Sunday School: Shooting From the Hip

When I got my first digital SLR a little over a year ago, I did something kind of sily.  I called Nikon's technical assistance and asked the gentleman how to get my LCD screen to display the digital viewfinder.  I had been using a digial point-and-shoot  for over 5 years and had forgotten how to take photos looking through that tiny little peephole.  I can't tell you how embarrassed I was when the Nikon techie gently broke the news to me that as far as he knew, there was no digital SLR that had this feature*.  I was crestfallen.  To be unable to take photos from all kinds of crazy angles and perspectives and still be able to see what I was capturing before I clicked on the shutter?  I thought my photog days were surely over.

Well, I did get used to putting my eyeball to the peephole like the good old days with my film SLR but I still toyed with the idea of getting one of these really expensive puppies.  I'm glad I didn't, though, because I soon learned the joys of what folks call Shooting From the Hip.  That's when you shoot photos without looking through the viewfinder or composing the shot on the LCD.  I personally don't consider it shooting blind, however, and it's not the same as Just Shoot It when you click click click that shutter button without aiming or thinking. 

Shooting From the Hip is a skill that takes patience and practice.  You have to try it a LOT to learn how to angle the camera to aim it at what you actually want to shoot.  The more you try it, however, the easier it will get, and you'll love the freedom of being able to shoot without always having an eyeball glued to the tiny viewfinder or constantly looking down at the LCD.

One tip I have for Shooting More Accurately From the Hip is to use the focus-lock feature that most cameras have.  You can focus on what you want to shoot while looking through the viewfinder and then keeping the focus locked on it, reposition the camera and shoot.  In the photo above, I locked the focus on the pizza through the viewfinder, and then I positioned the camera at my chest level and pressed the shutter.  Another tip is to use the autofocus assist light (if your camera has one) to give you an idea of where your camera is pinpointing.  That should give you a clue as to whether you're aiming the camera at what you actually want to focus on. 

Whether your viewfinder is a tiny peephole or a digital LCD that twists and turns and does somersaults, Shooting From the Hip may become one of your favorite pastimes.  No matter how good your aim is, you never know exactly what you'll get, and THAT is the fun part.

Ready?  Aim.  Shoot!  And don't forget to share your Shooting From the Hip images and tips.

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*Edited to Add:  Actually, there are now dSLRs that come with a live view LCD.  Thanks to Laura of Dolce Pics for the heads up!

Comments

[camerashymomma]

i love this. and you're right, it's very freeing, and it does require patience and skill! funny though, i get self conscious when other people see this is a major tactic of mine :) i feel like i've gotten more in tune with my camera from this practice if that makes sense.

anyway, love this shot, and love hearing words that resonate with me!
here's a shot of me in action {dork!} from a couple months ago
http://www.flickr.com/photos/camerashymomma/2476605397/

[laura - dolcepics]

Yes! I love shooting "from the hip" but usually for me, it's shooting "from the ground" since my subject is only about 2.5 feet tall! haha.

And it's true that it's fun and the more you do it, the better you get. Here's a recent one I did at the park. I might even get it printed!

http://www.dolcepics.com/dailypic/surprised/

Mine is more of a calculated blind shoot though. I rely on the D300's 3D tracking to catch focus. The accuracy is surprisingly good! Nowadays a lot of SLR's have live view, which makes shooting from down low easier. I have yet to use it though. ;)

[Marcie]

This isn't exactly shooting from the hip..but it's shooting randomly and every once-in-awhile getting lucky:
http://www.marciescudderphotography.com/index.php?showimage=446

[Lindy]

I LOVE LOVE LOVE shooting from the hip.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3093/2633755390_db2e53b536_b.jpg
now don't be fooled, they don't always look like that. Sometimes I end up with a shot that looks like this- http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3099/2631341994_eb53413226_b.jpg

[Shelli]

I shoot from the hip all the time, mostly because I always want to shoot from a lower position. This is especially true when I'm shooting my son. Here's one I took recently when he was repeating his "new skill" over and over...climbing the stairs by himself! (And don't you know that on Independence Day, he asserted his independence and climbed the indoor stairs to the second floor all by himself for the first time! Mama and Dada were a little freaked, but he was so proud.)

http://www.mamaofletters.com/Mama_of_Letters/Camera_Happy/Pages/Nikon_D60.html#11

I have not tried the focus lock, however, so thanks for that tip!

