How do you get solid handheld shots

Cooldraft wrote on 12/14/2004, 3:22 AM
I would like to know what to do, eat, lift, smoke, WHATEVER to hone in skills handheld. I have become so frustrated with even minor shaky shots, I have started using sticks everywhere. I found out that using the eyepiece gives you one more POC (point of contact), and it is far better than holding a shot while looking at the lcd screen, walking 'balls of foot'. I am talking about the prosumer cams (2,500), not Iiekegami 30,000 cams. What have you read, experienced, etc?

Comments

farss wrote on 12/14/2004, 3:59 AM
If you're trying to walk and shoot the trcik is I think to walk a bit crab like with your knees bent. Hold the camera in the right hand, flip out the LCD and hold the bottom outer corner with the other hand.
To practice try holding a brick up for a while.
OR you could just get anyone of a number of gizmos, Varizoom make a pretty good looking gadget that works as a poor mans steadycam / good monopod. Millede also make a couple of things as well.
There's also gyros (kenlabs?) that would seem to do an excellent job but are pretty expensive and take quite a while to spin up.

There's a good reason why Hollywood spend a LOT of time and money on tracks, jibs, cranes and tripods. As a very last resort they go for Steadycam. Then there's a recent school of thought in Hollywood that thinks the path to profit is having the patron throw up in the cinemas, maybe it's got something to do with candy bar sales, you know what I mean, the hand held genre, then again a 35mm camera has a lot of inertia.

Bob.
TheHappyFriar wrote on 12/14/2004, 5:33 AM
I've found that if I rest my camera arm against the top of my stomach (i don't have a gut!) & ontop of my other arm it's pretty steady (I just taped a musical & they were REALLY impressed with my shots!).

You can build the $14 steady cam (http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/steadycam/).

farss is right with the crab-walk. Looks a little silly but you get better control.
Grazie wrote on 12/14/2004, 5:38 AM
"TheHappyFriar2 . . " (i don't have a gut!) " uhu?! Another illusion shot to pieces! . . . TELL ME it's not true? . .. A sad day . . a very very sad day indeed . ..

G
Jay Gladwell wrote on 12/14/2004, 5:45 AM
Any time you hold any camera out away from you (using those LCD screens) you're going to get more camera shake. Use the viewfinder and hold the camera against your head. Like the good Friar said, keep your arms tucked against your body. It acts as a brace, making the camera "platform" more stable.

Leaning against an upright, like a tree, or a horizontal, like a fence rail, will also help make your hand-held shots more stable.

Jay
Sr_C wrote on 12/14/2004, 5:58 AM
Poor man's stablizer ;)

Get a long piece of thick string (thin rope)

make a big loop, one that will touch the ground and go up to the level at which you are holding the camera.

have the loop go over the top of the camera

put your foot on the inside of the bottom of the loop and step on it.

Now when you are holding the camera, pull up so that it rests against the top of the string loop.

Shoot your shot.


I read this technique on a different forum and it actually works quite well! It obviously doesn't work for walking shots but it helps alot in the handheld standing still shots. I now carry an adjustable string loop in my camera bag at all times for those quick shots where you don't want to bother with a tripod.

mark2929 wrote on 12/14/2004, 6:13 AM
sr C

Thats a good answer... I normally just put the strap round me neck and stretch it round me arm which is held aganst me body Ect tills its nice and steady !
TorS wrote on 12/14/2004, 6:22 AM
The foot-rope sounds like splendid advise. Another thing which may be too obvious to mention here, and therefore easily overlooked, if to use a wide angle - as wide as you can. Move in close and open wide.
Tor
Bill Ravens wrote on 12/14/2004, 6:43 AM
I've found that a good shot of double-malt Irish whiskey steadies my tremors enuff to get 5 minutes of non-shaky video.
Grazie wrote on 12/14/2004, 7:46 AM
"a good shot of double-malt Irish whiskey . . " Why wait until you need to shoot film? . . .

G
Spot|DSE wrote on 12/14/2004, 8:13 AM
For me, I let my elbows splay out a bit, crouch just slightly, and walk a grapevine (dance term) rather than trying to walk forward. Works well for me. Some guys walk forward really well. I'm not one of them. This is part of our PPT course, FWIW.
BrianStanding wrote on 12/14/2004, 8:15 AM
As others have said before, for hand-held, stay wide, use the viewfinder rather than the LCD, keep your elbows bent and tight against your body. If you're walking while shooting, imagine yourself holding a very full cup of scalding hot coffee. Try to move without spilling any. Count a full 5 seconds before and after the action you are trying to capture before moving the camera. When panning, try to pivot your torso, starting from the most uncomfortable position, and ending in the most comfortable, rather than move your arms.

For LCD shots, I picked up a cheap L-bracket used for still flash photography. With this attached to the tripod mount, this gives you a nice handle to grab onto with your left hand, stabiliziing the shot, and reducing arm fatigue. I find if I attach it at an acute angle, I can still manipulate the exposure and "push-auto-focus" buttons of my camera while holding onto the handle.

Another option: invest in a monopod and a small head that lets you set and lock the tilt angle (preferably with a quick-release plate). Set the head at a 45-degree angle, so you create a triangle with the pod, your body and your arm. Very stable, and much more mobile than a tripod.

