Technical skill is the number one struggle beginners have when it comes to learning photography. Learning how to adjust your camera settings, what a good composition is and exposure are some problems you might be experiencing. One of my biggest struggles when I first started was making sure my photos were in focus. As someone who can’t see my hand in front of my face without my contacts or glasses, I constantly had blurry photos. I also have the world’s shakiest hands which didn’t help the blurry photo equation. Through trial and error I found these 4 tips and tools to help me create clear and crisp photographs.
Use your autofocus
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If you practically blind like me and may not always be able to tell if something is in focus or not, trying to manually focus may not be the best bet for you. Most digital cameras and lenses have an autofocus option. The only downfall of autofocus is in dark lighting situations where the focus points can’t tell where objects separate enough to focus on them. Other than that autofocus will be your friend.
Use a tripod
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Having a tripod is handy for camera shake and shaky hand problems. It also helps with setting up shots or shooting in low light situations.. I personally use the Manfrotto MKCOMPACTADV-BK Compact Advanced Tripod with 3-Way Head to put my camera on for shooting my Youtube videos or setting up shots.
Lock your arms
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Use one hand to support the lens and one to support the side grip of the camera. I’m right handed so my left hand holds the lens of my DSLR and my right grips the camera. I then lock my arms and try to keep them as straight and steady as possible to avoid camera shake that could result in a blurry image.
Stay above 1/60 of a second for shutter speed
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In my first photography class I learned that the lowest my shutter speed could be before I my shaky hands would affect my photo was 1/60th of a second. Anything lower that that would have to be put on a tripod. I’m someone that just recently got onto the tripod train and thought if I just held my camera still enough then I could be an exception to the rule, but no. The blur was evident in my photos once I pulled them up on the computer and saw my subjects face turned out to be too soft. Usually there is enough light in my daily shooting situations to stay above 1/60th. That allows me to shoot more free-handed but if I were shooting indoors or at night then my shutter speed would need to be lower to allow more light in. To fix that I would have to bring in the tripod to avoid the potential motion blur.
Is your lack of technical skills slowing down your photography? If you’re struggling with how to get started in photography check out my Youtube channel or join my email list for weekly helpful tips to get you going.