shaky photos? You are holding your smartphone wrong. use it

I wonder how good modern smartphones are at taking pictures in low light. I remember when capturing the stars required a big camera, a tripod and a lot of patience.

Now I can do this with a smartphone.

Above is a handheld shot taken in Snowdonia, North Wales, UK.

Here’s another roundhouse, taken again in North Wales.

How do you hold your smartphone to take a photo? If you’re like the majority, it’s something like this, between the index finger and thumb on one hand and the middle finger and thumb on the other.

This is not the best way to have a smartphone. Not only does this translate to any finger jerks in the smartphone, but it’s also not as stable, and I’ve lost the number of people I’ve seen holding their phones like this, especially if there’s a little wind.

You can get away with it in good conditions, but in low light or windy conditions, you’ll get a lot of wasted photos.

There’s a better way.

This way.

Here’s what it looks like from the front:

Here I am using my thumb on the volume button to trigger the shutter button instead of tapping on the screen.

It’s a far more stable, secure way to hold a smartphone. It takes a bit of reprogramming muscle memory to pull it off smoothly, but with a little practice you’ll figure it out.

This hand position is good not only for low-light photos, but also for windy conditions.

It also works for vertical shooting.

A few more tips for still shots:

• Keep your elbows as close to your body as possible.
• Arm yourself with the legs or hips (not the stomach, chest, or back — those body parts move as your breath) against something that doesn’t move.
• Take a deep breath before pressing the shutter and start exhaling slowly as soon as the shutter is pressed.

However, for the best possible results, nothing beats smartphone clamp a. is linked to tripod or a clampEspecially if you want to take rock-steady video.

have fun!