If you’re a photographer or videographer who’s starting out, it can be overwhelming to see all the equipment available. However, you don’t need tons of equipment to level up your work. That’s why we’re here to tell you about the number one must have for photographers and videographers, and break down its uses. Let’s dive in and look at 6 reasons to use a tripod for your photography and videography!
What Is A Tripod?
Just to make sure that we’re on the same page, let’s go over what this piece of equipment actually is.
A tripod is a three-legged piece of equipment with a mounted head that serves as a platform for your camera. They come in various sizes and materials, and include various attachments and adjustment options.
There are also various types of tripod heads, which you can purchase separately. The head is the part where you attach your camera in order to tilt and pan it with the tripod’s knobs and control arms.
Reasons To Use A Tripod For Your Photography & Videography
1. For Shots In Low Lighting
Managing exposure comes down to three elements: aperture, shutter speed and ISO. These three settings come together to create the final look of the image, and changing them can help with exposure.
However, sometimes there just isn’t enough light available. Therefore, your options for shooting in low lighting are to widen the aperture or increase the ISO. These come with downsides, such as making the image susceptible to hand shake, image noise and decreasing the depth of field. The last option is to use lower shutter speeds, which is your best option.
When doing this, you want to avoid any blur or movement from your hand, making a tripod invaluable.
2. For Professional Looking Video Footage
Videos shot on a tripod truly do look a thousand times better. Wobbly, hand-held video can reduce otherwise great footage down to amateur-looking shots that distract from the main subject. Stabilizing your footage with this equipment will make your shots clearer, more professional and not distract the viewer.
3. For Photographing Long Exposures
If you are photographing with shutter speeds that are longer than around 1/60th of a second, a tripod is definitely necessary.
Using tripods for long exposures will allow you to capture movement by opening the shutter for seconds (and sometimes minutes) at a time. Trying to achieve this whilst holding the camera in your hands gives a high probability of blurry shots – yet another reason to invest!
4. For Time-Lapse Videos
Time-lapse videos are a brilliant way of capturing events that take time, helping you to craft beautiful and interesting videos of time passing. These shots involve a sequence of images shot a few seconds apart, which turns into a video and speeds up the action.
For time lapses, you want everything in the shot to remain in the exact same place. This is so that you can see things moving around in the fixed shot. Aligning the frames is a must for time-lapse videos, which is why investing in a tripod will help a lot!
5. For Framing & Adjusting Shots
Once your camera is mounted on your tripod, it will make it tons easier to make changes to your framing. Not having the camera in your hands and having to set up and adjust the equipment helps you become more creative. This is because you are forced to think more about your framing and composition, and look at smaller details to adjust accordingly.
6. For HDR Photography
HDR photography (High Dynamic Range) involves two of the same shots at multiple exposures combining with editing software. It is used to balance out compositions and provide contrast between light and dark areas.
The multiple shots, therefore, need to line up. By holding the camera yourself, this will become super tricky. A tripod will save you time and effort (and prevent the need to spend time manually lining up your shots while editing). Thanks to its stationary position, you can capture the exact same composition with each shot. Just remember to change the exposure settings in between shots!
Final Thoughts & How Audiosocket Can Help
Creating great photos and videos involves focusing on the details and approaching your work in the most professional way possible. That’s why a tripod is an essential piece of kit to help with various types of photography and videography!
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Also, if you enjoyed this article, please feel free to check out our helpful articles on telephoto lenses, travel vlogging equipment, lighting tips for creators, using background songs for videos and best free video editing software in 2021!
