You would think after having been making videos for UA-cam for as long as I have - I wouldn't make the silly mistake of leaving an ND filter on the camera under the canopy of trees... But here we are! So - some of the early footage is on the grainy side, as my camera cranked the ISO up to account for my mistake! Sorry about that - I hope the video is helpful despite some of the grainy footage along the way.
I've done that before. The wife and I went to the zoo some weeks ago and I had my Z8 w/24-200mm on it, however, I kept telling her man it seems dark through the lens. I realized about 30 minutes into it that I had ND #6 on it lol. Needless to say, after taking that off I didn't have any issues with light. My last trip I was shooting some waterfalls with that lens and normally I take it off when not using ND filters nadda that time. Great video Jeff, I usually do handhold at zoos, birding, and street photography. However, a good 75% of my shooting is landscape and on a tripod. Great recommendation on burst mode, I use that a lot handholding.
Yeah - everything looked okay on the small camera screen - but got it home and started editing and was like, "ooops! I know what happened!" It happens to all of us! I definitely prefer a tripod, but lots of great handheld opportunities!
I have a walking stick with a 1/4-20 on top that can double as a monopod. Handy way to have a little more stability for your camera *and* have a hiking stick as well!
I do a lot of hiking with my wife. I always have my camera with me which she refers to as "the other woman". I don't take a tripod and do what I call "shoot and sprint". It is just what it sounds like, keep your eyes open for a composition that might work, stop for a few seconds, line it up, and SHOOT. After one or two variations, sprint ahead to catch up. Obviously not ideal but it keeps peace in the family. Your tips are all valid and can help folks like me that travel with someone that doesn't have the patience to wait for you to line up the perfect shot. Something that compliments the ISO and shutter speed management is Auto ISO. I have that set most of the time in shoot and sprint situations. I learned it's real value shooting wildlife. For landscape, set a base ISO then select the maximum ISO you can tolerate along with the minimum shutter speed you can trust. Have you considered Grand Junction vs. Fort Collins?
That is another great use for learning to photograph handheld. I left that off my list, but have done many family walks where dragging a tripod along was not appropriate! Keeping peace in the family is a good thing! I like the auto-iso trick as well. Handy for those faster moving (or sprint) situations to help make sure the camera settings are about right. Haven't looked very close at Grand Junction.
My wife doesn't do a lot of hiking, especially after shattering her leg 3 years ago today, but she is pretty good about letting me run off with my "mistress." I really don't like her calling it that, but she thinks it's funny.
Ouch! That sucks about her leg! And I totally know what you mean! When I invite my family on a hike, they usually ask - are you taking a camera? And if the answer is yes, but they are still interested in going, the next question is, how many lenses are you taking? LOL
I shoot HH a lot, and often with a 3.7kg telephoto. A good technique is to stand almost side-on to the subject, bring your left hand up to hold your right shoulder, left arm raised parallel to the ground, and rest the whole rig on the resulting 'platform'. Brace, force the eye-piece hard against your eye, fire a burst. Also works well when you're down on one knee. I also find using a monopod unextended with the bottom end wedged into my jacket pocket is pretty stable. And yeah... two bodies if tripod shooting or to avoid lens changes at a beach or a windy and dusty environment. Nice vid - cheers.
I really like that tip on how to stand, I think I might subconsciously do a variation of that sometimes. Good tip! A monopod can be a nice compromise as well! A little bit of extra stability without lugging around a full tripod into the field everytime. Thanks for watching!
Another excellent video. I shoot handheld most of the time but plan to start bringing along a tripod on certain hikes. Yesterday, with a hurricane approaching, it was very challenging holding the camera steady so I cranked up the shutter speed. Since I wasn't hiking I was able to brace myself against my car, a sign post and later sit on a rock. Eventually the wind won out and I packed up to wait for a better day.
Thanks! Oh wow! Those sound like some crazy conditions! Bracing against something sturdy can definitely help! But hurricane force winds are a different story! Glad you made it home safe!
