Hand-held camcorders can mean shaky video.
Hand-held video cameras bounce or shake with the movement of your body. Simple tricks like bracing your body or bending your knees can help reduce the camera shake and make your video look smoother and more professional without the use of a tripod. Most newer cameras include built-in image stabilizers to help you when you are shooting handheld, but keeping your arms and hands as still as possible is still key to stable video.
Instructions
1. Brace your elbows or forearms on a fence, counter or table. This significantly reduces camera shake. If a horizontal object isn't available, brace your back against a tree or other vertical object to help hold your body still.
2. Bend your knees slightly for balance. This helps keep your upper body from swaying slightly, which is common when people are no longer using their arms for balance, such as when they are holding up camcorders.
3. Open your external screen. Avoid using the viewfinder, which requires you to hold the camcorder against your head. If you hold the camcorder between your chest and waist with your elbows bent and with the screen facing up, you can use your elbows as natural shock absorbers as you move. Shoot from a lower angle, such as below your chest, for full-body or distance shooting; shooting from eye-level will provide waist-up shots of people nearby.
4. Rotate your entire torso when possible, and move slowly and gracefully. To pan side to side or up and down, try to move more than just your arms. Turn your body and allow your arms to follow the movement. You are more likely to jerk to a stop or move too quickly if it's just your arms moving.
5. Press "Record" several seconds before you need to start the video. This gives you time to get situated comfortably before the action starts.
Tags: your arms, your body, your elbows, camera shake, hold camcorder