How To Hold A Camera Steady Without A Tripod

As a teacher of HDR (high dynamic range) photography, one of the suggestions I give my new students is that they need to have a tripod and use it to create the best, sharpest, HDR images. All the same, while that's the ideal situation, information technology's not always possible. This commodity is well-nigh how to best tackle shooting HDR paw held, without a tripod, the times when you lot have no other selection.

In May of 2011 I traveled to Turkey on a tour. I took a small tripod with me (called a Gorillapod – sometimes you can get away with this guy where a regular one isn't allowed, plus information technology's small to carry) and a backpack that with a prune to concur information technology on the exterior. I was all set for some swell HDR images in some historic places – or and then I idea! Ane of the first locations nosotros visited was the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul. As I passed through the entry gate, security confiscated my tripod and told me I could retrieve it upon exiting the palace grounds. So, on to program B – shooting hand-held. I was a flake disappointed, it was also a major pain in the butt getting my tripod back and I almost lost my tour group as I had to get back around to the entry gate, while nosotros were all coming together at the exit.

Turkey2011-00115_6_7-blog1100 — Inside Topkapi Palace - Istanbul

Fast forward to Hagia Sofia mosque, I idea I'd effort again to get the tripod inside. Ha! Sometimes I feel like somebody's got it out for us photographers, you know? Can yous cutting us a pause please!? Needless to say, they took it again and I had a repeat performance of running out the exit, squishing out by everyone else – running around back to the front, pushing my mode through what seemed like a thousand people in line, to the archway security booth only to discover that there, they move them to the exit for you. Y'all've got to exist kidding me! Argh! By the time I convinced the security guy at the exit to let me back in that way, and got my tripod I actually had to hoof information technology back to my group. Sweaty over again. Time for a new plan.

What follows are some of the steps and settings I use to become the best results when I have to shoot without my tripod, which every bit y'all tin can encounter, happens quite often.

Turkey2011-00190_1_2-Edit-blog1100 — Inside Hagia Sofia Mosque - Istanbul

There are several reasons why you might have to use these tips, and shoot hand held.

tripod apply is oftentimes restricted or forbidden in some museums, churches and other venues
you simply don't have one with yous
y'all're in a busy location and setting upwards a tripod in a crowded place isn't an option

If any of the to a higher place are the case, follow the tips below and try shooting your HDR images hand held. I do it quite often, with a high level of success, because I follow these guidelines.

Ready your photographic camera on Machine Exposure Bracketing (AEB) to shoot variable exposures automatically. Different photographic camera models have different settings for AEB. I use a Canon 5D Archetype, and this and most other Canon models allow for a maximum of 3 bracketed shots. For most scenes that is sufficient IF you shoot those images at 2 stops apart. So you lot will terminate upwardly shooting exposures at -ii, 0 and +2. If yous can set what lodge the camera shoots them in, cull to shoot the +2 i first (you'll come across why later).If you shoot Nikon you may discover that y'all tin can only subclass in one stop increments, and then if that is the example shoot five images: +2, +1, 0, -ane, -2 and just delete the +1 and -one images, you really don't demand them. Some Nikons give y'all the selection of shooting seven or even ix bracketed shots, but I'd also shoot no more than a maximum of five images (that you volition keep) total. So you could shoot, for example: +3, +2, +ane, 0, -1, -2, -3 – just dump the +2, 0 and -2 images and continue the other v. Using more than 5 makes information technology tougher to get the images aligned in the processing phase considering in that location'due south more take a chance of you moving between the exposures, and can consequence in a last paradigm that's not very sharp or has edge alignment issues. Then I recommend using 5 exposures maximum to create your HDR image.

3 shots using AEB - Shot at 32mm, f5.0, ISO 250, and shutter speeds of 1/4000, 1/yard and i/250.
Set your photographic camera on Aperture priority way. This volition ensure that when it takes the bracketed exposures it volition only modify the shutter speed, not the discontinuity. Irresolute the aperture from one shot to the adjacent will crusade changes in focus in the images from one to the side by side and will create major alignment problems, sharpness problems and could crusade really odd halos around things. For that reason, yous always desire to alter the shutter speed only when doing HDR, this is no different. So setting to Aperture priority mode you will make certain the discontinuity doesn't change from one shot to the next.Now, having said that you also demand to keep an eye on your shutter speed and run into what the photographic camera ends up shooting at, especially for the +2 or +iii shots. That's why I mentioned setting the camera to take the most over exposed shot first, so that yous can meet what shutter speed it will use to accept the longest exposure – and if y'all volition end up with a shutter speed that'due south too deadening to keep the image precipitous.

