One of my biggest pet peeves is seeing other photographers holding their camera wrong! Now when I say ‘wrong’, there’s no official rule saying how to hold a camera, but I will explain to you why you should be holding it the…”correct” way. Lets jump in!
First things first- Basics. When you’re just holding your camera normal for a classic horizontal shot, you want to have the hand that supports your lens to be thumb on top and palm facing towards you. This gives you 4 fingers plus your palm under the lens to support the weight of the camera plus the lens. This gives way more stability and support, which helps eliminate camera shake.
Next, vertical photos. This is the one that annoys me the most! If you hold your camera the ‘wrong’ way, this tip is about to change your life! You want to rotate your camera clockwise so the shutter button is on the bottom. This will create a base for our camera to sit on and you can support your arm by pressing it against your body. Trust me it’s easier than dangling your camera with your elbow sky high; it may not bother you now with a small lens and short sessions, but it you ever have a heavy lens and a lengthy shoot, your arm will be dead! And just to review, make sure your left hand is proper in this position as well. DISCLAMOR: If you have a battery grip this doesn’t really apply to you because you have a second shutter button, so when you rotate it just keep the first tip in mind.
Some elements can be thrown into the mix and make some exceptions, such as a hot shoe mounted flash or like I said a battery grip. But in general terms you’re going to want to stick to these ‘correct’ positions. It’s hard to change your habits, but it’s worth it!
Hope this helped y’all!
❤︎Tara T