I have a little pet peeve. I know I shouldn’t have any pet peeve’s, but I do and one of them is people who hold their cameras wrong. Why does it matter? you may ask. It matters because I think they are missing out on sharp photos because they are not steadying their camera well, so the camera will move more in the process of taking the photo. This one little change will not only give you sharper photos, but it will make you look like you know what you are doing with a camera in your hands.

The way to hold a camera is to support the camera with your left hand under the body and lens. A lot of people, when first starting out, hold the lens overhand and the camera is basically being held and balanced with their right hand only. This is going to cause more camera shake and less sharp photos. This is especially true in low light, when you are dealing with slower shutter speeds.

Joe McNally is one of my favorite photography authors. I read his blog all the time, partially because of the valuable information there, and partially because it’s so funny. Here’s a video he made sharing various ways to hold a camera steady. At about 6:10 in the video, Joe talks about the overhand grip. Pay special attention to that part. :-D