blurry simply because the camera shifted downward and to the right when the shutter was depressed. Other photo dabblers just can't seem to hold the camera still enough. The motion of your camera may seem insignificant to you, but if the movement results in the frame tracing across, for instance, an entire wall of a room, then the camera is actually traveling very rapidly and a motion blur will result.
How do you hold your camera? Here's what you should do. Practice taking shots while looking at how much your camera moves or dips when you press the shutter. Make a conscious effort to keep the entire body as stationary as possible. Alternatively, use a tripod or make yourself into a "human tripod" by bracing your back against a wall and bringing your elbows in toward your body.
You will be amazed at what a vast difference this makes in the overall clarity of your photos!
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Both of these photos were shot on a Nikon D80 DSLR using a Nikon VR 70-300 mm lens; this is an excellent camera and lens combo with an initial purchase price around $1,600. However, even with this quality of equipment, sloppy handling can result in a photo that would be less than one would expect from a $5 disposable camera.
This top photo to the left shows what can happen when the camera is not held as steadily as it should be held. The result is that no part of the image is acceptably clear. This lower photo used the same camera and settings, but necessary attention was given to holding the camera with greater control and steadiness. In each example the hummingbird was stationary and the lens was focused clearly on the bird. |
Sure, the pro's can't get by without a tripod, but it's also a must for the serious photographer. As you will learn in Tip #10, the tripod has even more uses beyond ensuring a steady shot during daytime shots!
If you have more money to spend on a more expensive pro-standard tripod, such as a Manfrotto or carbon fiber Gitzo, you won't be disappointed. However, the photo enthusiast can make do with a discount tripod. The main thing is that every photographer at any level should have... A TRIPOD!!! All photographers need at least one!
If you have more money to spend on a more expensive pro-standard tripod, such as a Manfrotto or carbon fiber Gitzo, you won't be disappointed. However, the photo enthusiast can make do with a discount tripod. The main thing is that every photographer at any level should have... A TRIPOD!!! All photographers need at least one!
Camera Shake = Blur (even at shutter speed 1/125)
CAMERA BLUR CAN OCCUR FROM A SHAKY CAMERA
What was intended to be a commercial photo depicting mouth-watering, tree-ripe apples turned into a mess! The image reminds one of apple sauce more than it does apples, due to the shaky camera work and blurry end result. This image and the one below were shot in ample light with a shutter speed of 1/125 of a second, using a moderate zoom of 120mm. Technically speaking, the zoom in itself should not cause a blur problem and the shutter speed is, in fact, a bit faster than the average speed of 1/60, meaning that the image above had every chance to be crystal clear. However, the motion blur is caused entirely by sloppy camera work.
 STEADY CAMERAS PRODUCER CLEARER IMAGES |
See what happens when the photographer takes more care to steady him or herself against an adjacent tree trunk and grasp the camera firmly with both hands. Big difference indeed! |
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