jimbo70 Loc: Orange Park, FL.

I also have hand tremors (Essential tremor) and it has only gotten worse over the years. Once when doing a wedding the groom's father said, "the photographer's hands shake worse than mine do". Over the years I have found flash to be about the best solution if the subjects are moving. Of course a tripod or mono-pod will also work. Most of the time though for casual shooting I use my LCD monitor. I adjust my camera strap to the right length and extend my arms creating tension in the strap. This quiets my shaking. Also if i know i will be shooting a lot I eat a bowl of pasta before hand and that seems to help. Even my doctor can't explain that.

bee7474 Loc: Selah, Wa

There is a thing called SteadyPod, has anyone tried it?

clgonzo

Speak to your doctor about the efficacy of the beta blocker "propranolol."

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

HOUSE CALL!

Familial tremor is pretty common. Alcohol is well known to quiet it down - and for that reason many folks with this condition are labeled as alcoholics - "yeah, he shakes if he's not drinking!" The first-line treatment are medications called beta-blockers. These are widely used to treat high blood pressure, rapid heart rate, and heart failure. The older version, propranolol, is sometimes called "the stage-fright drug" because it is a short-acting version that very effectively calms the symptoms of stress - the rapid heart rate and shakiness - without numbing the brain like a Valium would. There has been controversy for years about whether it should be considered a "performance-enhancing drug" in the classical music world. I have prescribed it in the past for corporate executives who had to give quarterly presentations to their board of directors - presentations upon which their job depended!

The most common side effect is fatigue. It will slow the heart down and keep it from going as fast when you exercise - we would not generally prescribe it to a marathon runner. If your heart rate runs low to begin with you might not be a candidate.

There are longer-acting forms, or there are forms that just last six hors that you can take only if needed.

Bottom line - it can be very helpful. You can try it, and if problems outweigh benefits, you can bag it. I have several patients currently taking beta-blockers for this reason, and they are all happy with the improvement. One is an instructor. He was having a little trouble using his laser pointer!

PHRubin Loc: Nashville TN USA

I'm not familiar with that Sunpack, but be warned that older technology from film days used strobes that had high voltage at the contacts. They can destroy your camera.

cactuspic Loc: Dallas, TX

Rent a camera with great high ISO performance and an image stabilized fast lenses. See if that works and if you can afford to purchase it. You should be able to gain a number of stops between goosing the ISO, image stabilization, and a fast lens.

cdayton

I tried 3 drafts of Guinness and now my hand is steady but everything looks blurred. Do I need a chaser?

Oldan Strange Loc: Georgia, USA

I have the same problem... Caffeine exacerbates the tremor; alcohol (in any form) calms it (I'm steady as a rock after a martini). Best known Rx is propranolol (no, that's not what killed Michael Jackson), cheap & effective without side effects. Cheers!

Bob Boner

A monopod would give you more stability than handholding and more maneuverability than a tripod. I frequently use one when photographing my grandkids playing soccer and basketball.

Hip Coyote

I am sorry to hear of this. There is a posting on using red dot sights that will up sometime today that may be of help. Perhaps you can put a cheap sighting system on top of your camera, use a fast shutter speed and simply point in the direction of your subjects shooting multiple shoots...kind of a spray and pray methodology. You then could pull up the photos on a camera and determine which ones might be to your liking. I think the sight system is way under-used in photography and might help alot of people with challenges such as this. If you want more details, message me and I will send you a few links.

Be well,

Rick

JeffDavidson Loc: Originally Detroit Now Los Angeles

I too have an "essential tremor." I up the ISO on a camera body that does very well in low light with little noise problems.

I have used ISO's for pictures of people as high as 2000 with no problems. I have even blown them up to 16 X 20 with no problem.

Too many side effects from the drugs. Don't drink, so alcohol is out of the question for me.

Take a deep breath, let it out slowly and fire away.

Good luck!

imagemeister Loc: mid east Florida

I think you are on the right track ......see my bodypod/facial stabilizers - http://www.uglyhedgehog.com/t-269999-1.html

Bill P

My GF has this, and I got her a Sony A something with 5 axis stabilization and it made a huge difference. And yes, alcohol helps her for a bit, but it is often worse the next day.

We are investigating new treatments that involve botox injections in the hands, but this is new and not widespread. The sad fact is that there are relatively few people with this condition so there is no incentive to develop new drugs or treatments because there is no way for big pharma to monetize it.

strictly amature

I use Propranolol for times of stressful shooting like yours. 10mg works wonders. I also wrap my wrists in the camera strap so I can put pressure on the camera while I shoot and this helps a lot. Good luck.

Bill P

Use care with propranolol. It is a blood pressure drug, and although it may helo with shakes, it will also lower you BP. If your's is a bit high, that's fine, but if yours tends to run a bit low anyway, you will be eternally tired and sluggish.