Unintentionally blurry pictures are almost always the first to the trash. Most of the time, it has nothing to do with the movement of the subject, but with the fact that you haven't been careful enough to keep the camera steady. So it pays to practice avoiding blurry shots that happen because a camera is too unsteady for the shutter speed called for by the conditions of lighting and subject motion. Of course, there are ways to minimize or even ensure that the camera won't move when the shutter fires.

Antishake Mechanisms

There's at least one DSLR manufacturer, Sony (Alpha 100 DSLR), that has an antishake mechanism built into its sensor. It's a feature I wish all DSLR makers would offer, especially those that have higher-resolution (8+ MP) sensors. The advantage is that the antishake mechanism works for up to a three-f-stop difference in exposure. So a nightclub shot that had to be taken at ISO 400 at 1/80th of a second can now be taken at 1/20th of a second. If you shoot a lot of news, parties, and events, it's worth having one of these camerasyou'll hardly ever have to shoot with flash. Heck, even when you do shoot with flash, you could use a slow enough shutter speed to get a lot more detail in the background that isn't motion blurred.

If you have a DSLR that doesn't have built-in anti-shake (aka image stabilization)particularly a higher-resolution, lower-noise oneall is not lost. Most lens vendors make antishake lenses. The bad news is that you will pay significantly more for the lens. Furthermore, you have to buy one in every focal length you need the feature for. Heaven forbid you have to shoot both wildlife and weddings.

Bracing and Breathing

By far, the most common situation you will find yourself in is simply holding the camera in your hands while you grab a shot before the opportunity flits away. So you want to keep your shutter speed at around 100th of a second, just to ensure a reasonable chance of sharpness. Wide-angle shots are less likely to appear blurry than telephoto shots. Telephoto lenses much more than 150mm in effective length require either a rock-steady camera or some image stabilization mechanism in the camera.

If you don't have a tripod, or the time to set one up, brace yourself by leaning against something solid. If you're near a flat surface like a table top or guard rail, brace your elbows on it. If you're not, press your elbows tight against your torso. Take a deep breath. Just before your lungs are filled and you have to let your breath out, squeeze the shutter button so smoothly that you're surprised when you hear the shutter (or mirror) click.

You can also use your camera strap to make sure the camera is steady. Put your elbows inside the strap and then spread your arms so that there is tension between your body and the camera.

Once you've done all the above, reduce the shutter speed to about one-fifth of a second and make a test shot of a motionless subject. Press the Preview button and then do what your camera requires to enlarge the preview image to 100 percent (or more). If the edges of the subject are sharp, you've either got it down or got lucky. Try this a few more times until you know you've got it down.

Repeat this exercise every time you get a chance until you are so good at it that you can shoot at even slower shutter speeds. I have a friend is so good at it that she can hand-hold for a full second.

Tripods and Monopods

Surely nobody doesn't know what a tripod is. Just in case you don't, though, it's a three-legged stand with variable length legs and a swiveling head that screws tightly to the bottom of your camera. The bigger and tougher the tripod, the steadier it's likely to be. However, the trick is to get one that's just big, steady, and precise enough to keep your camera motion-free. After all, if it's too heavy, you'll never take it with you. The tripod you need for a point-and-shoot could be about half the weight of the one you need for an entry-level DSLR, for example, as cameras grow in size and price. One big caution: don't use a tripod that doesn't stay adjusted while you're working. A funky tripod head or leg tightener just isn't worth having. Furthermore, they become looser and more useless over time. The more you tighten them up, the looser they get.

Tripods are expensive, but look for one that is unusually steady for its lightweightness. If you see the words magnesium alloy or carbon fiber, you're probably in good shape.

Let's face it; sometimes tripods are just too much of a pain to lug around. A monopod can do very nearly as good a job, as long as you brace it. A monopod is, essentially, one tripod leg with four, rather than three, sections so you can collapse it to about a couple of feet in length. For hikers, monopods can also double as walking sticks.

Shoot, but Don't Touch

One of the most common causes of unintentional camera shake is the act of punching the shutter release. The remedy? Squeezedon't push. You want to be so gentle with your depression of the shutter release that you are a bit surprised when you hear the shutter click.

An even better solution is a device that makes it possible to fire the shutter without touching the camera at all. The devices used for touchless shutter release are even more valuable when the camera is just placed on a flat surface for bracing, rather than on a tripod or clamp.

The best, cheapest, and most old-fashioned of all touch-free shutter releases is something called a cable release. You can buy one for next to nothing, and it is always reliable.

Making a camera that has a cable release socket doesn't cost a single penny more, either. It's just that crafty camera makers have found a way to boost their profit margins by not drilling a threaded hole in the shutter release button. You then have to buy an electronic device known as a remote control. Really reliable remote controls are wired to the camera because they go off the instant you push the button. The more common type is infrared. The disadvantage here is that there has to be a clear line-of-sight between the remote control device and the infrared receptor on the front of the camera. Of course, if you're not careful, holding it in front of the camera can be difficult without including it in the picture. Once again, practice to the rescue. Before you have to use the remote, practice your holding position when you're shooting with it until you don't see anything in front of the lens that shouldn't be there.