Get Sharp Handheld Photos Forever!
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- Опубліковано 20 лип 2024
- I love handholding my camera to get photos, and I hate tripods. So, here are all of my best tips for getting sharp photos without using a tripod! I do most of this after sunrise in perfectly bright conditions, fail!
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Step 1: No coffee.
Me: Yeah, tripod ain't so heavy after all.
Cheers though, all solid tips.
Lmaoo. My first thought
🤣
Always entertaining just listening to you ramble on.
Makes me feel better that he does it too when instructing.
Me: Okay he's probably gonna start off talking about camera settings, modes etc.
James: Don't drink coffee, eat loads of food...
“Pretty does not necessarily equal a good photo.” This is one of the most important lessons I’ve come across as a learning photographer.
Can we assume that "a couple of bananas" really means a large bag of Jelly Babies?
They could be a couple of bags of the old foam banana sweets
As a competitive rifle shooter I'd recommend taking images holding no breath in your lungs. You can be without breath longer than you can hold a breath.
I alway take photos using the standing position from 3P target shooting.
Exactly what I intended to post. Also don't shoot too quickly after biking up a hill, should be at the top of the tips. I don't buy the coffee argument. The coffee is probably not the issue, the 500g candy that goes with it is more questionable...
Hey James, great video and tips. Thank you very much for sharing your insights. I enjoy your videos enormously. I agree to all your points. One suggestion to compliment them: I am a violinist. One of the major things you Iearn is, how to stand steady (footwork), while keeping mobile and flexible in the upper body -- and maintaining it with as little effort as possible (to be able to do so for a long time without ruining your health).
The tricks are: spread your feet as wide as your hipps (in the video your feet are too far apart) and stand on both feet equally. Put your left foot (because it's holding the camera weight) a little in front forming the 3-pod (left foot-- right foot -- body in the centre as you mentioned). Then bend your knees just a little (make sure they are not locked and stiff). Proof / check your standing with bending, leaning or tilting your upper body forward/backwards and left to right. You'll feel your centre more easily. That's enough. To master it even further also pay attention to the pelvis: tilt it, so as to avoid arching your back. Just enough to unlock your spine. That improves steady breathing and standing steady with less effort. 😉
It needs some practicing, but I wouldn't miss it. You can practice everywhere: Standing in line in the supermarket, brushing your teeth, cradling your little one, washing dishes, standing together with friends and chat, riding the bus (best exercise ever! You are a master when you wont need to hold on anymore 😉). Now it's so deeply rooted in my system, it became second nature.
Please let me know how it works for you and feel free to ask further questions. 😊
Thank you for addressing things that aren't just camera settings! I have almost never heard someone mention Hunger shakes, in any context. But it is definitely something I experience frequently because I just forget to eat.
The irony is that the pre-roll ad for me was for Gitzo!
7:10 Learning a primal squat was one of the best things I've done for photography. Once you've got the strength and flexibility down, you can just squat there forever, completely planted and yet off the ground. I was stalking a few birds at the local wetlands for half an hour without having to sit in the mud. Very handy.
Love spending a few minutes on my off-day traveling with James!
It is good that we have James, isn't it. Always improves the mood 🙂
He is a treasure
Very useful video James... You should call these videos, "The Popsys Synopsis". You should also mention, get lots of sleep regularly and exercise, because a fit body can hold the camera without any shakes longer without shaking than an unfit body. The DJI Pocket 2 has crazy good stabilization. FYI, it's very hard to keep your feet apart and not have your legs apart...
A lot of the techniques for not having a shaky camera are the same things we apply in the military for long distance rifle fire. Steady squeeze, calm breaths, fire on bottom of your exhale, don't hold your breath (unless that helps then by all means), etc. etc.
2 weeks to go.... how exciting. Wishing you and Emily all the best for your happy event. Cant wait to see pics!
In summation: hold still, you wobbly knobs. And use a timer.
