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NOTE: This is the fourth of a series of articles about understanding and controlling shutter speed, especially handheld. In one of my first articles I listed each factor  which I will cover in depth in the next weeks and months. Please see the list of all the articles in this series  to understand how you can use slower shutter speeds in your photography. See the first article in this series for an example of a sharp photo taken handheld at 1/2 second. Also see my very popular article about the right shutter speed for a particular lens focal length.

If you can learn to handhold at very low shutter speed, it gives you photographic power -- you will be able to capture photos that were impossible before and grab stunning shots that you would have missed. Handholding gives you huge flexibility in movement, timing and position plus shooting at a lower shutter speed allows you to work in darker situations such as night photography. And yes, as I have stated, you can handhold a camera at 1/2 second in fact at 2 seconds and lower successfully. Some people have doubted this claim, but I do it routinely in my work.

Now admittedly a 2 second handheld exposure will not probably be razor sharp, but it can be acceptably sharp or have a slightly arty impressionist painting look that you might like (I do!). See the example below that I just shot a couple of weeks ago at a local Mardi Gras festival. The trick is to know how to properly hold the camera and also to use the new capability of the LCD monitor as a view finder if your camera allows that.

LETS BEGIN WITH THE BASICS:

#1. How to press the shutter button (really -- this is important)

My first photography mentor, Ross Scroggs, who ran the UNC photo lab and who had worked at Kodak for decades before, walked me through this simple procedure. Push only the shutter button when you take a shot, do not move the camera. The trick is to hold your button finger a bit higher on the camera than is normally comfortable -- so high that the finger can move independently without touching the camera body. When you take the shot, move only that finger; then gently but firmly push the button until it snaps the photo - but make sure the camera does not move even a little.

Most digital buttons have some initial play so that you can press the button down halfway without firing the shot. Just before you take the picture your finger should be in that halfway position, thus requiring very little movement to finally push the button to take the picture.

I practiced this for hours with my film camera without any film -- you can do the same with a digital camera with the added advantage of seeing the results on the LCD monitor.

So for openers, you need to master this technique until it is second nature.

#2. How to hold the camera for maximum support

Next, you need to hold the camera so that you are using your own bone structure to support the camera and not your muscles. Your bones give you solid support while your muscles do not, plus your muscles will become fatigued over time. My favorite stance is to put the camera in my left hand (I'm right handed) and to cradle the camera in the palm of that hand. The weight of the camera is now supported by the bone in my lower arm. Next I pull my left arm close to my body so that bone in my upper arm is against my chest and the rib bones in my chest and my elbow is down near my waist. In this stance I have full flexibility to pivot the camera left and right, and swivel it in my hand up and down. In a sense I have created a flesh and bone monopod that can move in just about any direction.

#3. Using the eye level viewfinder or the LCD monitor

Point-and-shoot and one-lens digital cameras allow you to take a photo using the LCD monitor in real time as a viewfinder. Some but not all DSLR's have a feature called "live preview" on their LCD monitor which is the same thing. If your camera gives you a real time image of the picture in front of you on the LCD screen, you may find that you can hold the camera steadier using that screen rather than looking through the eye level viewfinder. I use both depending on the situation. Play with both viewfinders to discover which you prefer and also which works best in different situations.

#4. Getting support from structures in the environment

A wall, a telephone pole, a fence, a table, the arm rest on a chair can all be used to help stabilize your shot. I often employ my preferred method of handholding (i.e. cradling my camera in my left hand) along with planting my left elbow on a table so that my arm is now quite steady and my hand and eye can pivot.

#5. Forget everything I just said -- well maybe... each person is different

You may find that you can handhold using your muscles or using an entirely different strategy than I have outlined above. The one rule for experimental digital photography is simple and trumps all other rules: if it works, it works -- it does not matter how you achieved that.

For more about these techniques see my book: Experimental Digital Photography.

#6. Finally: practice, practice, practice (you know the drill)...practice makes perfect

No matter what strategy you employ, practice, test and review the results on the LCD monitor and later on your computer. The longer you practice and learn to find and maintain steady positions that feel comfortable, the better your results will be. In addition with practice you will improve over time -- and it is my guess that many people will be able to shoot at a shutter speed or two slower after six months of practice than was possible for them at the beginning.

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