39mm focal length, f5.6, ISO 200, shutter speeds 1/2000, 1/500, 1/125th

What shutter speed is besides slow? How do yous know when yous've gone too far with your shutter speed? What we desire to avoid is what's unremarkably called "photographic camera milkshake". This is literally the camera movement acquired by your hands belongings it. You can't concord the camera steady for long exposures, even if you stand up really even so. We take a limit, that's why tripods were invented. But if y'all follow this rule of pollex it volition give y'all an thought of how slow is also deadening (as a starting point, you may be super steady or super shaky, to endeavor with your own equipment to find your limits with your camera and lens combination) and brand sure your shutter speed stays higher up that setting to avoid camera milkshake. Ready for it? – Keep your shutter speed faster than 1 over the focal length of your lens! Huh?! Okay, what that ways is if you are using a zoom lens at the 200mm setting, you need to shoot at 1/200th of a second or faster to keep things sharp at that focal length (200mm). If you're at 50mm than 1/50th will do it. The longer the lens the more amplified camera shake is, then you need a faster shutter speed to keep it sharp.Then what happens so if you gear up your bracketed shots and your longest 1 is also long? Keep reading, we'll put it all together soon!
Keep your ISO set as low as possible. The HDR process of tone mapping and combining exposures tends to add noise into images, especially in the dark or shadow areas. Then to minimize that, you desire to keep your ISO equally low as possible – ideally 100 or 200. However, in some situations you may not take an selection simply to bump it upward a fleck. Using the tip above, if your shutter speed on the longest exposure is falling in the i/15th range and you merely need to get more to avert camera shake, y'all have two options. Option #ane – open the discontinuity on your lens to the widest or wider ane (f2.eight for instance). But you may non want to do that because that will sacrifice depth of field, OR you merely may not have that option with the lens y'all have if its maximum aperture is say f5.6 and you're already there. And then and then there's choice #2 – increase the ISO simply enough to become the desired shutter speed. Continue in mind that if y'all do this your final image may require some dissonance reduction prior to the tone mapping process, and some more than noise reduction later on. If it's a example of getting the image or getting cypher though – I'd probably bump my ISO and get a noisy image as my preference over none at all.

I had to bump the ISO to 800 to get this shot and go on my shutter speed to ane/20th for the longest exposure. I shot with a 17mm lens at f3.two (its max) so my only choice was to utilize a higher ISO. The last tone mapped HDR prototype had odd colour shifts I couldn't remove (maybe from the noise and high ISO setting used) so this ended up b/west but I recollect it's notwithstanding successful.
Set focusing. The issue with focus is that as you fire off your 3-5 bracketed exposures, you lot practise non desire your photographic camera trying to refocus betwixt each shot. It may miss or alter slightly and yous'll end up with big problems. If your camera has an AF/AE-Lock button (most Nikons take i to the right of the viewfinder or middle piece), set information technology upwards to lock both the focus AND the exposure. So press information technology down to lock both, hold information technology in and so press the shutter push button to accept your bracketed shots. For most Canons, they take some version of this choice in custom settings (check your manual), where you tin can fix it up to utilise the "* "button on the back of the camera, to lock the focus independent of the shutter release button. So you lot focus using your thumb on the "*" (you don't take to hold it once information technology locks) and take the exposures with our index finger. If your camera doesn't have such a matter, you can also focus using your lens' autofocus, and then plough information technology off to manual. This is a scrap clunkier though and you lot can end up moving while you're doing that. Another thing you desire to make sure of is that your camera's focus (AF) setting is on "single" for Nikon, and "one shot" for Canon, that ensures that camera isn't trying to continually focus. Lastly make sure your camera is set to unmarried point focusing, meaning you choose which point the camera focuses on. You do Not want it choosing where to focus!

28mm lens, f5.vi, ISO 250, shutter speeds of: 1/640-1/160-ane/40 - I could get abroad with 1/40th only because I used a 28mm lens. Had I been using a 200mm lens I'd probable have gotten a blurry paradigm due to camera shake. I wanted to utilise f5.6 to get a bit of depth to my focus and get the stone walls sharp all over.
Next, brace yourself and go a reference for your image framing. What I mean by that is, as you look through the viewfinder (if you shoot using the Live View mode and look at the screen instead of through the eyepiece – get used to shooting the other style and plough off live view unless you lot're doing video, it's MUCH harder to hold the camera steady shooting in Live View mode)brand a mental note of how the prototype is framed. What'southward in each corner, is there something dead smack in the heart you tin concentrate on keeping in the heart? Basically yous want to make sure you movement every bit petty equally possible from 1 frame to the adjacent to make for better, more accurate alignment later. If your camera has a option for turing on a grid inside the view finder, utilise it to keep the image aligned. Brace yourself the best you can, keeping your elbows in tight to your body, and your left hand nether the lens, non on top of it. Breath out and concur it, or just hold your breath. Lean on something solid similar a table or wall if you accept the option. Just get equally solid as possible and don't motion!