I do shoot hand held quite a bit. I don’t follow the best-practices rules like I should and regret it when I get home. I heard a few tips back when I first started and didn’t even own a tripod yet, and I’ve never forgotten them. 1) keep your elbows tucked in close to your body. 2) holding your breath for the second you’re taking a shot. 3) one I did myself (similar to your log or rock analogy) was to lean against a tree. Shoulder to elbow and down to your hip will give lots of stability. Great tips !! Thanks!
Solid list of tips you have as well! I should have mentioned the breathing one - especially when you're really trying to push the limit on a longer shutter speed to handhold! That's a good one! Leaning against things is good as well! Just gives that extra amount of stability! And it is easy to get caught up in the excitement of the moment and forget some of these! I find when I shoot handheld there is often some time element at play as well, making it harder to remember all the things to get a stable base for sharp photos!
Excellent advice Jeffrey, these 5 tips will definitely help me shoot better hand held images. (2:47 in, as you ended the pan what was that little brown hairy thing hiding in the rock? Bottom lower left of the frame).
Great tips - I used several of these techniques on my recent trip to Iceland, since many of the compositions I found were literally on the side of the road while driving. If time were no limiting factor I would have preferred using a tripod, but for quick stops at pull-offs along the road...handheld was king! I really need to figure out how to make better use of the 'custom settings' profiles on my camera, so I can more easily switch from a baseline of "tripod" to "handheld" to "handheld wildlife" settings with the simple turn of a dial...then I'll be cooking with fire...
Handheld is great for those fast overlooks where you don't want (or have time) to pull out the tripod and get all setup! I have a video on custom setting profiles - they are super useful! Though I will admit, I always forget what I have mine set for - since a lot of my trips are going to be one type of photograpy or the other - i.e. handheld, tripod-based, or on very rare occasion wildlife. But for a trip like you are on, having those setup would be great - since things might change from one scene to the other!
My thought with the shutter speed tip is that it can vary a lot. One day you might be fine at 1/30th and the next you can't get anything at 1/90th. Your coffee or lack of sleep will affect it, but at least you've got a starting point to go from.
One problem I ran into the other day handholding was injury. I had a relatively heavy lens and was focussing on some detailed scene and trying to compose precisely. That action tweaked a muscle in my back that caused a lot of pain. for the rest of the day Should have found the scene handheld and then put the weight on a tripod for fine tuning.
Ouch! I hope it heals up soon! I am still predominantly a tripod-based shooter even today. Mainly handheld when I'm using my second camera or sometimes when trying to hike/travel super light.
Nice video. It's worth mentioning that all three of the companies offering AI Denoise allow us to increase the ISO even further. I also find that trying to keep still I shake a little. If I use continuous back button focus and intentionally move my body forward very slowly I shake much less than trying to keep still
Excellent point on the improved Denoise options these days! That definitely gives you even more room to push that ISO a bit more if the situations warrants it. Interesting approach pairing continuous focus with a slow body forward move. I have not tried that. I sometimes feel like the AF on my Nikon might not be *that* good - but I might give it a whirl the next time I am out practicing locally and see how it works out! Always looking to add tips and tricks to my own photography! Thanks for the suggestion!
I default to an exposure delay of 2 seconds when using a tripod, but I always find it hard to time the moment of being still with the delay when shooting handheld for some reason. I readily admit, I don't think I'm the most stable handheld shooter out there - so the delay method may work better for others! Trees make great supports!
The only time I use a tripod is when we're taking selfies. I use a $20 amazon remote. I dont wanna give my camera to a stranger. In other circumstances, I normally kneel down and brace my elbow on my knee. It's really no problem. Even with my NIkon Z 180-600mm I can hold that and the Z6ii all day with no tripod. You can always brace yourself against a tree, fencepost . Whatever your doing hold your breath before taking the shot. I've even used large sticks if found while hiking to use as a monopod.
