How to Use Tripods in Photography

How to Use Tripods in Photography
Hi, this is Scott Vallance. I am here on behalf of Expert Village.com. We are going to be talking about tripods today. There are several different manufacturers of tripods. Basically what they do is give you firm support for your camera so that you can do tact sharp images. Also if you need to do long exposures you can do that because the camera gives you support and it won’t move as long as you don’t bump into it or the wind does not blow it hard. Basically what you do is there is a platform on top of the tripod. The camera just attaches to this usually with a thumb screw on the very bottom of it. You have different controls. A tilton control and a side by side tilt control. The legs are extendable. Each different type of tripod has different locking devices on the legs. This is a collar lock. A good tripod should also have a center column so that after you set your camera up and if you need to just raise it by a foot or lower by a foot you can do that, using the center column and just lock it down. Once you put your camera on here and you are doing a long exposure, you are going to want to use a cable release so that you don’t get vibration from your hand pushing the shutter. Also if your camera has a mirror lock up you might use that if it is going to be a long exposure say right after the sun sets or if you are trying to shoot pictures of star trails or something like that you would want this as solid as possible. A lot of times when I am on location, I will actually take my camera bag and wrap the strap around the center column to add weight to hold the tripod down and that just gives additional support. There are carbon fiber tripods out there that are real expensive and light weight. They are really great if you do a lot of backpacking and landscape type stuff. Other than those, a good rule of thumb is heavier the tripod the more stable it is going to be. Good luck and good photographing. Talk to you soon. Thanks.