Are Tripods Obsolete?
Are tripods obsolete? Depending on your photography style some may argue that they are. However, as appealing as ditching the tripod is, I think there is one important factor people are ignoring.
Clearly, in some situations a tripod is as essential as it’s ever been. I’m talking about very long exposures for example. I love to use a tripod when shooting architecture as it allows me to get and keep a true vertical perspective. Tripods can also be useful when shooting multiple exposures (as layer overlays), HDR shots, and focus stacking shots. It’s a very good way to keep images aligned without needing much cropping in post-processing.
In some cases, it’s not practical to use tripods. Shooting birds in flight or sports isn’t really practical with a tripod unless you use a specialized gimbal tripod. Sometimes, tripods are prohibited. For example, museums may allow photography but prohibit the use of tripods and flash. Often, the photo opportunity is fleeting. It’s gone in a few seconds giving you no time to use a tripod. If we are traveling we just may have to cut back on the gear we take.
The Appeal Of Losing The Tripod.
It’s when you get into what I call everyday, “ordinary” shooting that things get murkier since the technology has made things significantly different. By this, I mean situations where you’re out just taking photos as the opportunities arise. Carrying and setting up a tripod can be a bit of a “buzz kill” especially when you’re with a group of people.
When I started out in photography, back in the dark ages, I always tried to keep my slowest shutter speed to a 1/125 seconds. If I was shooting with a long lens the minimum would be even faster. If I had something to help steady my camera such as leaning against of tree I might take a chance with 1/60 second. Since that time, we now have image stabilization in our lenses. In the past few years, cameras have in-body image stabilization (IBIS). When you combine these two, it has significantly lengthened the minimum shutter speed for hand held shots. If you couple it with advances in post-processing software, sharp focus at slow shutter speeds gets even better. I’ve seen sharp photos taken at 1/4 second! You can now take hand held waterfall shots with motion blur of the water.
Tripods can be a real pain. They’re cumbersome. They’re extra weight to carry. On top of all that using them can be time consuming. All this gives you pause when you think about what you can do with modern technology. It’s easy to understand why many would say tripods are obsolete for “ordinary” photography. It’s easy to say that they’re an old fashioned technique no longer needed in many cases. I get it!
The Forgotten Benefit Of Tripods
I believe one of the biggest complaints about tripods is at the same time, one of its greatest benefits. Unfortunately, we too often let the negative override the positive when choosing whether or not to use a tripod.
So, what’s the thing we hate when maybe we should love it? It’s that using a tripod is time-consuming!
Think about it. It gives us an opportunity to slow down and think about what we’re doing and why. Granted, the tripod photo may not be sharper than a hand held shot. But it has a chance of being a better photo because it gave us an opportunity to think about a lot of things, such as:
- Should I use a circular polarizer?
- Do I need to focus stack?
- Is my exposure triangle optimal?
- Are there distracting elements I need to avoid in the composition?
- What adjustments to I need to make in the composition?
- Zoom in/out?
- Slightly shift it one direction or another?
- Distracting elements along the border?
- Am I getting lens flare?
These are all things we should be thinking about before rattling off a few quick shots. But we often get so invested in taking a shot rather than in getting the shot. The time we spend using a tripod gives us an opportunity think and get the shot right. I can’t count the number of times that while driving home it suddenly occurred to me that I should have done ________. Not a great feeling. I want to make every shot as good as I possibly can. Using a tripod and slowing down can help in that.
W often get so invested in taking a shot rather than in getting the shot. The time we spend using a tripod gives us an opportunity think and get the shot right.
There’s A Hidden Benefit Too
There’s a hidden benefit to using a tripod and being forced to slow down. It allows you to live in the moment. Take a breath and just enjoy the moment and the scene you’re fortunate to see. This isn’t about photography; it’s about living. Living in the moment is good for the soul.
So, Are Tripods Obsolete?
Granted, from a technical aspect tripods may have become obsolete in some situations due to changes in technology. However, from a broader perspective I think they are as important or possibly more important than they’ve ever been. Directly or indirectly they help us make better photos and that’s a very good thing.
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