Saturday (December 28) we are filming at Heart of Texas Yoga and I’ve planned several shots to be done hand-held. Since I’ve been a bit concerned about how to get good, steady hand-held shots, the cosmic forces sent me an excellent 90 minute workshop on the subject. It is presented by Sean Bobbitt, a cinematographer who likes to do his own camera-work.

He had a lot so say, but for tomorrow’s shoot I gleaned these tips.

• Light from the top; plan for 360 degrees; watch shadows
• Try not to fiddle with lights between shots
• Don’t change f-stop during a scene
• Create three points of contact
• Don’t stand still; keep camera moving
• Keep headroom constant
• Walk in-step with the actors
• Lift your feet as you walk

Lens choice is complicated these days with different sized sensors creating different image sizes. Bobbitt recommends a wide lens in the 24mm to 32mm range. A longer lens shows the camera shake too much and a shorter one is prone to distortion. My camera has a APS-C sized sensor (about the same size as a 3-perf, Super 35mm film frame) and my 19mm lens equates to 28mm in Bobbitt’s terms, so we are good to go.