Do You Look Like an Amateur When You Hold Your SLR?
Categories: Shooting
Written By: lightstalking
Ok, so a lot of us are amateur photographers, but there’s really no need to look like a complete amateur when we pick up and point our SLR or DSLR to get a shot. Holding your SLR properly, while not making it totally obvious that you are not a pro, also has a lot of advantages. Here’s what you need to know.
For starters, holding a camera at both sides of the body like the picture below is usually a dead give away that you don’t know what you are doing.
The problem with this grip is that you haven’t really got maximum control of the movement of your equipment and so problems such as blurred photos due to shaking are going to crop up. The slower your shutter speed, the more pronounced these negative effects are going to be.
Secondly, you don’t have instant access to the capabilities of your SLR or DSLR because you have to remove your left hand to use the controls on your lens. This is not a great state of affairs.
Now, while you will have a hard time eliminating camera shake altogether with solwer shots while you are hand-holding your camera, there are a few things you can do to minimise the problem and most of the time, it won’t be any problem whatsoever.
The widely-regarded best way to hold your SLR is to grip the lens with your left hand and use your right hand for the body controls (which are primarily positioned on most SLRs to be most accessible using this grip).
Here is the correct way to hold your SLR:
And here is a great little Youtube demonstration:
March 10th, 2009 at 2:23 am
I laughed so hard at the first photo… So true, so painful :D
March 10th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
@Ilan – yup, we’ve all been there once. Well, at least I was in my early days. Quite embarrassing to look back :(
March 10th, 2009 at 5:55 pm
Well, it’s worth pointing out that in a pinch, anything will do if you HAVE to get that photo you just saw! Plus, if you’re me, you contort yourself into some pretty weird shapes to get the lens pointed in just the right direction.
But yes… hold that lens with one hand… it’s the right first step for all of us.
March 10th, 2009 at 6:46 pm
@dcclark – something tells me you had your latest photo in mind when you left that comment. ;)
http://blog.dcclark.net/2009/03/sticks-and-stones.html
March 21st, 2009 at 6:03 pm
@admin – maaaaaaybe… I was only mostly upside down. Not fully. :)
April 1st, 2009 at 1:55 am
Using the pop-up flash is another dead giveaway that you don’t know what you are doing. :)
April 1st, 2009 at 2:12 am
@Craig – lol – I can’t believe I forgot to mention that!
May 30th, 2009 at 6:06 am
If your Pentax K200D has Auto Focus, and you use it at times, then holding the lens is NOT recommend. Holding the lens on a DSLR is not ALWAYS appropriate.
September 18th, 2009 at 5:36 am
The traditional SLR grip works great when you choose to look through the viewfinder but with many DSLRs offering live view and people deciding to use that feature then you obviously cannot go for the ‘recommended’ stance. I don’t recognise the camera model used by the photographer in the first image but it looks to me as if they’re using live view rather than the viewfinder, hence you cannot really criticise them for not using the traditional grip.
October 26th, 2009 at 2:05 pm
@howard – why not hold the lens with auto focus on? I use a K20D and always hold the lens – no support otherwise
@Craig – what is wrong with using the pop up flash? It is there to be used. I have been shooting for about 30 years and often use the pop up flash
November 3rd, 2009 at 5:46 pm
[...] of the line DSLR without first bothering to learn anything about photography first. If you learn how to hold a camera properly, you will avoid the sneers and muffled laughter of other more experienced photographers and your [...]
November 4th, 2009 at 6:31 am
Uh… well about the auto-pop-up flash.. how do you get rid of it popping up at a moment you don’t expect? D: *is a pretty noob with her camera*
November 4th, 2009 at 8:29 am
Jen..there is a button where you can turn off the flash..that or learn to use the manual setting or Tv, Av or P. We were all new once.:)
November 24th, 2009 at 7:05 pm
I have to say that I disagree with this article. I hold my camera in “the proper way” and to be honest, I think I look like an idiot. However, I think using a camera is all about where you find comfort. Even if “professionals” think you look stupid if you don’t, if you find it comfortable to hold it a certain way, than I think you should be free to; it’s your camera and you should use it the way you see fit.
