Get Sharp Handheld Photos Forever!

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

Avoid coffee.... NOPE. Next.

Yeah, the no coffee thing has gotten out of hand. As I tend to go out early, I used to make the brew when I got back home. Now I'm so caught up with editing my shots that I forget to put on the coffee. This is not good. I've gone days without a cuppa. I'm beginning to think there's something wrong with me.

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.

“Pretty does not necessarily equal a good photo.” This is one of the most important lessons I’ve come across as a learning photographer.

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.

Sex and coffee right after, balance things out nicely for a successful day of shooting.

Liandudno pier is the location

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 marksmanship principles.

Tip 1 and 2 easily cured. Bring a tripod and enjoy your coffee and leave bananas at home where the tripod was kept maybe ? See easily sorted.

A lot.of the same tactics as shooting 🔫 long distance

As far as the breathing... take in a breath... let it out to a natural stop. Hold. Take your shot in three seconds. Now breath. The same as I use when shooting my rifle. Good videos from your experience. Thank you.

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

this....is why I love my Olympus. best ibis ever

Will you wear a camera strap if I send you one? You're really giving me some anxiety.

what do you call a cyclist without a helmet?

an organ donor

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.

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!

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.

Pink Floyd put it best "For millions of years, man had lived like the animals, using APS-C, MFT and 1 inch sensors. Then, something happened that unleashed the power of our imagination. We began to use full-frame for low-light hand-held photography."

As an old soldier, I'll let you in on a shooting secret. Breathe in, breathe out, then aim and shoot while your lungs are at rest...

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. 😊

Tip 14. wear SPD shoes

Was wondering if we were going to see a sheep or two in this video, did not disappoint :)

You can get a camera and a lens with stabilisation and you’re good to go….I have the Fuji xh1 and I get sharp photos even at 1/20 shutterspeed

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 )

Useful stuff. I also asked an ex military sniper for advice on breathing. :)

Always take alot away from your vids, great content. Wondering what go pro did u use in this vid? Thanks.

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.

\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.

If you get hunger shakes with food then you are eating far too much processed carbs and sugary stuff. It's called food addiction. Just what the food manufacturers want you to feel so you keep eating their products. Not here to preach some agenda - just stating a fact. Love your channel - watched you avidly for several years - thank you for all the entertainment and tips :)

And btw Coffee!!!! Need coffee. Every morning

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.

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. 💙

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.

Nothing new here - E-M1 Mark III shooter ....... handheld night shots 5-10 seconds using my 7-14mm f2.8, no problem .... between 20 and 30 seconds I have to shoot multiples to grab the one I want ......

you sir have not met my hands :/ unless its super bright and i can use really fast shutter speeds, then i fail so bad i gave up and now i use the tripod

James: No coffee.
Me, who has the hands of a surgeon: I think not good sir.

Photographer...
Sniper...
James advices works for every one :D

p.s.
My suggestion. Hold your breath during breathing out while you have about 20% (or little less) oxygen in your lungs. It will stop the body movement almost completely. I'm not able to stop my heart yet :D

In bright conditions like those you can just set your iso to 100, shutter to 1/500th and make sharp pics without all of those tips :P But really useful for low light situations.

finaly upgraded to Sony huh,. i knew it.

Setting Auto Min SS on my Sony A7III also really helps in getting good shutter speeds.

Yeah snipers do that breath out on the pull of the trigger, well maybe not every sniper that’s ever lived. I’m not a sniper but it’s how I was taught to shoot by a erm err person…. Not a sniper lol.

Hmmm, slight flaw in the plan. Tricky to use the viewfinder if I'm not using the mechanical shutter. :)

Standing shooter position rules apply :)

You lost me at tip 1 :(

"Avoid coffee." I'm out!