I think those stabilization tricks you mention are super helpful to helping give yourself the stability to photograph from. That kneeling down and bracing yourself on one knee is a good one! Breathing technique is good as well! I actually have a hiking stick here at the house that used to belong to my dad that has a little screw mount on top to screw into the camera - so it doubles as a monopod!
Image stabilization will definitely help you cheat the 1x rule. You do still have to keep in mind the movement that might be happening in your photo though (i.e. if you are photographing a tree and the leaves are moving because of a breeze, you’ll still need a faster shutter speed to stop that motion. But if we’re talking only handheld camera shake, image stabilization will definitely help. My video that releases tomorrow (Thursday) is about vibration reduction/image stabilization and I demo what it looks with with VR on or VR off on the back of the camera. I show it using a Nikon, but it applies to any camera with image stabilization.
I cannot shoot handheld with my Canon 5DS R. Even if I speed up the shutter speed the photo comes out blurry. I do have a Canon R I have some success with but moving from a tripod to handheld has its own learning curve.
There is definitely a learning curve to shooting handheld if you are used to being on a tripod. I still prefer photographing from a tripod in most cases.
Yep - that's why I put chapters in the video for people that prefer not to watch the commentary and skip straight to the tips. Tip 1 through 5 each get their own chapter, making it easy to view each of them or skip ahead to the next.
Looks like poor field practices. Carrying a camera holding it by the hand & without at least a crossbody strap!! LOL!!! Small trip on the hiking trail & the camera may go flying out the hand...
I keep a small wrist strap in my bag or times I feel like I want a safety strap - on this particular metro park trail, the odds of me tripping were quite, quite slim. You probably don't want to see the videos where I walk around with the camera attached to the tripod and the tripod slung over my shoulder! ;)
You would think after having been making videos for UA-cam for as long as I have - I wouldn't make the silly mistake of leaving an ND filter on the camera under the canopy of trees... But here we are! So - some of the early footage is on the grainy side, as my camera cranked the ISO up to account for my mistake! Sorry about that - I hope the video is helpful despite some of the grainy footage along the way.
I've done that before. The wife and I went to the zoo some weeks ago and I had my Z8 w/24-200mm on it, however, I kept telling her man it seems dark through the lens. I realized about 30 minutes into it that I had ND #6 on it lol. Needless to say, after taking that off I didn't have any issues with light. My last trip I was shooting some waterfalls with that lens and normally I take it off when not using ND filters nadda that time. Great video Jeff, I usually do handhold at zoos, birding, and street photography. However, a good 75% of my shooting is landscape and on a tripod. Great recommendation on burst mode, I use that a lot handholding.
Yeah - everything looked okay on the small camera screen - but got it home and started editing and was like, "ooops! I know what happened!" It happens to all of us!
I definitely prefer a tripod, but lots of great handheld opportunities!
I love a monopod (walking stick) with a speedigimbal. It works really well for me and serves a dual purpose.
I have a walking stick with a 1/4-20 on top that can double as a monopod. Handy way to have a little more stability for your camera *and* have a hiking stick as well!
I do a lot of hiking with my wife. I always have my camera with me which she refers to as "the other woman". I don't take a tripod and do what I call "shoot and sprint". It is just what it sounds like, keep your eyes open for a composition that might work, stop for a few seconds, line it up, and SHOOT. After one or two variations, sprint ahead to catch up. Obviously not ideal but it keeps peace in the family. Your tips are all valid and can help folks like me that travel with someone that doesn't have the patience to wait for you to line up the perfect shot. Something that compliments the ISO and shutter speed management is Auto ISO. I have that set most of the time in shoot and sprint situations. I learned it's real value shooting wildlife. For landscape, set a base ISO then select the maximum ISO you can tolerate along with the minimum shutter speed you can trust.
Have you considered Grand Junction vs. Fort Collins?
That is another great use for learning to photograph handheld. I left that off my list, but have done many family walks where dragging a tripod along was not appropriate! Keeping peace in the family is a good thing!
I like the auto-iso trick as well. Handy for those faster moving (or sprint) situations to help make sure the camera settings are about right.
