shutter speed v. ISO

[CatherineA]

Thanks Ted! I have been practicing that technique since I read your post and it sure beats what I had been doing. What I had read before was to release the shutter after breathing out. It was: breathe out, steady, then shoot, then breath in. I am much more wobbly when there is no air in my lungs though - no kidding.

[dem]

This hold works well for me:

http://www.photographyblog.com/artic...elephoto_lens/

Some good tips on these sites:

https://photographylife.com/how-to-hold-a-camera

https://digital-photography-school.c...-camera-shake/

I also got some good results for low level shooting (i.e. by the lake) by putting one knee to the ground and placing the camera on the other knee while using the LCD (it has to be flipped up) to compose the image.

[CatherineA]

Thank you Dem. They are all good tips. I’ve only ever tried taking photos straight on, only turning when necessary to follow movement. Certainly hadn’t thought that there is added stability by shooting perpendicular to the subject. Just need to figure out how to turn in a way my physiotherapist would approve of . I’m going to re- watch the videos until I get the hang of the positions.

[DanK]

The bottom line is: keep yourself steady, brace the camera as well as you can, and don't move the camera when tripping the shutter. With respect to the second: as Dem's links show, there are lots of ways of doing this. The one in the first link is really for long lenses, with which the center of gravity is far forward, and I doubt you will find it helpful with your particular camera. The one in Dem's second link is what I consider the default position. I would guess that 80% of the photos I have taken over the past decades, leaving aside those for which I use a tripod, have been with some variation on that position. I would just add that it's most important to keep the left elbow against your body because it is the left arm that supports the camera. When a shot is problematic, then I look for more stability. I may brace on a nearby object, if there is one, or use a monopod.

[dem]

The one in the first link is really for long lenses, with which the center of gravity is far forward, and I doubt you will find it helpful with your particular camera.

My experience is the opposite. That's how I often shoot a bridge camera (I have got an old Fuji X-S1, that is quite close to the P900 in terms of size and weight). I would not balance Bigma on my elbow like that - need to support the lens from below with the left hand.

[Tronhard]

For me the technique of resting the lens on one elbow, with that arm supported by a hand on the opposite shoulder might work for physically larger and heavier lenses, but I believe a bridge camera is physically too small to make the best use of that. When I use my bridge camera I stick to the tried three-points of contact, holding the viewfinder against my face with my arms tucked in to my chest and left hand supporting the lens and body, leaving the right to manipulate the controls. Better still is to have support on a solid surface: monopod, tripod, table etc.

One thing I have found is that practice and exercise to strengthen muscles and enhance neural pathways improve your ability to hold a camera, no matter what your technique. Like any proprioceptive skill, practice yields improvements in performance.