It’s hard to get smooth video without stabilizer, that’s for sure. But unfortunately, sometimes you’ll be stuck without it and you’ll have to improvise. There are various tricks for stabilization, and Ted Sim from Apurture shares six DIY hacks each of us can use. They involve readily available items, and some of them even involve relying only on your body and don’t require any props. So whichever situation you find yourself in, you will find at least one of these tricks handy for getting smoother footage.
1. The pseudo slider
If you have a GorillaPod and a glove, you can quickly create a DIY slider. Cut the fingerlings off the gloves and place them at the bottom of tripod legs. Now you’ve got slippery tripod legs, and you can slide the camera on any slippery surface. It can be a table or floor if you’re indoors, or a car if you’re outdoors.
2. The twine tripod
If you don’t have a tripod with you, there’s a chance you have some string around, or your shoelaces. If this is the case, you can make a DIY tripod most photographers are familiar with. Tie the string/shoelaces to the camera strap, bring it down and step inside of the string. This will bring you 4 instead of 2 points of contact, which will make your camera more stable.
3.The noble neck
“But I wear sandals and they don’t have shoelaces,” you may say. Well, there’s another trick, and most of us is also familiar with it. Use your camera strap and tighten it around your neck. This will give you the third point of contact and make the footage more stable than it would if you only held the camera with hands.
4. The eclectic elbow
If you don’t have any of the above, there’s still hope for your footage. Keep the camera close to your body and put it into your elbow like you see in the picture. Think of your body as a core, which more stability than when your stick your arms in front of it.
5. Shoot in 4K
Shooting in 4K enables you to fix the shaky image after shooting. You can crop it a bit in post and get it stabilized. Just remember to increase shutter speed so that you can avoid motion blur.
6. Shoot in slow motion
If the sound doesn’t matter, you can shoot in slow motion. It’s not gonna stabilize huge motions, but it can help you smooth out the small bumps.
Of course, these DIY hacks don’t beat the professional stabilization gear. But there will be times when you’ll have to improvise, and it’s good to have a few tricks like this on your list. So, tell us, what’s the DIY stabilization hack you use for your photos and videos? Is it already on this list, or you have some you’d like to add? Share your thoughts in the comments.
[6 Stabilization Hacks | Apurture]
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