The tripod is not necessarily one of the most popular accessories. Unwieldy, heavy, awkward to handle, simply annoying. And that’s why people like to leave it at home. Hand-held photography is much more comfortable, and with modern cameras you can turn up the ISO a bit to avoid blur. But if you only use a tripod to prevent blurry pictures, you don’t know the real advantage of a tripod.

Taking the pace out

We all know it: camera in hand, and off we go. A click here, a click there. It doesn’t cost anything anymore.We often hear that digital photography is to blame for today’s flood of images. In analog times, it was all different. But who or what actually prevents digital photographers from taking photographs more consciously? It’s certainly not the (digital) camera.

And this is where the tripod comes into play. As soon as the camera is on the tripod, our approach to photography inevitably changes. We approach our subject much more consciously. After all, we have to position the tripod and align the tripod head precisely. This is quite tedious, but it is also very beneficial. The discovery of slowness, so to speak. And with it comes a much closer look through the viewfinder. Suddenly, you notice many details that you wouldn’t notice if you were photographing with a handheld camera: distracting objects at the edge of the image, unstable backgrounds, or unfavorable overlaps that disrupt the composition.

This different approach is reason enough to use a tripod. The fact that it also reduces the risk of camera shake is a welcome side effect.

Without camera and tripod

But before you put the camera on the tripod, you should explore your subject without a camera (and without a tripod). This will reveal favorable and less favorable perspectives without having to lug around heavy equipment. After you have scouted out possible shooting locations without a camera, setting up the tripod will be much quicker.

Big cameras, small cameras

When we used to work with really big cameras (and I mean really big cameras, 4×5″ format and even bigger), practically nothing worked without a tripod. Modern DSLM cameras (Digital Single Lens Mirrorless) have become so small that no one puts them on a tripod anymore. It does look a bit strange when 450 grams of camera sits on a 2.5 kg tripod. But you might suspect that you simply take better photos with a big camera. Not because of the larger sensor, but because a tripod is involved…

So, what do you think? As usual, please feel free to leave your thoughts and comments.