[B][COLOR=darkgreen]Welcome to the first of a new series of daily photography tips from yours truly![/COLOR][/B]

From today, each weekday I will post a simple, but hopefully useful, nugget of photography advice here on my blog.

Today's tip is how to get sharp pictures even in low light, despite not having Image Stabilisation at your disposal.

Many new cameras have image stabilisation to combat the problem of the camera moving during a slow shutter speed exposure when the light is dim. But if your camera doesn't offer this feature, here's how you can work around the problem.

I'm not talking about the usual advice of bracing yourself firmly to steady the camera, or to place the camera on a solid surface instead of holding it, although these are all great tips in their own right.

What I advise you do is to take several pictures in a burst, using the continuous shooting mode on your camera. Compose your picture, then gently squeeze the shutter release, let the camera focus (assuming you are using autofocus), then progressively and gently squeeze the shutter button more until the camera starts shooting. Let the camera take a sequence of shots while being as relaxed and steady as possible. It's likely that at least one shot in the sequence will be sharp.

Use the image review function in your camera and examine each shot to ensure you have a keeper. If not, repeat the procedure.

[B][COLOR=darkgreen]Added tip:[/COLOR][/B] Even if your camera [I][COLOR=darkgreen]does[/COLOR][/I] have image stabilisation, the above tip will improve the probability of getting a sharp picture, especially in extremely low light.

[COLOR=darkgreen][B]Tomorrow's tip:[/B][/COLOR][COLOR=black] I'll explain how to get soft lighting from your camera's flash without the need for expensive studio accessories.[/COLOR]