Haven't looked very close at Grand Junction.
My wife doesn't do a lot of hiking, especially after shattering her leg 3 years ago today, but she is pretty good about letting me run off with my "mistress." I really don't like her calling it that, but she thinks it's funny.
Ouch! That sucks about her leg! And I totally know what you mean! When I invite my family on a hike, they usually ask - are you taking a camera? And if the answer is yes, but they are still interested in going, the next question is, how many lenses are you taking? LOL
I shoot HH a lot, and often with a 3.7kg telephoto. A good technique is to stand almost side-on to the subject, bring your left hand up to hold your right shoulder, left arm raised parallel to the ground, and rest the whole rig on the resulting 'platform'. Brace, force the eye-piece hard against your eye, fire a burst. Also works well when you're down on one knee. I also find using a monopod unextended with the bottom end wedged into my jacket pocket is pretty stable. And yeah... two bodies if tripod shooting or to avoid lens changes at a beach or a windy and dusty environment. Nice vid - cheers.
I really like that tip on how to stand, I think I might subconsciously do a variation of that sometimes. Good tip!
A monopod can be a nice compromise as well! A little bit of extra stability without lugging around a full tripod into the field everytime.
Thanks for watching!
Another excellent video. I shoot handheld most of the time but plan to start bringing along a tripod on certain hikes. Yesterday, with a hurricane approaching, it was very challenging holding the camera steady so I cranked up the shutter speed. Since I wasn't hiking I was able to brace myself against my car, a sign post and later sit on a rock. Eventually the wind won out and I packed up to wait for a better day.
Thanks!
Oh wow! Those sound like some crazy conditions! Bracing against something sturdy can definitely help! But hurricane force winds are a different story! Glad you made it home safe!
I do shoot hand held quite a bit. I don’t follow the best-practices rules like I should and regret it when I get home.
I heard a few tips back when I first started and didn’t even own a tripod yet, and I’ve never forgotten them.
1) keep your elbows tucked in close to your body.
2) holding your breath for the second you’re taking a shot.
3) one I did myself (similar to your log or rock analogy) was to lean against a tree. Shoulder to elbow and down to your hip will give lots of stability.
Great tips !! Thanks!
Solid list of tips you have as well! I should have mentioned the breathing one - especially when you're really trying to push the limit on a longer shutter speed to handhold! That's a good one!
Leaning against things is good as well! Just gives that extra amount of stability!
And it is easy to get caught up in the excitement of the moment and forget some of these! I find when I shoot handheld there is often some time element at play as well, making it harder to remember all the things to get a stable base for sharp photos!
Excellent advice Jeffrey, these 5 tips will definitely help me shoot better hand held images. (2:47 in, as you ended the pan what was that little brown hairy thing hiding in the rock? Bottom lower left of the frame).
The brown thing was a prickly plant of some sort nestled in the rocks I believe. Not 100% what type of desert vegetation it was!
Great tips - I used several of these techniques on my recent trip to Iceland, since many of the compositions I found were literally on the side of the road while driving. If time were no limiting factor I would have preferred using a tripod, but for quick stops at pull-offs along the road...handheld was king!
I really need to figure out how to make better use of the 'custom settings' profiles on my camera, so I can more easily switch from a baseline of "tripod" to "handheld" to "handheld wildlife" settings with the simple turn of a dial...then I'll be cooking with fire...
Handheld is great for those fast overlooks where you don't want (or have time) to pull out the tripod and get all setup!
I have a video on custom setting profiles - they are super useful! Though I will admit, I always forget what I have mine set for - since a lot of my trips are going to be one type of photograpy or the other - i.e. handheld, tripod-based, or on very rare occasion wildlife.
But for a trip like you are on, having those setup would be great - since things might change from one scene to the other!
My thought with the shutter speed tip is that it can vary a lot. One day you might be fine at 1/30th and the next you can't get anything at 1/90th. Your coffee or lack of sleep will affect it, but at least you've got a starting point to go from.
