Why You Should Be Using A Tripod.
Thomas Ingersoll at Blok Studio's Pierce location.
I'll admit when I started taking photographs I thought tripods were cumbersome. I wanted to move freely while shooting and initially felt tripods would slow down my workflow. Being that photography (Camera, lenses, accessories) can be very expensive, especially when you first start out, I couldn't wrap my mind around spending hundreds of dollars on a tripod. I did what most newbies would do and purchased a cheap tripod that had decent reviews on Amazon. It wasn't long after as my kit grew that I started to realize the importance of having a GOOD tripod. Think about it - you're putting expensive camera gear that you spent your hard earned money on. Outside of making sure you can set your camera up and walk away with confidence, here are a few other benefits for using a tripod.
Low Light Situations.
Tripods are an absolute necessity in low light situations. When you find yourself in a low light situation, you will need to reduce the shutter speed in order to increase light. Unfortunately, reducing the shutter speed means that your camera will be susceptible to camera shake. To ensure that you avoid the blur that may be introduced by your hand movement, a tripod will be essential.
Landscapes.
Landscape photography is one of the most popular types of photography. However, this type of photography typically requires that you use an aperture of at least f/8 and up to f/16 for most of your shots in order to ensure you achieve a wide depth of field that will put everything into clear focus. When you use these aperture settings, they narrow the amount of light coming in. To correct this, you will need either to increase the ISO or reduce the shutter speed so you can get the right exposure for the shot. Be aware that increasing ISO will introduce noise to the image so a good option will be to reduce the shutter speed. Placing your camera on a tripod will ensure you are getting the sharpest images possible by avoiding camera shake.
MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY.
As a food and cocktail photographer, I often take photos that are in close range, any movement in the camera is amplified and much harder to control when holding in your hand. When using my favorite lens the Canon 100mm 2.8 L the depth of field is very thin at its widest apertures, so it’s helpful to use narrower apertures — meaning your shutter speed goes down. In most cases, a tripod is essential in food photography to keep your image in focus and your aperture closed down enough that the whole subject is sharp.