11 Reasons Why My Tripod Is One Of My Best Photography Accessories

I take virtually every photo with my camera on a tripod. And there are very good reasons for this which I will tell you in this post.

Here are the 11 reasons why my tripod is one of my best photography accessories

My compositions are better
My photos are always tack sharp
I don’t need to worry about shutter speed

I don’t need to worry about ISO
Using my tripod makes me think
Using my tripod slows me down

I get technically correct images
I take less photos
The photos I take are better

I use my tripod to take videos
I love taking photos with my tripod!
It makes me look good (just kidding)

What tripod do I use? I will tell you that at the end of this post.

Who am I?

Before I go on let me tell you who I am. I am Rick McEvoy ABIPP, (Associate in the British Institute of Professional Photography). I am an architectural photographer based in the UK. I have a variety of websites about photography, travel, and travel photography.

I am also the creator of the Photography Explained Podcast.

And I use a tripod to take the vast majority of my photos. And in this post I will tell you just why.

1 My compositions are better

With my camera on my tripod my compositions improve. Creating a composition is a much more deliberate, considered act. I use the LCD screen and the viewfinder to get the composition I want. Flick flacking between the two.

I used to shoot handheld, only using a tripod when I needed to, but had a realisation that I took better photos when my camera was on a tripod.

With my camera firmly placed on a tripod I give myself the time to nail each and every composition.

And as I like to say, composition is king! Get that right and you are well on the road to getting a great photo.

2 My photos are always tack sharp

Well they should be if I am using my camera on a tripod correctly. I use the 10 second self-timer on my Canon 6D these days to make sure there is no camera shake at all.

So tack free photos every time which has made a huge difference to the sheer quality of the photos that I take.

3 I don’t need to worry about shutter speed

I use the AV mode on my Canon 6D. I set the aperture, ISO and the camera selects the shutter speed.

The only thing that I need to think about is if there are moving clouds, or it is windy and things like trees and other living stuff are moving. Or a flickering fire.

I will take a view on the shutter speed that gives me the photo that I want.

Other than that the fact that I am photographing a building means that I am photographing something that is not moving.

4 I don’t need to worry about ISO

Another benefit, the shutter speed does not matter, so I stick with the lowest native ISO on my Canon 6D which is 100 to get the best quality I can.

And one less thing to think about, which in my case has to be a good thing!

5 Using my tripod makes me think

Rather than snapping away at everything and anything, which is what I used to do, every photo I take has some thought behind it.

And when I think I see things clearer and better – well I think that this applies to all of us doesn’t it?

6 Using my tripod slows me down

Just getting my tripod out and fixing my camera to it stops me from taking photos. This deliberate act literally stops me, and makes me look around and think.

And do you know what? The more time I have, the more I look around, and the more I see.

It really has made a huge difference to not only what I am photographing, but how I see what I might want to take a photograph of.

7 I get technically correct images

I am talking here about

Verticals vertical
Horizontals horizontal

The building in the perfect part of the composition

And as an aside, I love the rule of thirds, and use it to compose my architectural photography work. This is much easier done when the camera is firmly planted on something like a tripod.

And as I bracket my photos the three images taken are perfectly aligned every time.

Getting these things right in camera means less time in Lightroom and Photoshop which makes me happy.

8 I take less photos

Yes I take less photos, and the ones I issue to the client are better. So a win win, and less time sorting photos in Lightroom.

And less photos clogging up my hard drive.

And less time taking photos on location.

9 The photos I take are better

Quite simply I take better photos when my camera is on a tripod. And this has been a constant thing, an improvement that has stuck with me and helped me get ABIPP, having initially gained my Licentiate qualification, LBIPP.

10 I use my tripod to take videos

Well I am in them so without a tripod I would be, erm struggling. And with the phone adapter that I have my tripods can happily take my iPhone.

11 I love taking photos with my tripod!

I genuinely enjoy taking photos with my tripod, so much so that I am unusually uncomfortable taking photos handheld these days, and have to remind myself of the things that I need to do when shooting handheld!

12 It makes me look good

Just kidding. That used to be a thing but these days with the much smaller gear we can get size of gear is not proof that you are a pro!

What tripod do I use?

Please note that the links that follow are Amazon Affiliate links – if you click on one of these links and buy stuff I get a commission. You don’t pay any more, Amazon just get a little bit less!

Well I have owed loads of tripods, but my current favourite is the not so expensive Manfrotto 190 Go, with the geared head. Not too bulky or heavy, as I need to get into tight spaces. Here it is on location in Southampton, Hampshire, England.

I have had to ditch my larger tripods as they were too restrictive. They were too heavy, and the main problem I had was getting far enough into a corner to the interior shots of rooms.

I did one shoot with the larger Manfrotto 055, thinking that bigger and heavier was better, but really struggled.

And if you think about it, getting around live construction sites, up and down ladders and scaffolds, all that stuff – I do not want to be burdened with a heavy tripod and head.

And my tripod head of choice?

The Manfrotto XPRO 3 Way Geared Head. I can do big adjustments with the levers, and fine adjustments using the precise turning mechanisms on the ends of the levers. Here it is on location.

Very clever, and very good.

My mini tripods

I also use a Manfrotto Pixi, nice and small and takes my Canon 6D just fine with care.

Other stuff

I also have a Platypod, which is a metal plate which you can attach a camera and place it on things like a wall, the floor, anything really. It has screws that help you get it nice and flat, a dead handy accessory to have. Here it is on a comemrcial shoot.

Universal L bracket

I put a Three Legged Thing Universal L Bracket on my Canon 6D which attaches to the tripod head. This allows me to change from landscape to portrait mode without affecting the composition. Very handy and I use this literally all the time.

Here is a photo of one courtesy of the Three Legged Thing website.

Summary

Well I hope that I have convinced you to at least give a tripod a go – if you do you might get a whole new world of photographic enjoyment just like I do!

Thats all for this week – see you on the next post.

Rick McEvoy Photography