I can definitely see it varying from day-to-day. (Or how much coffee! ;) ) I agree, a good starting point to work from.
One problem I ran into the other day handholding was injury. I had a relatively heavy lens and was focussing on some detailed scene and trying to compose precisely. That action tweaked a muscle in my back that caused a lot of pain. for the rest of the day Should have found the scene handheld and then put the weight on a tripod for fine tuning.
Ouch! I hope it heals up soon!
I am still predominantly a tripod-based shooter even today. Mainly handheld when I'm using my second camera or sometimes when trying to hike/travel super light.
Nice video. It's worth mentioning that all three of the companies offering AI Denoise allow us to increase the ISO even further. I also find that trying to keep still I shake a little. If I use continuous back button focus and intentionally move my body forward very slowly I shake much less than trying to keep still
Excellent point on the improved Denoise options these days! That definitely gives you even more room to push that ISO a bit more if the situations warrants it.
Interesting approach pairing continuous focus with a slow body forward move. I have not tried that. I sometimes feel like the AF on my Nikon might not be *that* good - but I might give it a whirl the next time I am out practicing locally and see how it works out! Always looking to add tips and tricks to my own photography! Thanks for the suggestion!
Alternative to burst mode is a 2 sec timer. Also brace against a tree.
I default to an exposure delay of 2 seconds when using a tripod, but I always find it hard to time the moment of being still with the delay when shooting handheld for some reason. I readily admit, I don't think I'm the most stable handheld shooter out there - so the delay method may work better for others!
Trees make great supports!
The only time I use a tripod is when we're taking selfies. I use a $20 amazon remote. I dont wanna give my camera to a stranger. In other circumstances, I normally kneel down and brace my elbow on my knee. It's really no problem. Even with my NIkon Z 180-600mm I can hold that and the Z6ii all day with no tripod. You can always brace yourself against a tree, fencepost . Whatever your doing hold your breath before taking the shot. I've even used large sticks if found while hiking to use as a monopod.
I think those stabilization tricks you mention are super helpful to helping give yourself the stability to photograph from. That kneeling down and bracing yourself on one knee is a good one! Breathing technique is good as well!
I actually have a hiking stick here at the house that used to belong to my dad that has a little screw mount on top to screw into the camera - so it doubles as a monopod!
Do you think camera/lens stabilisation affects the "1x" rule?
Image stabilization will definitely help you cheat the 1x rule. You do still have to keep in mind the movement that might be happening in your photo though (i.e. if you are photographing a tree and the leaves are moving because of a breeze, you’ll still need a faster shutter speed to stop that motion. But if we’re talking only handheld camera shake, image stabilization will definitely help.
My video that releases tomorrow (Thursday) is about vibration reduction/image stabilization and I demo what it looks with with VR on or VR off on the back of the camera. I show it using a Nikon, but it applies to any camera with image stabilization.
I cannot shoot handheld with my Canon 5DS R. Even if I speed up the shutter speed the photo comes out blurry. I do have a Canon R I have some success with but moving from a tripod to handheld has its own learning curve.
There is definitely a learning curve to shooting handheld if you are used to being on a tripod. I still prefer photographing from a tripod in most cases.
Hand hold 80%.
That’s awesome! I imagine it is quite freeing not lugging a tripod around all the time!
Bro, 4 minutes you talked only about your tripod. 😂
Yep - that's why I put chapters in the video for people that prefer not to watch the commentary and skip straight to the tips. Tip 1 through 5 each get their own chapter, making it easy to view each of them or skip ahead to the next.
Looks like poor field practices. Carrying a camera holding it by the hand & without at least a crossbody strap!! LOL!!! Small trip on the hiking trail & the camera may go flying out the hand...
I keep a small wrist strap in my bag or times I feel like I want a safety strap - on this particular metro park trail, the odds of me tripping were quite, quite slim. You probably don't want to see the videos where I walk around with the camera attached to the tripod and the tripod slung over my shoulder! ;)