The tripod: Your gateway to better landscape photography
Have you ever wondered how photographers take those pictures of waterfalls where the water comes out looking all “wispy” and abstract? Or tried taking a photo of a beautiful sunset, but it came out blurry? If you’d like to step up your landscape game, we have a few tips on WHY we always use a tripod, WHO should use a tripod, HOW to choose a tripod, and WHAT photographs become possible with a tripod that would be impossible without it.
Why should I always use a tripod for landscape photography?
Tripods provide stability and a fixed position for your camera that handholding simply cannot match. It allows you to shoot in lower light when shutter speeds naturally become longer, and handholding would result in blurring of the image due to motion of the camera.
Landscape photographers always shoot from a tripod, because it ensures a tack sharp image. Leave no doubts that your image is as sharp as it can be!
Tripod allows you to maintain a consistent composition from one shot to the next, even if you have to make adjustments to your camera’s settings, walk away for a bit to retrieve an accessory from your camera bag, or decide to attach a filter. Once you find a composition you like, you can set the tripod and not have to worry about recomposing from shot to shot.
Once you have your composition set and know it won’t move on you, you can concern yourself with other details, like establishing accurate manual focus and exposure.
How do I choose the right tripod?
There are two popular styles of tripod heads: Ball head versus tilt-swivel head
A tilt swivel head is not as versatile. The camera can be panned left and right, or pointed up or down, but this type of head generally has no ability to level a camera on uneven ground, without adjusting the height of the legs individually. This type of head is more useful indoors in a studio. A ball head is more flexible for landscape photography, as it allows you to move the camera in any direction on the tripod, which is easier for finding a level position for the camera on uneven terrain.
The tripod you probably already have, but shouldn't! It is designed for camcorders inside the home. The legs don't adjust separately so it's problematic on uneven ground and the head cannot be leveled.
Materials: carbon fiber vs. aluminum
Carbon is much lighter for the same level of rigidity and stability, but is generally much more expensive. A Dolica Carbon Fiber Tripod would be an exception to this and can be found at Costco for around $90. This is a steal considering it is carbon fiber, super lightweight, compact, and comes with a quick-release and carrying case. With a max height of 60 in., it is only 3.5 lbs. and has a 13 lb. load capacity. A Manfrotto Aluminum Tripod with Ball Head is also a good starting kit. It has a max height of 63 in., weighs 5 lbs. and has an 11 lb. load capacity.
Mix & Match
Tripod heads and legs can also be purchased separately from one another to be mixed and matched. Paul is a fan of interchanging his tripod and head combination to suit his needs for a particular shoot. Tripod legs such as the Manfrotto MT190XPRO3 can be paired with a head such as the 496RC2 Manfrotto Compact Ball Head, or a third party special-purpose head.
For instance, if you are interested in panoramic photography, we recommend going with a Ball Head with Panning Clamp because the ball head can be leveled independently of the clamp. For wildlife photography with large lenses, you may wish to mount a Gimbal-type tripod head to the top of your tripod legs.
Tripods come in different sizes and strengths, designed to accommodate different combinations of cameras and lenses. Tripods and heads have weight ratings, and for maximum stability, make sure that your tripod’s and tripod head’s weight ratings both EXCEED the weight of your camera and lens combination by at least 25%. Please do yourself a favor and buy the right tripod as it is helping to protect your investment. Don’t be that guy with the cheap tripod and brand new DSLR camera combo that just toppled into the river!