If you take a real close look at this prototype, peculiarly effectually the window and the pillow in the lower correct corner of the frame, y'all can see that it's not perfectly aligned and there's a greenish color fringe on the border of the pillow. This is probable caused from my longest exposure non being 100% precipitous (at 1/15th) or perchance I swayed or twisted the camera angle slightly between shots enough to make it an event. I all the same recall it's a good shot, merely I may reprocess it and see if I can get it aligned better. This is why yous desire to exist still!
Set your camera on high speed shooting mode, or motor drive, to shoot the frames as fast as possible one later on the other. If your photographic camera shoots 3 frames per second that's skilful, if it shoots ten/second that's even ameliorate. The idea is you just want to press the shutter one time, permit the camera rapidly fire off all 3 or 5 you're bracketing, then release your finger. This will help minimize camera move between frames as well.
Use your exposure bounty to arrange all the exposures if you lot need them a scrap brighter or darker. Your histogram volition tell you if y'all have enough information in the shadow areas of the darkest prototype – ideally yous want a gap in the histogram on the left hand side. Also on the highlight side (bright areas) yous want a gap at that place on your darkest exposure and no "flashing" highlights that are diddled out. If yous shoot your three bracketed exposures and have a look at the graphs but that'southward not happening, permit'due south say your darkest one is notwithstanding likewise bright. You can shift all 3 of the bracketed exposures down by using the Exposure Bounty setting. Punch in -1 or -two and the whole set will move downwardly the calibration accordingly. Shoot again and see if that set is any better. If in uncertainty, do a couple options and see which process amend subsequently in computer.
Shoot it, and then shoot it once again! Considering what we're trying to do here is quite challenging the results can sometimes be disappointing afterward when y'all attempt and process the images, shoot a dorsum up. And then, just like you lot are bracketing the exposures, bracket the whole set up by doing information technology twice. Usually i of them will come up out better, sharper, easier to align – often the second prepare.
Review your ready or sets of images and flipping through them see how well yous did property nonetheless. If you lot scroll through them and you meet drastic jumps from ane image to the next in the serial, you may want to shoot it once again before moving 1. Then zoom in on your camera to run into them closer up. Cheque for focus and sharpness and if there isn't any you may need to shoot again and review your settings, especially shutter speed. One time you exit the location you can't set it afterwards, so make sure you've got what you lot desire and it's sharp before you motility on.
Lastly, a computer stride, as I mentioned before you may need to do some noise reduction on your set of images prior to using Photoshop or Photomatix to do the HDR tone mapping process. This will reduce the amount of noise going in, if you lot've used a higher ISO. My HDR software of choice is Photomatix but sometimes for mitt held images that are tougher to align, I will apply Photoshop CS5 instead which does a improve job on challenging situations. Effort both and if you lot're not getting a good result on i, try the other. Sometimes I'll even do the alignment process in PS CS5, save the HDR image, then open it and tone map it in Photomatix, which I find does a improve job of that part. It's all about the workflow you develop and what works for y'all, this seems to work for me. IF you don't already take Photomatix, you tin can download a trial of information technology and use the code "HERVIEWPHOTO" to get a 15% discount when you purchase Photomatix. This software is on my list of things I recommend.

Hither also are some complimentary HDR Lightroom Presets you lot may similar. Have a look.

All the images you lot see in this article were taken in Turkey using these techniques and tips. If y'all want to see more images from Turkey (including non-HDR ones) to to my travel portfolio. Here'due south a couple more HDR's washed hand held.

Okay now it's your turn. I challenge you to go out today and showtime shooting some HDR hand held. Try these tips and permit me know how you lot brand out. Share a link to your photos and so we can all come across them too and tell me almost whatsoever problems you encountered then I tin can help you troubleshoot it and observe a solution.

Challenge part two: if you think of anything else that should be on this list please tell me merely calculation it to the comments section below. I want to make this site a resource for answering questions and solving bug by not simply me telling yous how to do it, but helping each other.

Cheers,

Darlene is an educator who teaches aspiring amateurs and hobbyists how to improve their skills through her articles hither on Digital Photograph Mentor, her beginner photography course, and individual tutoring lessons. To assist y'all at whatsoever level you're at she has two email mini-courses. Sign up for her free beginner OR portrait photography electronic mail mini-form. Or get both, no charge!