# How the hell to take a wrist shot?



## Gary123

I mean, a good wrist shot? 

The basic problem is that my arm is about 8" too short. I have a bulky prosumer camera (Nikon D300s) with a 30 to 325mm zoom (35mm equivalent) as my only viable lens choice for a wrist shot. Combining the thickness of the camera body with the length of the lens, I've really got to get my arm out pretty far to take a picture. To complicate things, the autofocus will not work if the subject is too close. This means I must outstretch my arm far enough so that I can't see the display back of the camera.

I am actually considering purchasing a special 40mm closeup lens (~ 64mm equivalent for a 35mm) just to do wrist shots. The lens is shorter and the the auto focus should work in close up mode. My son's little Cannon with zoom actually works OK because its small and compact, but that camera's only around when he is visiting.

Any suggestions?


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## Ames

Get a better lens. It's made all the difference for me. Still a limit to how much you can turn your wrist and getting the correct angle, but it helped a lot. If I can't quite get the right angle I get my wife to take the picture.


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## shameless

exactly ! someone takes the pic for you or you use someone else's wrist


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## dakolkol

iPhone cam works like magic for me


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## Gary123

That is a great picture with an iPhone!! How did you do that? I'd love to have a picture of you taking that picture. But I don't have the luxury of someone taking the picture on my wrist, but I suppose I could borrow a neighbor's wrist. But that will get old really quick, there's a lot of wrist shots I want to take. Maybe that Nikon 40mm lens is the way to go. Seems silly to get a lens just for wrist shots. But then I got the 105 macro to take pictures of my watches.


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## dakolkol

Just slip your wrist inside the pocket with the watch facing up. Let the auto focus of iphone do its job and it is done


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## shameless

i think thats a great illustration of holding on to ones loose coins whilst photographing ones watch -well thought out


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## newnan3

Use a tripod and the timer on the camera. Or a remote trigger for the shutter.


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## hanzo

get a macro lens, it enables you to take a close focused shot.


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## Gary123

I have a macro 105 that requires my hand to be out a bit too far for me to see the screen on the back of the camera for picture taking. So I may buy a used 60mm lens of ebay and that should do it. But in the meantime, the trick I have come up with is to put a small coin on a table top and place my hand on top it for the shot. It is critical that the same spot on my hand sets on the coin for every shot.

I take the picture, review the shot and move the coin as necessary to reposition my hand. Here is a picture I just took and will be posting for today's WRUW thread:









The 105 is just a little bit too powerful as everything is a stretch and a reach so I think the 60mm will do fine. I do have Nikon's 18 - 200 zoom, but the problem with that lens is twofold: for the same focal length as a fixed lens, it will not focus as close, but the real issue with this lens is that if the camera is pointed downward in the least, the zoom slowly creeps into the longer focal lengths as gravity pulls the lens out.


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## zephyrnoid

I simply mount my camera on a side-arm off my tripod and brace my hand on walking stick


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## Gary123

Nicely focused, nice pictures. But a little too close, and that is the challenge when taking pictures of one's own wrist. With a decent macro lens, to capture more of the hand and wrist, you've got to get so far away from the camera, that its tough to compose the picture.

I got the 60mm DX today (~ 90 equivalent). That may work. Here was a quick one I took today.


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## leftnose

Gary123 said:


> I have a macro 105 that requires my hand to be out a bit too far for me to see the screen on the back of the camera for picture taking.


Why aren't you using the viewfinder? You should use the viewfinder as much as possible for taking pictures as it allows you you better stabilize the camera, especially if you're shooting one handed as is necessary for wrist shots.


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## Gary123

leftnose said:


> Why aren't you using the viewfinder? You should use the viewfinder as much as possible for taking pictures as it allows you you better stabilize the camera, especially if you're shooting one handed as is necessary for wrist shots.


The camera is on a tripod and my wrist is out way too far for me to see through the viewfinder. I can barely get my head over to see the LCD screen. I practiced a bit today with the 60mm macro, here is another shot I took, this one today spending a little time on the shot. As I said, I use a coin on the table and the same spot of my hand on the coin for every shot. When I review the picture, I move the coin to reposition the hand as necessary. It can take a number of tries.


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