Getting Ready to Shoot
Let's assume that you've just purchased your camera. You're eager to get started, but you're not sure where to begin. Once you feel confident that you know how to operate your camera, take a moment to consider the basics of snapping a picture.
There is a trick to snapping the shutter. To learn the feel of your particular camera, trip the shutter a number of times. Notice how much play (an area of no resistance) there is in the shutter button before you hit a hard point. Try to hold the camera at this hard point without pressing the shutter further. When you press beyond that hard point, the shutter should go off. This can take practice, as first-time users may have trouble finding the precise point where they can lock in the settings but not trip the shutter. Take time to learn how to do this. Afterward you can delete any pictures that you took.
With many cameras, pushing the shutter partway locks in the focus and the exposure. After doing this, there will be almost no lag when you snap the shutter since the camera does not have to make any calculations. If you can hold the button at that hard point, you can also reframe the picture with those settings locked in.
Once you have mastered the delicate play of the shutter, learn to carefully trip the shutter. When taking a picture, learn to move the shutter button, but not the camera itself. This is a subtle but crucial distinction and can make the difference between blurry and sharp pictures. If you move just the shutter button, pictures will be clear; if you push the shutter button and also move the camera, you will get blurry pictures.
Other movement can also ruin a picture. If your body is not squarely positioned, you may sway a bit, which will cause blur. When you go out into the real world, you'll want to always stand with your feet planted firmly. Some people like to lean up against a wall or pole to steady themselves. Gently take a deep breath and hold it, then slowly squeeze the shutter. When you can hand-hold a camera at slow speeds, you will find that you can take a variety of pictures that were not possible before, such as candids of your children in low available light.
To learn your limits, take a number of shots using the shutter-priority mode to see at which point the picture becomes blurry. That point is now your shutter speed threshold for that focal length. With practice you will find that you can learn to hold the camera steady at even slower speeds.
Most blurry photographs are due to camera movement. The photographer did not hold the camera steady, so the picture is not as sharp as it could be. When in doubt you should always use a higher shutter speed than a lower one. With experience you will learn your own personal shutter speed limits.
The shorter the focal length, the slower the shutter speed needs to be for a sharp picture and vice versa. You can hand-hold with a shutter speed that is roughly equal to the focal length equivalent in millimeters.
A wide-angle lens of 30 mm (35 mm equivalent) can be hand-held at 1/30 second.
A normal lens of 50 mm (35 mm equivalent) can be hand-held at 1/60 second.
A mild telephoto lens of 100 mm (35 mm equivalent) can be hand-held at 1/125 second.
A long telephoto of 200 mm (35 mm equivalent) can be hand-held at about 1/250 second.
Stabilization control removes camera shake at moderate shutter speeds and allows a steady photographer to shoot at a speed as low as 1/4 second. If you like to shoot in available light, choose a camera with this feature as it will allow you to take clear pictures in dim environments.