Improve Your Photography with a Tripod
A tripod may not be ideal for all types of photography, but there's no doubt that it's one of the most useful, and most under-rated accessories - and that it can do more to improve your photography than just about any other piece of kit!
Tripods are used for 3 main reasons:
1. To hold the camera steady and reduce the risk of camera shake
2. To aid good composition
3. To allow a photo to be taken without having to look through the viewfinder.
Holding the camera steady
Obvious though it is, many people just don't seem to realise that they would get much sharper pictures if only they used a good tripod - and the longer the lens used, and the slower the shutter speed, the greater the risk of blurring caused by camera shake. A lot of people try to get around the camera shake problem by using high-speed film (which allows them to use a higher shutter speed), but of course this simply shifts the cause of quality loss from camera shake to grain/noise/poor colour/poor contrast. The best answer is usually to use a tripod that will hold the camera steady and avoid the problem in the first place!
But which tripod should you buy?
It all depends on the type of photography you do, the weight of your camera and how high (or how low) you need to place your camera. Obviously small, lightweight tripods are ideal for people who trek long distances and who don't want to carry too much, but there is always a trade-off between convenience and efficiency and a small, light tripod will not be as rigid as a large, heavy one. It's best to avoid tripods with more than 3 extending sections, because each section is smaller than the last and increases the 'wobble factor'. It can help, if you really must use a lightweight tripod, to buy or make a simple sling, suspended between the tripod legs and filled with stones to add weight.
Heavy cameras need much heavier tripods than light ones, so if you are using a medium or large format camera you really don't have much choice!
Height makes a big difference too, because the higher you go, the less steady the camera will be - I have a massive Manfrotto tripod that will hold my Mamiya RZ67 rock steady at around 5' high, but at it's maximum of 9 ½ feet a lot of the stability has simply disappeared!
Aiding good composition
A tripod can be a great help in composing & framing your photos. Once the camera is mounted on the tripod you are left free to get the framing just right, and to concentrate on the composition. Using a tripod takes time of course, and this can be very positive, because the process tends to slow things down to the point where we take more care, and give more thought to the final image.
There's no need to look through the viewfinder
when using a tripod, and this can be a great help with portrait photography, because it's far easier to get relaxed, natural photos if you can have eye contact with people and take the photo when they're not expecting it!
Alternatives to a tripod
A Monopod is simply a pole, adjustable for height, with a camera fitting on the end. They can provide far more stability than hand-holding the camera, although of course you will still need to look through the viewfinder when taking your picture, and they won't help your composition either.
A Beanbag can be useful too, provided of course that you can find something suitable, at the right height. Simply place the beanbag between the support and the camera, press the camera fairly hard against it and you'll find that the risk of camera shake is reduced.
And then there are Clamps that can be fitted to a stepladder, a car window or even screwed into a tree - these are excellent, provided that you can find something suitable to fix them to.
Also very useful is a Chain - simply a length of lightweight chain, fitted to an eye bolt that screws into the tripod bush. Stand on the end, pull it fairly tight and reduce camera shake.
Most professional studio photographers use a Studio Stand, this is simply a very rigid vertical tube with a solid, heavy base, with a counterbalanced arm on which the camera fits. The advantages are stability, ease of use and the fact that the camera can be positioned anywhere from just above the floor to the maximum height, which can be up to around 16'.
This article was written by Garry Edwards. Garry is a commercial photographer who also provides training courses in studio photography to both amateur and professional photographers. Please click here for details of his courses (www.commercialphotography1.co.uk/courses.htm).
Improve Your Photography with a Tripod
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