December 10th, 2009 at 4:45 am
Great information…getting the basic techniques down early on is important. It’s like leaning to hold a golf club correctly when your first learning to swing. It might not be the most comfortable grip when you first try it, but it becomes more natural for you as practice. Before you know it, you don’t even think about it.
December 25th, 2009 at 9:36 am
*pop up flash–I use mine as the master (set at 1/32 power) to set off my slaves. My Nikon D40 allows me to do this.
Last night (Christmas Eve) I was taking a photo of a nativity scene. I wanted to use my off camera flash–the batteries were dead. That will happen when you forget to turn off the flash. I used my pop up and place the diffusion box from my off camera flash over the pop up–blinded myself every time I took the photo but the results were very pleasing (IMHO).
Sometimes a man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do!
Have a blessed Christmas!
April 12th, 2010 at 6:53 am
Personally, I am completely uninterested in what others think about me when I am in the process of working. I am an unorthodox shooter anyway. However, when in photo pits at live events, I usually find other photographers following me around trying to get the same shots I am getting…
As for the pop-up flash, I have used it many times for fill flash when I did not have time to grab my other flash. It is not the tool or the camera, it is the photographer and the person using them that determine proficiency.
I cannot remember if it was Ansel Adams or Weston that once used a Kodak Brownie camera (fixed shutter, focal length and aperture) to take some photos to silence critiques that his pictures were the result of the tools chosen. So before you assume someone is an amateur because of how they hold their camera, or because of the equipment they use, you need to pause and wait until you see their results.
I think the arrogance of some people making assumptions about others shows their lack of security about themselves. Relax people! Worry about YOUR work and not that of others!
April 12th, 2010 at 3:01 pm
You know, I think I am still gonna play the numbers on this one. People who look like amateurs probably ARE amateurs. Sure, you’ll meet an unconventional genius once every now and then, but it’s still pretty unlikely.
April 13th, 2010 at 4:49 pm
You know, if people saw how I hold my camera most of the time they’d probably think it a miracle that I get any good captures at all.
I whole heartedly agree with using a lens-supportive stance for people that are either just getting started or in unstable places … but once you learn your art and gear, do what it takes to get the shot right.
If someone giggles at me for using a Canon Rebel XT as my backup … or using the pop-up flash for fill … or for hanging my 5D off to the side with one hand, that’s cool. They still end up buying the prints, and that means I’ve reached my goal for that shoot.
Do I look like an amateur? Possibly
Does my art? hmmmmmmmm
April 20th, 2010 at 7:25 am
SOMETIMES YOU JUST HAVE TO HOLD THE CAMERA IN A DIFFERENT WAY. ONE HANDED WITH OUT LOOKING THROUGH THE VIEW FINDER. IF MY PHOTO COMES OUT ON THIS SITE YOU WILL SEE.
May 9th, 2010 at 6:46 am
I believe the original intent of this article was to inform photographers what a better way of holding your camera is. I would have a hard time holding the frame still at a 1/30s if I held my camera as pictured in the first picture. Photography, like all trades has a set of basics that are proven to help you get better results. Holding your camera like a “pro” has nothing to do with looking like a ‘pro’ It’s been proven that you can hold a steadier shot by putting that hand under the lens. Not to mention when holding that big glass it’s waaaaayyyy easier on your camera/lens mount and will save you many trips to the chiropractor!
May 22nd, 2010 at 8:16 am
Everyone at early point in their photographic life was an amateur photographer. Whats there to be embarrassed about it? Photography is a continuous learning subject . We are learning every time and so do experts. Thanks for that article.
July 7th, 2010 at 9:35 am
You can never ever learn enough
July 11th, 2010 at 9:06 pm
So, what is the proper way to hold a camera that does not have an optical viewfinder, i.e. the typical point and shoot that only has an lcd screen on which to compose the photo?
July 22nd, 2010 at 11:16 pm
Why won’t people just admit that the design for most of the DSLR are for the left eye. It partially cover your right eye, so you can shoot with both eyes open. Less strain to the other eye that you keeps on closing.
August 10th, 2010 at 6:36 am
I have to disagree with this one. I shoot however it’s comfortable and however it works for the shot. A lot of my clients have kids around 18 month old and I usually am on the floor of my studio with them – sitting on it, laying on it – whatever it take to get that really great shot. Do my clients care how I hold my camera? No way, as long as the end result makes them happy that’s all that matters to me.