I genuinely thought it was a personal quirk of mine that my steadiest shots are taken when I’ve finished breathing out, something I had stumbled upon from trying various techniques. From your comment and the comments here, quite reassuring that I’m not just imagining it. Love your videos due to being the perfect mix of instruction and humour that makes education fun. Congrats on the new baba. 💙
This was very relaxing to watch
First time heard something different, really awesome ideas and amazing videos bro
Breathing is a great tip James. I often pay attention to mine when taking shots as I feel it adds to some of the stabilsation to your shot.
Bloody fantastic really enjoyed watching that, great work. I had my first visit there earlier this year, outstanding place
“It was just a demo of the breath” ….enormous love it James ..well done really useful tips. So many things to sort …cheers
Hey, James just wanted to how awesome you are and how much joy I get from your videos. I wish you guys all the best, especially with the little one! You are going to be the best dad, well maybe 2nd best dad you can't take that from me. Anyways love these weekly videos!
always love the photography content but that ramble brings it to a new level... awesome
Great advice James! Wales is so beautiful! Enjoy :)
Really helpful video mixed with some dry humour. I’m planning on doing a motorcycle trip to Wales and Gogarth was one of the places I plan to visit. Now seeing your video it’s a must.
Very hepful video !! Thanks a lot !
I want to thank you for all your videos. I am a beginner photographer and I have learned so much from watching you. Thank you for the tips, keep it up please!
I take the breathing exercise even further and I time the shutter release between my heartbeats too, although I can't sync it with the self-timer on the camera while I'm on the move.
Great tips, I love your videos :)
Great tips and tricks. Have to say I’ve move to a tripod for more and more shots. But this is a good reminder there is another (easier?) way. Thanks for the video James! 👍
Great tips James. I use a walking stick which turns into a seat, great for getting steady shots as I find a tripod too cumbersome to carry and use with limited mobility 👍🏻😁
Great video James, from a beautiful part of the world 👍
That coffee advice is golden, doing a few weddings I just avoid coffee until the end of the day really when I've most shots done.
Welll, when my wife don'tt get coffe she gets shaking hands, so...
Absolutely loving your videos but having a really hard time choosing my first camera. Congratulations for you wife's pregnancy and a big hello from Galicia Spain just above Portugal. If you ever come around these parts I'll be glad to show you some good spots. Take care.
Always take alot away from your vids, great content. Wondering what go pro did u use in this vid? Thanks.
\and I thought I was the only landscape photographer who shot without a tripod. Great tips. I also tend to do a lot of ICM photography which means the more coffee the better.
So helpful!
Thanks, James!
A lot of the tips you have given regarding stance and breathing for shooting photographs also happen to cross over with shooting rifles 👍
I love that it’s riddled with failure but still has great tips 😂👍🏼
Kerfuffle, a term I need to send to my team. Thank you for your insite and your vocabulary. My team is in Montgomory Alabama, I always work to broaden their lives.
I use to live just down the road in Old Colwyn crazy how this was randomly recommended to me great vid
If things are going to go wrong, that's a beautiful place for it to happen. Great video James, thank you. Also, I once had a seagull steal a dim sim right out of my hand.
Thumbs up for Llandudno (home town bias)...double thumbs up for the video. Loving this North Wales photography series.
Right so if there are any sportsmen (or veterans perhaps) among your European watchers the basics of marksmanship actually can apply. My favorite basic skill I've carried over is to be surprised by the shutter. Press down on the shutter with steady pressure and don't anticipate it. You can jerk the camera if you're too forceful or tense up in anticipation. Breathing out when you shoot IS basic marksmanship so James has already got you there. The key is to shoot at the point between the end of the exhale and before you begin inhaling. The moment of complete still
Hi James, I am off to Wales next week, can you recommend any spots that are your favourite? Thanks and loving the channel
Can I add bracing yourself against nearby solid objects as well? Walls, trees, lampposts, rocks etc (not sheep though!)
Obviously not always practical or even possible but very solid.
With regard to breathing out, as a shooter we were always taught to hold our breath for a moment on the exhale to steady our shots.
