How to Hold a Camera Properly

How to Hold a Camera

While it's important to hold your camera in a way that feels natural to you, it's also JUST AS IMPORTANT to hold the camera in a way that will prevent blur and unsharp images due to camera shake.

Here are a few tips to help you properly and securely hold your camera when shooting with a tripod is NOT an option:

1. Brace Your Arms Against Your Torso

When taking photos from a standing position, brace your arms against your torso to help keep your camera steady.  If your arms are splayed out to either side of you, you will be giving the camera a lot less support.

To support the front of your camera, place your hand underneath the lens.  Placing your hand on top of the camera not only takes away support, but you can sometimes accidentally push the camera, resulting in blur due to camera shake.

Be sure to stand up as straight as possible.  Relax your neck and shoulders and take deep breaths between shots to avoid tensing up.  You may also find it helpful to hold your breath when pressing the shutter.

2. Brace Your Arms Against Your Legs

When shooting at a lower angle, try bracing your arms against your legs rather than bending over at the waist, or even get down on the ground to provide maximum stability.

If you bend at the waist, you will have less control of your balance, but if you get into a slightly different body position, you will have the same angle of view but will be less likely to have a blurry photo as a result of camera shake.

If you have good knees and decent balance, you can try positioning the back of your upper arms on your knees when squatting down.  This is a relatively easy position to get in and out of quickly.

If you are like me and have bad knees (hello, knee surgery...I know you well) and cannot squat down and stand back up quickly and with ease, then try sitting with your elbows resting on your knees:

3. Lean on Something

Just because you don't have a tripod doesn’t mean your images will be blurry!  Finding something to lean against will really help you steady yourself by supporting your arms, torso, and hips.  Anything sturdy enough to support your leaning body weight, like a tree, wall, doorway, etc., will work well.

Conclusion

How you hold your camera can make a big difference in the sharpness of your photos.  Each of these methods can prevent blur and create maximum stability, so use them to ensure your next images are as sharp as possible.

Check Out the Other Blog Posts in Our Guide to Sharper Images Series:

• Choosing the Lens That's Best for You 
• Choosing the Correct ISO Setting for Sharper Images
• Choosing the Correct Shutter Speed & Aperture Settings for Sharper Images
• Back Button Focus 101 for Sharper Images

Do you have any questions or comments about How to Hold Your Camera?  Leave us a comment below - we would LOVE to hear from you!  And PLEASE SHARE our tutorial using the social sharing buttons (we really appreciate it)!