[Ginny]

I love just taking a chance and seeing what comes of it!

http://monkeymemories.blogspot.com/2008/07/shutter-sisters-shooting-from-hip.html

[amanda]

This was one morning at breakfast, when my toddler refused to sit in his booster seat and was instead seated on a regular chair.

http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/5333763_2ExZG/1/325949704_padq5/Medium

[Meryl]

This is one of my new favorite things. I love the slightly odd angles and perspectives that I always seem to get. Also, sometimes you can get shots you couldn't get if you were looking through the view finder--for example, this shot of a pea blossom that was only about a few feet off of the ground.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/blackbird13/2642454694/

[e.darcy]

My husband laughs at me every time we are walking around, camera around my neck click click click. I like to call them happy accidents when they turn out.
Sometimes it the only way to get a picture, and well, it's like watercolour paint-you can't control it, and yet it turns out beautifully.
This is my sample of shooting from the hip, though-it was more like shooting from the feet...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/edarcy/2102116400/

[Lawyer Mama]

Here's one that wasn't "from the hip" exactly. But I did set it at ground level over the edge of my chair. I couldn't figure out another way to discreetly photograph this beach fashion faux pas:

http://flickr.com/photos/lawyermama/2639843609/

[Sugar]

How funny... I waited forever to get a point-and-click. I still can't get used to looking at the screen to compose my shot. I just love finding my shot in the peep hole while squeezing my left eye shut. Makes me feel... I don't know... balanced.

[Christina]

I love shooting from the hip! It's very freeing and the unexpected successes are such treasures!

One from just yesterday:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/christinator/2636727715/
I meant to capture the kiddo, and got this instead...but it totally works for me!

[Kim]

I often shoot without looking at the LCD. Either I want to be discreet (kids who hate pics, strangers) or I'm not tall or short enough. It's good to remember in life we can't do it perfectly every time... sometimes it's better that way.

http://callmezari.blogspot.com/2008/07/thats-awful-thing-to-call-your-husband.html

http://www.flickr.com/photos/9032846@N03/2639571475/

[abbey]

no tips... just a favorite....
http://www.photoblog.com/abbeyh13/2008/02/10/268-god-must-have-spent-a-little-more-time-on-you.html
i love how surprising they turn out... and how you get things you would never think to shoot!

[renee]

Just got back from 3 days of camping and discovered this shot on my camera.

http://fimby.tougas.net/Laurent_Bear_River_Screw_Auger_Falls_ME

Not exactly shooting from the hip, but how about shooting in strange manual mode? No idea how the photo turned out this way but I like it.

[Moxie Candice]

I just grabbed the camera from my lap and hit shoot. I was amazed it turned out the way it did. I love it. I guess I'll have to "shoot from the hip" more often.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3268/2642393546_032ccbb969_o.jpg

[Tracy]

This is so funny because I just discovered this technique a few months back and it's really fun to see how you sometimes luck out this way. Here's a couple of my shots where I just held out the camera and pressed the shutter:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31417716@N00/2585737736/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31417716@N00/2374064719/in/set-72157604317982223/

[Brandy]

Great tips, I'm going to start trying this!

[solange]

I hope I am doing this right. This was not taken from the hip but by holding the camera at arms length face down over the hammock.
http://bp3.blogger.com/_l_L7JXUrhuk/SHLYFTheX9I/AAAAAAAAANE/qD7kuub1C40/s1600-h/hammock+1.jpg

[Leslie]

I was definitely shooting from the hip as I captured these images:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/westieluvr/2650005714/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/westieluvr/2649176925/in/photostream/

[Daisy Sharrock]

Too fun! I'm going to have to try it more often.

http://www.sharrock.net/2008/07/new-bike.html - the third image down.

[elizabeth]

Oh - thank you - I'm so glad I'm not the only one! I didn't call Nikon (whew), but I spent almost three hours poring through the documentation, playing with the buttons, and looking online - growing more and more concerned that my camera was broken. I was about to call when I found something on Ken Rockwell's Nikon site that told me there was no LCD. I felt very silly .. and it was hard to get used to the little peephole again!

[elizabeth]

I forgot to post my image. I had to do this at a tulip farm a few months back - the ground was so so so muddy that I couldn't bring myself to lie down.

http://retinalperspectives.wordpress.com/2008/03/30/tulips-are-blooming-in-woodburn/

[Maya]

I'm so late on this! Oh well, better late than never. I tried shooting from the hip this weekend and was excited about what I got...here you go! Thanks for the inspiration!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/73498912@N00/2672381425/