Most of us cannot hold a camera completely steady in order to capture sharp images in low-light conditions.

To do that you need some kind of support, either from your body or from accessories that can be bought, most well-known of them to be tripod, but there are also other types.

In this series of articles I’m going to look at how to hold your camera to take sharp, blur-free images.

It is not rare to see blurry images being captured holding the camera only with your hands even if conditions don’t necessarily require some kind of support accessory (e.g. tripod). This happens when the camera is not correctly held with your hands to insure maximum support.

But there are also conditions when you do need some help and buying (or sometimes even making) some sort of a supporting accessory is a must. Below are the pros and cons of such accessories:

Accessories for supporting your camera help you

• capture images in low-light situations, for example during the night or indoors, whenever you are using long exposures (shutter speed longer than 1/60s);
• achieve better sharpness of the image (shake could be caused by unsteady hands);
• use low ISO;
• compose the image better: you can capture exactly what you want or have it captured from the same place with different settings;
• use a smaller aperture (big f number) for bigger depth of field;
• use long lenses (telephoto, zoom lenses);
• capture images at a sporting event (only when there is a predictable place where the action is going to take place so you don’t have to move around);
• include yourself on the image by using a camera’s self timer or a remote control;
• capture panoramic image where it is important to keep it at the same level for easier stitching;
• with macro photography.

Negative effects of using such accessories:

• slows you down;
• more weight to carry;
• harder to move around quickly.

Different support accessories have different pros and cons. Which one is the best for you and the situation depends on where you are going to capture the images and what are your subjects.