I’m fact many of the techniques for good shoot placement translate to photography such as follow through, don’t jerk the trigger (shutter release) etc
I'm 10 months into my handheld-only experiment. I shoot mostly at 600mm and also some macro, so it's been a bit of an extra challenge. But I've been very pleased with the freedom of handheld. You can learn your compositional style much faster by moving freely through the environment. I shan't make it to the full year, though--just bought a video tripod online. Sorry James.
this....is why I love my Olympus. best ibis ever
Surely your Lumix has decent stabilisation that should give you good results. As an old codger (60+) and coffee drinker yet I can shoot hand held with my E-M1.2 with the non stabilised 12-40 lens for 3 seconds. Robin Wong has done a video recently doing 15 seconds hand held and sharp images with E-M1.3. And with IS systems you need to make sure to use the correct mode - some are optimised for either horizontal or vertical movements. A tip from Ming Thien's site is you need to give the stabilisation system a few seconds to start up (usually IS starts when first pressure on shutter button) and then it "locks on" then you make the shot - usually this is obvious by looking at viewfinder image when the "jitters" disappear. That tip made the IS system results improve dramatically for me as I had no idea it needed a couple of seconds to start working. Cheers!
I’m gonna be looking weird muttering to myself “no coffee, eat food and assume the position” before taking photos… 😂
You are my hero, getting there with your bicycle, and not a car, a van or a camper! With regard to coffee, I don't follow your advice, but I'm a coffeine addict already, so I would wooble witout coffee ;-)
I shoot handheld often and I do run into issues. But, I follow what I learned for shooting a long range rifle when I was young. B.R.A.S.S. or Breathe Relax Aim Squeeze and Squeeze more. Most camera shutters have a 2 step process, if you focus on the second Squeeze as your goal you'll steady your hands and get the shot.
Doing something safe and stable with the left arm is very easy for a lefty. Might be kinda unusual for a righty. Being lefthanded has it advantages.
My Saturday is complete. James in the AM.
All together not a question about camera but the shorts 🩳 your sporting are they cycling padded shorts ???? Very helpful video too.
Hi James, your videos always make me smile .. i find that breathing out completely works best for me if I am doing hand held shots, but honestly .. i need caffeine, food and a tripod. If not find something to lean against ( but not a sheep, as folk will get the wrong idea )
James: avoid coffee.
Me: my ancestors fought a war so we didn't have to listen to you. Where is my tripod?
USA USA USA
You don't remember our history. It was tea, not coffee.
But, yeah I want a tripod too.
@@jodeanesullens6588 Americans don't have kettles? How do they make tea then?
We throw it into the harbor.
(As I drink a huge glass of sweet tea)
@@Marshcreekmini A large clear glass jar in the Texas sun. Best tea anywhere.
I'm an old guy that learned on manual film cameras in the 70s. Our cameras didn't have grips for the right hand, so it is proper technique to hold the camera and lens together with the left hand. The grips on my new cameras are for carrying while I walk (with wrist strap).
One knee down means three points of contact with the ground, which essentially turns you into a tripod.
As a student learning on the K1000 I was taught to breathe out before taking the shot. I've never really specifically tried while actively breathing out. The logic of being breathed-out is that the body isn't tense while trying to hold the chest cavity wide open to draw-in and hold air, so it's another thing to avoid introducing muscle shakes.
I've found I can usually hold steady as low as 1/15th of second if the lens has stabilization. I don't shoot with unstabilized lenses enough or shoot still-subjects enough to know how'd do in those other situations. Most of my photography is of family and they don't tend to hold still enough to go slow. Indoors I've found that I generally get good results with 1/60th, but occasionally I'll go for 1/40th of a second if it's a little dark. The good ISO performance even at a fairly high ISO setting on my 77D has helped a lot. If I had to choose between resolution and ISO, I thing that I'd go for ISO over resolution.
Congratulations. I somehow missed the fact that there is a Popsys 2.0 on the way. Great video as always.
