Sharp night shots without a tripod

You just can't get a sharp photo at night without something to support the camera. Photos become blurry or streaked when the shutter stays open long enough to ensure sufficient light enters the camera to make a picture. While the shutter is open, your hands move a little. You may tremble or the wind may blow the camera. Pictures made under such unsteady conditions turn out jittery or blurry. The hand movement causes streaks of light and fuzzy images.

Your long-exposure pictures will turn out better if you take the camera out of your hands and use some kind of support to steady it. A tripod is ideal, but what if you don't have one? Here are some substitutes:

• a ledge
• a step
• a windowsill
• a car roof
• a car fender
• a car window frame
• a curb
• a chair back
• a wall
• a sandbag
• an extra firm pillow
• a book bag
• a camera bag

Once the camera is supported firmly, you need to find a a way to trigger the shutter without pushing down on the release button. Your pressing finger could cause the camera to wiggle.

An easy answer is to use the camera's self-timer. Fire it and the camera will stop jiggling during the ten seconds it waits to shoot.

Some cameras also will accept a remote shutter release cable or a radio-controlled shutter release.

If all else fails, import your undesirably jittery or blurry photos into Photoshop or Photoshop Elements or similar software and slightly increase clarity by applying an unsharp mask or sharpen filter.