Tripods can be a hassle……!!

Yes, tripods can be a hassle to carry around with you but they help you take great shots in many ways. There are few accessories I consider that you cannot be without it for making great pictures. The tripod stands first in the list.

The best photographers talk more about tripods, tripod heads and quick releases than about the new generation cameras. I would always suggest my students to think of buying a solid tripod before they think of buying an expensive long focus telephoto or zoom lenses. An expensive L series (they call it luxury lens) Cannon 100 – 400mm, long zoom lens becomes useless for many photography situations if you do not have a proper supporting system - “a sturdy Tripod”.

Tripods for a good photographer are similar to helmets for a safe two wheeler rider. Tripods add life to your pictures as helmets save the life. Both of them are difficult to carry, handle and store yet, the importance of them will be known only when you forget to use them. Tripods are generally known to avoid camera shake in the pictures. But for a serious photographer it does a lot more,

Tripods are very much essential, when,

1. Aiming for razor sharp images while shooting in very slow shutter speeds
2. Using long exposures and shooting Night Photography
3. shooting for a precise composition
4. Shooting a Self Portrait
5. Using multi exposure/flash techniques and time delay shots
6. Capturing action Shots
7. Aiming for maximum depth of field in the pictures
8. Trying macro photography in low light conditions
9. Shooting for huge enlargements, blow ups and hoardings.
10. Shooting Landscapes & Panorama shots
11. Using medium & large format Camera for greater stability
12. Avoiding muscle fatigue of the Photographer.

If you have decided to go for a tripod, then,

1. An ideal TRIPOD would be the sturdier carbon fiber & aluminum alloy type.
2. Tripod legs must have a spreader clipped with main legs & must be the latch or thread type.
3. Fewer sections in a tripod would give more stability.
4. The best tripod head is the one with ball-head for pan-tilt. (A great tripod with a cheap head is like a muscle car on bald tires).
5. It is possible to add the tripod head of one brand with tripod legs of another brand & vice versa.
6. Don’t buy tripod with plastic head, but look out for steel head or metallic head.
   

Next time, when you are shooting something important; do not forget to use a tripod wherever and whenever possible.