I use the old sniper trick to hold my breath when taking photos, worked a charm for me the last 10 years 👌
I cant imagine what people driving past are thinking when they see James explaining how to stand 😂. Great video, keep it up.
Ive been thinking about getting a second body. Im currently shooting with a lumix gx80. Been thinking about wether to get an em5 III or a g91🤔
Any tips?
Good tips!
Setting Auto Min SS on my Sony A7III also really helps in getting good shutter speeds.
:). Great tips and great video.
on my nikon d750 i use mirror up delay,, so shoot,, mirror goes up ,, 1 2 3 seconds then takes expsoure,, very sharp improving indeed
6:35 - Love the catalogue model pose :)
Warrior's breathing out.
Thanks for the timer tip, mate.
James, on a G9 would it be better to use EFC instead of ESHTR?
I spent the day taking pictures inside a museum today, I was not allowed to use flash or bring my tripod. So I spent the day leaning on walls or resting my elbows on railings to take real slow shutter shots, at the end of the day I was surprised to find that at least ninety percent of my pictures were tack sharp. Looking like a goof for a day paid off.
Beautiful
I was sure today was Saturday - but James uploaded - my calendar is clearly off.
James, where is this beautiful place you are in the video?
Some good tips James, yeah, what have tripods ever done for us?
James, I know you don't like Tripods BUT have a look at the Peak Design travel tripod (Carbon) beautiful bit of kit
Thanks for the reminder, I keep forgetting that I want to try out the electronic shutter on my camera. -Elaine
PS What the heck is rolling shutter??
Where is this place? It looks so quiet and peaceful 😌
Hey I've seen that pier before...Steve O'Nions did a M43 video with that pier. Beautiful location.
I went for some handheld action last night, was rubbish :( Never really sure what ISO to use in that case. Normally would go full m anual 100 ISO with a tripod, last night tried with mixed results, shutter speed priority. I do like the idea of going tripodless, but always feel like im risky botching a nice shot. In a video from last year you did mention going aperture priority 95% of the time, maybe I should try that...
Was wondering if we were going to see a sheep or two in this video, did not disappoint :)
Lost me at "No coffee"!!!....That's a sacrifice I'm not gonna make! lol
I agree about the coffee
you lost me on "No Coffee" :D..... Love your videos James, I hope everything is well with you and your little family. have a great day
Hmmm, slight flaw in the plan. Tricky to use the viewfinder if I'm not using the mechanical shutter. :)
Useful stuff. I also asked an ex military sniper for advice on breathing. :)
Just paused the video. Took a photo of a tree outside using the two second timer and it works 😀
Not as jittery as I thought I was. Can't believe I've not done that before.
We just had our first son three weeks ago and time has been flying by!
I enjoy your tips cause they are one for one in-line with marksmanship tips. They are typically the same.
So if you want to shoot sharper handheld photos, take a marksmanship course.
I see a lot of photographers getting stuck in one lane. Always something to learn regardless of your genre.
‘I pack bananas’, no you don’t you pack jelly babies 😂
just use a camera/lens combo with vibration reduction. Its fantastic technology. Especially handy for old folks who have shaky hands.
James: No coffee.
Me, who has the hands of a surgeon: I think not good sir.
Haha - nice take(s) on the subject.
Just needs a wide lens, good light, wide aperture, fast shutter, in-camera stabilisation and big, fat pixels! You can drink espresso by the gallon then - no problem :-)
Ha! Sheep, in Wales? Shock! had me burst out laughing!
Hey y'all . I thought IBIS was not to be used with a stabilized lens. In fact lens stabilization should be turnd off when camera has inbody stabilization. No? Help!
The IBIS on Olympus is superb, I have taken portrait,s at 1/6th sec, perfectly sharp and that,s with my EM1, later mod,s have even better IBIS, in conjuction with say the 12 to 100mm pro len,s with inbuilt IBIS, I don,t see anything better on the market.
Tip 1, forget it. I need coffee! Tip 2, great as I love breakfast! An enjoyable video despite, maybe because of, the fail!
Carl Popsys forever a friend.