Photographers curled hand syndrome

[tim]

After taking photos for a couple of hours or so last night, my right hand had gone a little cold and stiff, curled up from being around the grip and shutter in one position for so long. It took a little while (15 mins) after I stopped for it to feel right again. Does anyone else get that? I'm in my late 20s btw.

[Avalonthas]

Well if u were outside and it was cold, its normal for it to feel weird if ur out for a while.

If ur indoors and ur hands are warm and u just kept them there for long period, its just stiff from being immobile...the same way it would if u play games for a long time with a mouse. Also you could have put to much pressure on the body of the camera when ur shooting (i tend to do this) and that gets em a lil stiff.

So yea unless u got a bone desease it is normal because my hand feels still sometimes for a bit, usually gone in 5 minutes but everyones different. Dont worry bout it too much unless ur bones or hand is actually feeling pain. If its just uncomfortable then ur prolly just gripping too hard or for too long, or a bit of both.

[Anteros]

Here's what I do when my fingers start getting cramped:

1) Close my hand into a fist and squeeze for a few seconds.
2) Open my hand as much as I can and spread my fingers and hold for a few seconds.
3) Wiggle my fingers.
4) Repeat until cramp feeling goes away. :)


I also sometimes relax my hand and just shake it back and forth.

These two methods seem to work for me.

[tim]

I don't get cramps, it just stays curled. It was a bit cold last night, so it happened sooner than usual. Thanks for the info guys :)

[Jon, The Elder]

Tim- I used to shoot using a neck strap. Six hours of horse show, gave me shoulder/neck pains. I sometimes use a Op-Tech harness, (it criss crosses your back and takes load off shoulders) works great.

When I'm runnin' and gunnin', I use a Canon hand strap. Six hours of that leaves my hand swollen for a day or so.

Ah yes ! The price we pay for our craft.

Find the answer to pain/soreness free shooting and you will have many many more friends

[PacAce]

Were you using a wrist strap? If not, you should get yourself one. I'm pretty sure you won't have that "right hand cramping" incident again with the wrist strap. :)

[tim]

Were you using a wrist strap? If not, you should get yourself one. I'm pretty sure you won't have that "right hand cramping" incident again with the wrist strap. :)

Are you talking to me or someone else? I don't get cramping hand, it just sortof freezes in position, and isn't entirely comfortable to bend/unbend.

[Tom W]

I sense a language barrier on the definition of "cramp". Tim, you have what some might call cramping, even if their definition isn't the same as what you've come to learn. I have always thought cramping to mean a tensing or "locking" of muscles, but that is obviously not what you're experiencing.

I'd say that you need to try the techniques of Pacace, Setiprime, and Anteros - work your hand when it freezes up, and try the wrist strap to aid in your camera-holding.

I've had similar "freezing" though not with photography. It usually occurs when I'm involved in a Canon vs. Nikon thread. :)

Seriously, holding your grip fairly tight in one position for a period of time will cause this.

[PacAce]

Are you talking to me or someone else? I don't get cramping hand, it just sortof freezes in position, and isn't entirely comfortable to bend/unbend.
Sorry. Yes, I was talking to you. Maybe "cramping" is too strong a word but I meant whatever it was that you experienced. Sort of like a muscular stiffness, right? Anyway, a wrist strap would alleviate that since you'll be able to handle the camera without having to grip tightly to the camera to keep it from dropping out of your hands. AAMOF, you'll have able to hold the camera with just the right hand without even having to grip the camera.

[tim]

Ok, language problem. I would describe it more as joint stiffness than muscle stiffness, but we're probably talking about the same thing.

How does the wrist strap work? It just goes around your right wrist and the camera hangs off there? Right now, when i'm not using the camera I leave it hanging around my neck. The problem occurs because I hold the camera and take photos for a solid hour or two without stopping.

On a side issue, I went to a 2 hour musical rehersal and took 120 photos, RAW, filling up 1300MB of my 2GB of cards (2*1GB). I'll be shooting the whole of Le Mis, which is 3h15m long, in a month or so, and i'm thinking I might have to get more cards. I don't really want to, i'd get a 2GB card which is NZ$350 (US$200 or so at a guess), and the only time I need it is for this shoot. I guess I have to borrow/take a laptop, or even better borrow CF cards from someone. Or I could take less photos or use JPG.... nah ;)

[PacAce]

Ok, language problem. I would describe it more as joint stiffness than muscle stiffness, but we're probably talking about the same thing.

How does the wrist strap work? It just goes around your right wrist and the camera hangs off there? Right now, when i'm not using the camera I leave it hanging around my neck. The problem occurs because I hold the camera and take photos for a solid hour or two without stopping.

On a side issue, I went to a 2 hour musical rehersal and took 120 photos, RAW, filling up 1300MB of my 2GB of cards (2*1GB). I'll be shooting the whole of Le Mis, which is 3h15m long, in a month or so, and i'm thinking I might have to get more cards. I don't really want to, i'd get a 2GB card which is NZ$350 (US$200 or so at a guess), and the only time I need it is for this shoot. I guess I have to borrow/take a laptop, or even better borrow CF cards from someone. Or I could take less photos or use JPG.... nah ;)
It's called a wrist strap but i really doesn't go arouond the wrist. It actually goes around the back of the hand between the knuckles and the wrist (I have the Canon wrist strap). I use a neck strap, too, and it's almost always around my neck. However, when I'm taking pictures, the wrist strap really helps in preventing hand fatigue since you can hold the camera without needing to grip it tightly.

[scottbergerphoto]

The muscles in your hand and wrist are not accustomed to the work out you gave them. They became fatigued. That will diminish over time as you do more photography. You should periodically take breaks and open and close your hand and wiggle your fingers around. That helps to improve the blood circulation and remove the muscle metabolic breakdown products(lactic acid). Unless you hands/fingers become extremely painful and pale when exposed to the cold even for brief periods, you most likely have nothing to worry about.
Scott

[tim]

I'll try and find one in a local store and have a play :)

[liza]

Tim,

I often feel what you described, especially after shooting with the 70-200 f/4L for a couple of hours at a ball game. I find that shaking my hand and swearing profusely for a few minutes works wonders! :lol:

[tim]

I find that shaking my hand and swearing profusely for a few minutes works wonders!

I'll definitely be trying that one ;)

[Jon]

You're setting yourself up for a repetitive stress injury (think Carpal Tunnel Syndroome or Tennis Elbow). Put down the camera for a few minutes every so often, and let your hands and arms loosen up by doing something else. Didn't happen as much in the Good Old Days because we had to stop to change film and we didn't have all these fantastic-range zooms so we got to change lenses too. But with BG-E2, 2 batteries and a 2-4 GB card there's very little reason to put the camera down. Even switching back and forth between two bodies will help you loosen up a bit.

[tim]

Thanks Jon, good suggestions.

[CyberDyneSystems]

My own personal ailment that is repetitve photo related is a strssed jaw,.. I tend to tense up my jaw muscles when shooting.. not sure why.

When I was a wee laddy we used to get what we called "Atari Finger"... from spending hours on end playing the old Atari 2600 :) :)

It sounds EXACTLY like your Camera troubles :(

[tim]

I'll just be careful, take regular short breaks, and hopefully the problems shouldn't affect me too much.

[Jon, The Elder]

Rotate your camera 180° every few minutes and correct in ACDsee.