How to Handle Your Camera

Learning how to handle your camera is an essential skill that will help you to get the best from your equipment and to protect the investment you have made in what can be quite an expensive piece of kit. There are so many different designs on the market today, which means there are no hard and fast rules, but there are certainly a few basic handle skills and techniques, that will set you in the right direction

The DSLR or Super Zoom bridge camera.

No matter how much resolution it has or how many features your camera boasts, it is the photographer that makes the the picture, and the first and most important rule in producing top quality shots is to remove camera shake. More and more models on the market today are offering image stabilization as a feature, and this is also true of lens kits for the DSLR. Image Stabilization is an excellent feature to look out for when if you are looking to buy a new camera or lens system, and goes along way towards eliminating blurry photos. The modern zoom camera can offer a zoom capability of up to 18x optical magnification, and at these sort of ranges the IS (image stabilizer) system may not be able to cope, so handling technique still plays a large part in modern photography.

The pictures above illustrate two classic photography techniques that offer the camera user a good steady shooting position. The body Tripod gives the photographer an extra point of contact with the ground and the left knee is used to to steady the left arm. The lower position and wider stance, also helps to steady things in windy conditions.
The Hand Grip is also of importance, notice that the left hand is cradling the camera from below. Not only does this hand position add to stability, it ensures that the left hand is clear of the flash so as not to cast a nasty shadow when in use, but is still in the perfect position to operate the zoom and focus controls.

Learn Digital Photography Now! Click to find out more