Camera Posture - Do You Have It?

If you're like most people in modern camera phone society, probably not.

What is camera posture, you're asking.

Sitting up straight when you get that shot? No slouching? Not exactly.

What I'm referring to is holding the camera (or phone) to get the most steady shot in low light situations.

My constant mantra is "turn that flash off". I'm a firm believer in available light photography. It might be my shy nature, a need to blend in, or my love for capturing candid moments that has created this "anti-flash" dogma. Whatever the case, I believe that it is by far a more enriching and honest photographic experience.

So... Practicing these beliefs has allowed me to pick up some handy tips for steadying those hands and hopefully the shot, without a cumbersome tripod.

1. First thing: How are you holding your camera? With one hand? Two hands? Are you holding the bottom or the side? If you are using an SLR (Single Lens Reflex) or D-SLR are you holding the lens in your palm or are you resting it on your thumb?

No matter what kind of camera you are using, try to hold the weight of it in your palm. It makes the best support. Your palm rests against your wrist. Your fingers have no support.

2. Can you bend those arms?

In the digital age many of us have gotten use to holding the camera at arm's length in order to see the back screen and compose the shot. Bring those arms in closer to your chest. Have you ever tried holding a weight (even a small one) at arm's length for any amount of time? It's not easy. Gravity works against you. Rest your elbows against your ribs. Your arms become a brace for the camera and you can still see the screen.

3. Can you use the world around you?

With LCD screens on most digital point and shoot cameras, there is nothing easier than bracing your hands on the back of a chair to compose your shot. Or lean against a wall. Or (one of my favorites) get low. As in floor-low and look up. We have the mindset that the world has to be seen at eye-level. Go lower than eye-level or higher.

4. Can you use your body as a tri-pod?

Sure you can! Or borrow a friend's. They've always got a shoulder to lean on. No friends around? Squat and use your knee. Anything can be a brace. Use the back of one hand, fingers spread like shooting pool. Now you have a penta-pod to rest your camera on.

Remember to always check your environment for places to stabilize your camera or your self. Get a sense of your body and what feels like a sturdier way to prop your camera or anchor it and soon your camera will become nothing more than an extension of your eyes and hands. You will get more of those candid shots that you have been missing.