Why you need a tripod

Professional photographers use tripods for many reasons, and no matter what shape or form your photography takes, you’ll find their reasons apply in principle to your own photography. We show you why.

Improve your photography

One of the benefits of putting your camera on a tripod is simply that it makes you stop and think about your pictures. Taking a moment out is the best thing you can do for your photography, and mounting your camera on a tripod makes you stop to think about what you’re doing. Considerations such as composition, exposure, viewpoint, filters and lens choice can all be fine-tuned.

Shutter speeds

Tripods are a must for landscape photographers who like to use small apertures for greater depth of field. With small apertures, slow film and late afternoon light comes the distinct possibility of slower shutter speeds and there’s no replacement for a sturdy tripod to keep your images razor-sharp.

Longer shutter speeds are also used for effect in photographs where time and movement are conveyed. These exposures can last for minutes, even hours if needs be. So a sturdy tripod is a must for photographers wanting to experiment with this fun aspect of photography. Most compact digital and film cameras have a night mode feature that uses slower shutter speeds. So even the family photographer can benefit from having a compact tripod handy.

Self-timer

Apart from the aforementioned benefits, there are regular opportunities for the family photographer to use a tripod. One of these is naturally for self-timer photographs. Sure, you can look for a wall, a rock, a tree stump or some other object to place your camera upon, but you can be sure it will be too high, too low, too crooked or too far away to be completely useful. A compact tripod, however, is none of these things and the smaller, lightweight kind can be packed into a daypack and carried with ease.

What to look for

The kind of tripod you buy will depend on two things – what you use it for and how important it is to the kind of photography you do. Let’s look at some features for your kind of photography.

Landscape and travel

Landscape photographers need a sturdy tripod that can cope with a large SLR or medium-format camera and whatever lens is mounted on it. It should be as lightweight as possible, but without compromising steadiness. It should be tall, and yet also be able to shoot low to the ground. Travel photographers would want to have these features also, but with the added benefit of lightweight carbon fibre manufacture. Tripods such as the Manfrotto digital range are perfect for travellers who appreciate the need to make their travel photos the best they can be.

Portrait

Portrait photography requires a tripod in many ways similar to those used by landscape photographers, in that it needs to be sturdy, tall and somewhat variable in height. One other consideration for the portrait photographer is the need for their tripod to open and collapse quickly – especially when doing location portraiture. Moving from location to location – even if only a few metres at a time – is much easier when the tripod’s easy to manage.

Family

The family won’t need a tripod as sturdy or as fully featured as portrait and landscape photographers, and the range of lightweight Manfrotto DIGI tripods is perfect for family use. They’re certainly sturdy enough for most family applications, while being light, compact and easy to carry.

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