If you want to get really fancy, use some bungee cords to strap a crossbar about 2/3 down the shaft of the monopod. Put some 1-2 pound weights on each end of the crossbar, and voila, instant steadicam. I can run with this rig and still get decent shots. Pretty tiring on the arm, though, so only do this for short shots.
Coursedesign wrote on 12/14/2004, 8:56 AM
Another option preferred by some people is to attach your camera to a tripod, then lift and carry the whole thing with one hand wrapped around the tripod head and the other pointing the camera.

This is not all that different from a Steadicam either.

Even with a Steadicam you still have to use a wideangle...

Btw., it takes at least a month to gain a beginner's proficiency in using a real Steadicam, there's a reason this is outsourced in high end productions...

Never buy a DV "Anythingcam" for steadying unless you get a chance to try it. Many years ago I used a Steadicam Jr. and thought it worked somewhat OK, with limitations, for a Sony VX camcorder. Later I used a Glidecam 1000 (first model of that series) with my XL-1, and I really hated that contraption. Junk construction and many small loose parts. Later versions seem to be better, but make sure you get a right to return.
JackW wrote on 12/14/2004, 12:18 PM
BrianStanding said:

"Another option: invest in a monopod and a small head that lets you set and lock the tilt angle (preferably with a quick-release plate). Set the head at a 45-degree angle, so you create a triangle with the pod, your body and your arm. Very stable, and much more mobile than a tripod."

Couple of variations on this. Close the monopod as far as it will go and put the end of it into your right pants pocket. Some wedding videographers I've seen vary this using a "holster" similar to those used by flag bearers in a parade. Put your right arm over the monopod and you've got a very stable base for the camera.

I use the arrangement suggested in Brian's post, but attach the quick release on the head to a Mightywondercam shoulder mount. This gives me a solid and adjustable support for the camera on my shoulder, plus a support at the end that goes down to the ground, table top, etc. For even greater stability I can extend the monopod fully and step across it with my right leg, locking the monopod in place behind my knee. Sounds awkward, but it isn't.

I use a Bogen/Manfrotto 3245 monopod, which has a quick adjustment grip -- just squeeze the grip and slide the monopod up or down -- with a Bogen/Manfrotto 3229 head. I've found this combination provides a great deal of flexability and makes the monopod a very useful tool in many situations where both mobility and stability are required.

Jack
riredale wrote on 12/14/2004, 2:57 PM
And, of course, you can always run you footage through a program that steadies the shot. I've used SteadyHand, but there are others; do a search on this forum.

An example of digital steadying can be seen here.
reece.b wrote on 12/14/2004, 3:29 PM
http://homebuiltstabilizers.com/ - A good site for looking at home built steadycams, dollies, jibs, cranes etc. They also have a few turtoials in making cheap steadycams.

reece
Galeng wrote on 12/14/2004, 3:44 PM
I recently made this little steadicam (http://www-2.cs.cmu.edu/~johnny/steadycam/), and was surprised at the results I got. Since I am a novice, maybe what I got isn't that good (don't have anything to compare it with), but it seemed pretty darn steady for a walking shot. I made the "U" bracket so that the camera could shot low to the ground, approximatley 12 - 24" up. Anyway, worked for me as a non-professional.

Galen
winrockpost wrote on 12/14/2004, 5:14 PM
Why I hate any cam I cant put on my shoulder , steady shots (for me ) are impossible using a screen and the cam away from my body. Why canon gets my money , the xl1 & 2 is stable to me simply cause i can put it on my shoulder. I'm good for about a minute or two with a pd170 , cramp up and get stupid shots, on sticks i love it.
Randy Brown wrote on 12/14/2004, 5:27 PM
Bob said If you're trying to walk and shoot the trcik is I think to walk a bit crab like with your knees bent
I discovered this technique while shooting a SWAT team for a city police dept. recruitment project (they called it the "SWAT shuffle"). You look silly as can be and you gotta be in shape to do it for long but the difference is truly amazing!
Randy
usman152008 wrote on 12/14/2004, 7:53 PM
Well what if you hands shake? what would u recommend? I know i a tripod would help but if u dont have it.
FrigidNDEditing wrote on 12/14/2004, 8:33 PM
I've spent years trying to master the ability of getting still enough to get a good still shot (photography). However the ability to make a stable shot is not that complex, and most of it has already been said, but here's my 2 cents.

(before anything else I find that if you just shut your eyes and breath slowly and relax for just a few seconds, you can improve your shots considerably, CONSIDERABLY)

1 - Use one of your hands (left) and cradle the camera underneath (didn't see that mentioned anywhere)
2 - Brace that elbow on your stomach, breathe softly and steadily (if you can, slow shallow breaths are the best)
3 - Eye cup against the eye
4 - The closer in to your body the camera is, the steadier you're going to shoot (rule of thumb)
5 - Turn with your body, not with your arms. (This means turning at your waist and try not to have to lift your feet if at all possible)
6 - When you are shooting on the ground kneel with at least one knee (preferably both) and brace at least one arm against your leg(s) preferably at the forearm of possible.
7 - if you are walking, a quick way to make steady shots is to pick up your tripod, pull the legs together, extend the center bar, and then grab ahold of that bar with one hand and you can extend individual legs out to balance your camera.

Well, that's it for now, but I hope it helps.
Dave