How to Get Smoother Handheld Footage

If you shoot or looking to shoot video, one question that you might be trying to think a solution for is how to get smoother video footage.  I am not sure how many people would be interested in watching a video that you are trying to produce if it is entirely too shaky especially if that doesn't fit the mood of the video. Some scenes like a chase sequence may work better with shaky footage, but some scenes will work better with a smoother shot.

While browsing online for various gimbals and other equipment to help produce a steadier shot, you can see how some of it can start to add up quickly. If you are shooting video as a hobby or just starting out and don’t have room to put all that fancy gear in your current budget, you will be looking at any options to reduce your overhead. What if you can do it all handheld?

Peter McKinnon shares his tips on how he shoots steady footage without any special equipment. The first tip is all in how you hold the camera, with three points of contact is optimal stance. This is one tip that I have used while shooting video using my camera strap as shown, so it was reassuring to hear Peter uses this method as well. Peter goes on and shares a few other tips with examples of how it comes out in his video, the next time I am out shooting video I may have to give a few of these a try to see how it improves my footage. The steadier your footage is, the better and easier it will be to smooth it out further in post with Adobe Premiere if needed.

Do you have any other tips to share how how to get smoother handheld footage? Post them below in the comments.